Baseball Mysteries

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Introduction to Baseball Mysteries

Baseball mysteries are mystery books that feature a baseball player, are set at a baseball stadium, or have baseball as a central plot theme.

Despite the fact that both mysteries and baseball are very popular, there have been relatively few baseball mysteries written. This page provides information on authors who have written baseball mysteries and a bibliography of their books. The books presented here were written for adult readers; a children's mysteries section may be added later.

Authors and their baseball mystery series featured here include:

Visit Sports Mysteries for information about more mystery books where the competition can be murder!

Author: Peter Abrahams

The Fan, a thriller by Peter Abrahams, relates what happens when Gil Renard, the ultimate fan, sacrifices everything he has left to raise the Chicago White Sox from their depths and to rescue star Bobby Rayburn from what threatens to be an irreversible slump? (The movie, The Fan, directed by Tony Scott, starred Robert De Niro as Gil Renard and Wesley Snipes as Bobby Rayburn. For more information about the book or the movie, visit Mysteries on DVD: The Fan.)

Author: Kate Angell

Kate Angell writes romantic comedies with just a touch of suspense. Her two most recent books, Curveball and Squeezeplay, have baseball themes.

Author: Paul Benjamin (Paul Auster)

Paul Auster's first novel, Squeeze Play, was written under a pseudonym, Paul Benjamin, and was nominated for a Shamus Award. Auster never wrote another book using this pen name though continued writing under his real name, producing a large number of novels, non-fiction books, and collections of poems and prose.

Author: Harlan Coben

The Myron Bolitar Mystery Series

Harlan Coben's mysteries feature sports agent and occasional investigator Myron Bolitar. All of the mysteries in this series have a sports theme, but only one is set in the world of baseball, The Final Detail, in which a New York Yankees pitcher is murdered.

Author: David Daniel (with Chris Carpenter)

David Daniel and CNN sports broadcaster Chris Carpenter teamed up to write Murder at the Baseball Hall of Fame featuring Boston-based private investigator Frank Branco who wins a contest to Cooperstown but ends up investigating the death of a Giants player.

Author: Crabbe Evers

The Duffy House Mystery Series

William Brashler and Reinder Van Til wrote a series of baseball mysteries under the pen name of Crabbe Evers that featured Chicago-based retired sportswriter Duffy House. The first 3 books in the series, Murder in Wrigley Field, Murderer's Row, and Bleeding Dodger Blue, were all issued by Bantam in 1991 as paperbacks. Two later books, Fear in Fenway, and Tigers Burning, were published by William Morrow in hardcover.

Author: David Everson

The Robert Mills Mystery Series

David Everson wrote a mystery series featuring Robert Mills, a private investigator based in the Illinois capital of Springfield. In Suicide Squeeze, the only book in the series to have a baseball theme, Mills investigates a murder at a Wrigley Field fantasy camp.

Author: Alison Gordon

The Kate Henry Mystery Series

Toronto-based sports reporter Kate Henry was featured in a series of mysteries by Alison Gordon. What is most unusual about this series is that it featured a female series lead character. The books, published from 1989 through 1997, are: Dead Pull Hitter, Safe at Home, Night Game, Striking Out, and Prairie Hardball.

Author: N. J. Lindquist

The Paul Manzuik and Jacqueline Ryan Mystery Series

Paul Manzuik and Jacqueline Ryan are detectives for the Ontario Police Department in a series of mysteries by N. J. Lindquist. In Glitter of Diamonds, they investigate a series of murders for the Toronto Matrix, a fictional baseball team.

Author: David F. Nighbert

The Bull Cochran Mystery Series

David F. Nighbert's mysteries feature William "Bull" Cochran, a former minor league pitcher who left the sport after accidentally killing another player with a pitch. Now a private investigator, there are only three cases in the series, written from 1989 to 1995: Strikezone, Squeezeplay, and Shutout. The series is set in the Houston area.

Editor: Otto Penzler

Otto Penzler is the editor for a number of sports-related anthologies featuring short stories by some of the best authors of the genre. Murderer's Row contains 14 original stories by "all-star" writers including Lawrence Block, Michael Connelly, Laura Lippman, Robert B. Parker, and the author of a baseball series himself, Troy Soos.

Author: Richard Rosen

The Harvey Blissberg Mystery Series

Richard Rosen wrote a series of five mysteries featuring Harvey Blissberg, a Boston-based private investigator who used to play professional baseball. The first book in the series, Strike Three You're Dead, won the 1985 Edgar Award for Best First Novel. The others are: Fadeaway, Saturday Night Dead, World of Hurt, and Dead Ball.

Author: G. S. Rowe

The Will Beaman Mystery Series

G. S. Rowe is the author of a series of historical baseball mysteries featuring baseball enthusiast and amateur sleuth Will Beaman. The books, which are set in early 20th century Boston, are: Best Bet in Beantown, Squeeze Play in Beantown, Double Play in Beantown, and Foul Ball in Beantown.

Author: Randy Russell

The Rooster Franklin Mystery Series

Alton "Rooster" Franklin, ex-con and reformed car thief, is featured in a series of crime capers by Randy Russell. The only mystery of this series with a baseball theme, Caught Looking, has Rooster tracking down a stolen car that just happens to contain the lucky glove of a hot new pitcher for the Kansas City Royals.

Author: Troy Soos

The Mickey Rawlings Mystery Series

Troy Soos wrote a series of historical mysteries featuring professional baseball player Mickey Rawlings. All but the last feature a baseball team name or park in the title: Murder at Fenway Park, Murder at Ebbets Field, Murder at Wrigley Field, Hunting a Detroit Tiger, The Cincinnati Red Stalkings, and Hanging Curve. Soos has written that he named his character after his own baseball glove; read the entire article Murder When the Grass was Real.

Author: Domenic Stansberry

The Spoiler, the only mystery by Domenic Stansberry with a baseball theme, introduces Frank Lofton, an itinerant reporter obsessed with a minor league team in a Massachusetts mill town. The town is plagued by arson, and with the burning city as a backdrop, Lofton follows his obsession, leading him from the mysterious death of a struggling ballplayer, to the owner's beautiful mistress, into an underworld of corruption and deceit.