Attention Baseball History Fans! Boy, Do I have a Book For You!

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Attention Baseball History Fans!

Boy, Do I have a Book For You!

Some of you will recall that in recent days I’ve featured one of our readers, author Bill Gutman. Bill is a prolific author who has written over two hundred books in his career, most sports-related.

He has also written an action-packed murder-mystery set in the “Roaring Twenties” of New York City, starring a street-wise, smart-mouthed New York cop named Mike Fargo.

I have to say that for those of us who loved baseball history, “Murder on Murderers’ Row” is right up our alley. I actually had trouble putting it down. And just to make things better, the Bambino – Babe Ruth himself – is right in the center of the action.

Set as a backdrop running throughout the story is the 1927 home run race between the Babe and Lou Gehrig, and the Babe’s attempt to break his own home run record set in 1921. Even though you knew it would happen, Bill’s on-going depiction of the contest between the two great Yankee sluggers was so vivid that I actually had “goose-bumps” when the Babe hit number 60! This was baseball and life as it existed in the “Roaring Twenties!”

In the featured photo above, we see a beautiful colorization by Chris Whitehouse of “Murderer’s Row: Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Earle Combs, and Tony Lazzeri. 

Here’s a review of the book I posted on Amazon:

“I’m not one who reads a lot of fiction, but “Murder on Murderer’s Row” held my interest all the way to the end. If you enjoy action-packed, fast-paced detective thrillers loaded with great character and plot development – and with a heavy dose “Roaring Twenties” local color thrown in – this one is for you. The underlying sports theme centered on the great Bambino, Babe Ruth, adds a lot of interest to the plot, but don’t worry. You don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this one!

Author Bill Gutman develops the protagonist into a likable and believable character: a smart-mouthed, hard-nosed “good cop” who accepts the dangerous assignments thrust upon him unflinchingly. They all come with the job description for streetwise detective Mike Fargo, best described as a “cops’ cop.” The plot, as it unfolds under author Bill Gutman’s skillful pen, keeps moving and never drags. Although full of unexpected twists and turns, I found myself able to stay with it to the end, and never lost sight of where it was going.

The depth of Gutman’s knowledge of the Roaring Twenties is truly something to behold, with nuance and subtlety amply intertwined throughout the text, never contrived or forced. Only someone with an intimate familiarity with the era could pull this off. Plus, the 1920’s “lingo’ was spot-on, exact, and had me chuckling out-loud on numerous occasions.

The way Bill weaved the Babe into the story added an element of realism and enjoyment for an old baseball buff like me. He captured the Babe’s persona to a “tee” and made it an intricate part of the plot. Not only that, but to my delight, he left most of the romantic sub-theme between Fargo and his beautiful “song-bird,” Lola, up to the imagination; and never once allowed it to devolve to the level of a trashy novel.”

Baseball history fans, do yourself a favor and download “Murder on Murderers’ Row” (a steal at only $2.99!). Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, you can be reading it almost immediately! Check out the link below.

Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: All from Google search

Click on link to order “Murder on Murders’ Row,” by Bill Gutman