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MURDER AT THE FOUL LINE
by Otto Penzler, editor
Mysterious Press, January 2006
368 pages
$24.95
ISBN: 0892960167


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

The first time I watched men play basketball, Lew Alcindor was playing for UCLA. The last time was during a couple magical seasons when Bill Walton was with the Boston Celtics. For the record, that's close to 20 years ago. But I know the sport, know the references and the rules.

Am I a jock? Pause here for hysterical laughter. No. Have I ever been? Do I still brag about once being in the same eight with an Olympic medal winning rower? Alas, yes I do, even if it was over 30 years ago. I watch the women play. I'm from Connecticut, and I know who Sue Bird is. And who Rebecca Lobo is. And Geno Auriemma.

The stories in this collection are well-written, without a doubt. Lawrence Block is one of the best writers of mystery short stories. Jeffery Deaver's range is amazing; the same is true of Laurie R King. Mike Lupica is a fine writer and while I knew the hook pretty early, I think his contribution is more than welcome.

R D Rosen is one of those writers who always should have gotten more attention -- although his story annoyed the heck out of me. The character was colorful and eccentric; it was the eccentricities that made the tale bog down, especially when I could see the ending coming.

And I don't think S J Rozan can write a bad story. She hasn't yet, and I've been reading her stuff since 1994. (Look, to be honest, I have a WNBA tee shirt she sent me and I think I sent her a Seattle Storm shirt once. That doesn't mean I automatically review her positively.)

Steven Solomita's tough Bubba is set in a prison and is fierce and plausible and well-done; he's one of the few authors whose work I haven't read yet and on the basis of this story's quality, I will likely seek his books out. Justin Scott's story, while not telling anything new, was beautifully framed.

Fans of Robert Parker for example, I'm sure will enjoy Galahad, inc., a story by Parker and his wife Joan. While there's a kernel of OK story there, I found it obvious and way too cute; the byplay between husband and wife endlessly reminding each other that she's rich and they're hot for each other got in the way. In a full-length novel, OK. In a short story, it gets in the way if it happens more than once.

It's an anthology that will satisfy a lot of readers. It left me rather frustrated. It would have been nice to see more range in this 14-story collection. A few more mentions of teams other than the Knicks and the Celtics (most of the contributors are east coast-based, it seems.) An acknowledgement of the idea, the existence of women in the game and their growing importance on the college scene. The only authors even mentioning women players were women. Gee.

Readers of more traditional stuff will find this collection more to their taste, I bet since it's more about the standard stuff; the NBA, kids coming off the streets to play in the big leagues and how hard it is to adjust, immaturity and too much money too fast. And the sad-but-true way that winning trumps teamwork and sportsmanship. These are very real issues in sport, I agree. I guess I just expected the collection to reflect that it's 2006, and basketball is much more than it once was -- for good as well as bad.

And a suggestion for the editor of this anthology whose introduction rather unnecessarily whines about today's players and how they just don't stack up to the old days (but I guess when you've got the pulpit you get to use it). The New York Liberty play at the Garden. You want to see real basketball, team basketball? The season opens in late May.

Reviewed by Andi Shechter, December 2005

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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