Seemed like the right book to read on the flight to Chicago, seeing as I was going to a Cubs game the next day. It turned out to be all the more timely, taking place during WWI at the height of anti-German hysteria. You know, lots of ignorant people reacting ignorantly to real problems and making things worse. Very familiar... ( )

Eine nette kleine Unterhaltung. Ein Baseballspieler wird in einen Mord verwickelt, hinter dem dann einige seltsame Dinge stecken. Baseball-Fan muss man keiner sein, das spielt eher eine Nebenrolle aber es werden viele Details erwähnt, um die Story aufzulockern.

Einen Thriller vom besten Format darf man sich nicht erwarten, aber es ist lustig genug und es gibt einem witzige Anekdoten und Details aus dem Leben eines Baseballspielers um 1918 rum. ( )

Whenever 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!!!! ( )