Game 7: Dead Ball
By Allen Schatz
5/5
()
About this ebook
Secrets, lies, and revenge provide the sparks that ignite a fiery collision between past and present...
A puzzle takes shape as baseball’s World Series unfolds, but the pieces don’t fit: a string of missing women, strange threats, gambling problems, kidnappings, and relationships long dormant are all somehow connected, but Marshall Connors--major league umpire--may run out of time before he can solve the mystery.
Marshall’s season has ended and he is looking forward to post-season plans that include some time in Florida, first helping his mentor teach an umpire training class, followed by a lot of sun. Those plans are cut short when Marshall is given a surprise assignment to work the World Series as crew chief, but the real reason is not discovered until he is neck-deep in trouble.
The sudden change rekindles a relationship with the O’Hara family--Terry, major league pitcher and Game 1 starter in the Series, Michael, Terry’s father and former major leaguer, and Samantha, Terry’s mother and Michael's ex-wife--but Marshall quickly realizes some things truly are better left alone.
As the Series plays out, so does the truth behind long-buried O’Hara family secrets and Marshall is caught in a storm that threatens to destroy him and those he loves. With the help of his best friend, Thomas Hillsborough--ex-CIA spy--Marshall fights to solve the puzzle before the Series reaches its climax in GAME 7: DEAD BALL, the ultimate contest of survival.
Allen Schatz
The ability to create something from nothing is probably what I enjoy most about writing. There are no restrictions to hold you back. If you can imagine it, you can include it in your story.I can’t sew with a needle and thread very well, but I can weave with my words. My ultimate goal is to create a fabric others can enjoy. That so many have in such a short time is a pretty cool thing.My first three novels are now available. The Marshall Connors Series consists of GAME 7: DEAD BALL, 7TH INNING DEATH, and RALLY KILLER. Mystery. Suspense. Baseball. A perfect combination.Get yours on Smashwords and wherever eBooks are sold.
Related to Game 7
Titles in the series (3)
Game 7: Dead Ball Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/57th Inning Death Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rally Killer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
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Reviews for Game 7
3 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Allen Schatz has crafted a winner with his novel, Game 7: Dead Ball, book one of his Marshall Connors series of contemporary thrillers. Marshall Connors is a Major League umpire, and when he is inexplicably tabbed to be crew chief for the World Series, people in the know wonder why. Connor’s elevation is a result of actions by shady characters, who have only begun their mayhem. While baseball can be seen as a character, and fans of baseball will find the backdrop of the World Series adds to their enjoyment, one need not be a baseball geek to enjoy this book.
Marshall Connors, while likeable and smart, is not a protagonist in the conventional sense. He has major responsibilities related to his umpiring job and though he is connected to events, he has little ability to control or influence them. Connor’s friend Thomas and an assortment of FBI agents and MLB security types do the heavy lifting in solving a kidnapping and dealing with the bad guy(s). While Connors may not be a typical protagonist, the antagonist is an extremely cunning, dangerous and scary bad guy.
The cast is extensive and the plot intricate. When I set the book down a quarter through to concentrate on more pressing projects, I felt I needed to start again at the beginning in order to get current. However, once back into the book, it was a sharp page turner. I liked the fact that the characters and situations all seemed authentic and required no suspension of belief on the reader’s part.
Allen Schatz tells the story in an unconventional, but effective manner. He lets Connors narrate his part of story in 1st person, but deftly shifts to a 3rd person point of view for the bulk of the story. Such techniques are above the skill level of most inexperienced writers, and I was surprised to learn Dead Ball was his first novel. I look forward to the rest of the Marshall Connors series, and likely anything else that comes from the ordered but creative mind of Allen Schatz.