Audiobook8 hours
Murder at Wrigley Field
Written by Troy Soos
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
The year is 1918, the place, the North Side of Chicago. Starting for the first-place Cubs and hitting a career high of .274, for the first time in his life, Mickey Rawlings is feeling comfortable enough to buy furniture. But it is a time of mixed blessings; ominous battles are brewing at home and abroad. On the homefront, Major League baseball may be suspended for the duration of the war, anti-German sentiment is running high, and Mickey's best friend-a rookie named Willie Kaiser-has just been shot right on the diamond. Mickey doesn't buy the official explanation of "accidental death from a stray bullet." To him it is beginning to smell like murder. Mickey's search for answers takes him from silent movies to speakeasies to the stockyards. Troy Soos is celebrated for his skill in recreating an old-time baseball atmosphere and unforgettable real-life characters, and Johnny Heller, as Mickey, captures all the colorful detail.
Related to Murder at Wrigley Field
Titles in the series (6)
Murder at Fenway Park Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder at Ebbets Field Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder at Wrigley Field Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Cincinnati Red Stalkings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunting a Detroit Tiger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hanging Curve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related audiobooks
Murder at Ebbets Field Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder at Fenway Park Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cincinnati Red Stalkings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5City of Rocks Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hanging Curve Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hunting a Detroit Tiger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Rattlesnake Season Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Touch Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Big Silence Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Australian Heist Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Distant Land Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Head Games Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead at Daybreak Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gettysburg: A Radio Dramatization Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Texicans Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Confessional Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Comfort to the Enemy and Other Carl Webster Stories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMidnight Never Comes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wonder Girl: The Magnificent Sporting Life of Babe Didrikson Za Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Season in Hell Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Seven Keys to Baldpate Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Suspense: The Beast Must Die Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsManhunter Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Fatal Glass of Beer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOut on the Rim Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Texas Rifles Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The White Ghost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Presidential Deal Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Burning Midnight: An Amos Walker Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Mystery For You
Listen for the Lie: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Word is Murder: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hit and Run Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Murder: A Debutante Dropout Mystery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Crooked House Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finlay Donovan Is Killing It: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5And Then There Were None Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fifth Suspect Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Sherlock Holmes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths: The Best New Original Stories of the Genre Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tell No One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mother-Daughter Murder Night: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 7 ½ Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When No One Is Watching: A Thriller Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Did I Kill You?: A Thriller Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ordinary Grace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Bad Housekeeping Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unexpected Guest Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What Lies in the Woods: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The River We Remember: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hallowe'en Party: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5If She Knew (A Kate Wise Mystery—Book 1) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Still Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poisons Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Perfume: The Story of a Murderer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Murder at Wrigley Field
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Whenever I begin to think that the world has reached new levels of hatred and intolerance, I read something that reminds me that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Mickey Rawlings is a struggling baseball player, one of the old boys of the early twentieth century. Having finally secured a daily playing spot at second base for the Chicago Cubs, he’s hitting a career high and reveling in all of the perks of being in the show. But his success is largely based on the weaker pool of talent in the majors due to the war that is on, the War to End All Wars. Players are enlisting out of patriotism or fear, while others are awaiting the Secretary of War’s decision on whether to shut the game down for the season. In Chicago, anyone suspected of German heritage is in danger; speaking German is forbidden by law, as is playing Beethoven or Bach. Ballgames begin with parade drills, ball players marching in formation and using their bats as a substitute for rifles. Then, on the Fourth of July, Mickey’s road roommate and double play partner, Willie Kaiser, is gunned down on the field by a sniper. Some suspect the murder was motivated by hate, because of the young shortstop’s German name and ancestry. Some suspect sabotage, as the Cubs owners are all angling for a larger share of the team. Whatever the motive, Mickey is dedicated to finding the killer, even if it means losing his spot on the team.Soos penned a solid murder mystery, noirish without the edge of constant gunplay. But the real strength of [Murder at Wrigley Field] is the historical picture of World War I America and baseball in the early twentieth century. The detail in describing the tone and feeling of Chicago and the rest of the country as the United States slowly entered the war is remarkable, second only to Soos’ care in detailing the ins and outs of the game of baseball, its contraction and expansion with new leagues and teams. Anyone with even a slight interest in the history of baseball will be amazed. For example, Wrigley Field was originally Weeghman Park, a field for the Federal League Whales, until Wrigley bought up a controlling interest and renamed the park. How many of you have even heard of the Federal League? Another example is that one of the Baltimore Orioles franchises, and there have been several, eventually became the New York Yankees. Some of the criticism of the book finds all of the detail, especially as it is woven into the mystery, convoluting. But I found the baseball and historical knowledge Soos uses to tell his story lends a credibility that often escapes mystery fiction. Post-9/11 America often lapses into intolerance and hate. The recent Congressional hearings are a prime example of how good intention can often be twisted for political gain in the name of patriotism. But while reading [Murder at Wrigley Field], I found it somewhat comforting to remember that this country has worked through such misunderstanding and xenophobia before; perhaps not to perfection but still worked through. The book is just a murder mystery, but the history is real.Bottom Line: A solid noir-lite murder mystery with extremely strong roots in the historical context of the early twentieth century and early baseball.4 bones!!!!