After an interesting introduction by SJ
Rozan that points out the parallels connecting sports and crime, it is on to
the fourteen stories that make up the anthology, Three Strikes-You’re
Dead! The entering anthology edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and
Marcia Talley was published in April 2024. While it has been in my massive TBR
pile for months, that is only because I am way slower in everything I do these
days.
One thing that has never changed is I
read anthologies straight through from front to back. I have always believed that,
even when I don’t necessarily see it, and editor or editor has a plan and thus the
stories are set up in the sequence they want readers to read the book.
So, the stories I briefly cover below
are my personal favorites in the order that they appear in the read. All the
stories in the anthology are very good. These are just the ones that resonated
with me the best.
P. J. “Bulldog” Johnson provided the heroics
that propelled his team to victory and their shot in the World Series. He then
went and died at the plate in “Murder At Home” by Alan Orloff. Now the Mets
General Manager, George Willingham, wants to know what happened and has tasked Assistant
Hitting Coach Rick Baines with the job of finding out.
Elspeth Mead knows what she knows about
bounty hunting from watching some videos and extensive reading of the Stephanie
Plum series of books by Janet Evanovich. (Editorial note---the early books are
good and then the series got way too predictable and I dropped it.) She lives
in Massachusetts and found her own bail bondsman to work for by the name of
Antonio Raffagino. As the short story, “The Ultimate Bounty Hunter,” by Sherry
Harris begins, she is doing better than her idol in one respect—no cars have
blown up to this point in her career. But, she is freezing as she lies on the nearly
frozen ground at 11:30 at night as she watches a house and waits for a sign of
Culver Krantz.
Detective Paddy Doyle is grinding out
his last few weeks on the job as carefully as he can so that he can get his
pension. Kennedy and Johnson are now in office, things are looking good for the
country, and his plan is to keep his head down and not rock the boat. Then the
journeyman boxer walks into the precinct and finds his desk. Johnny “Tag”
Rowley shows up and wants to get his name cleared. Considering what he did,
that is nearly an impossible task.
Instead of trying to fix a reputation,
getting even is the theme of “Runny Interference” by Kathryn Prater Bomey. Elena
Martinez deserves her moment as the star of the band show. With that now in
jeopardy, Kinsey Kennedy plans to even the scales of justice.
Though sports are involved, “Of Mice And
(Murdered) Men” by Rosalie Spielman is a bit of a departure from what is
expected. It is also highly entertaining. Zooey isn’t human. She is a member of
a large group that calls themselves “Transfigurateurs” or “Tfigs.” Basically,
she is a shape shifter, and has the power to shape shift into any creature. That
ability means she can go places and see things while being ignored by people
unless she does something really obvious. So, you know she is going to
witness a murder, right?
Back in the day, Mitchell Street was a
cop. These days he runs a dojo and also works as a private investigator. That
means he knows how to work the case when his friend, Sister George, comes to
him about a serious problem. She has known Rory Alvarado since he started
coming to the local community center many years ago. In the here and now, he
was about to be called up to the majors. But, he failed a drug test. Sister
George is sure he isn’t using steroids and wants Street to prove it and clear
his name in “Cui Bono” by F. J. Talley.
No doubt your favorites would and will be
different from mine. Regardless of that simple fact, all the stories in the
anthology are good ones. Three Strikes-You’re Dead! is a mighty good read and is sure to score with you.
What? You thought I would not make at
least one sports related Dad joke? It had to be done. Put the whistle away.
Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3H9aQ5p
I bought this read in digital format many
months ago using funds in my Amazon Associate Account.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
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