Strike Three, You're Dead

Gr 6–8—Lenny loves baseball and dreams of being an announcer someday (because he's certainly never going to be a player). It's just a dream until his two best friends, Mike and Other Mike, convince him to enter the Phillies' Armchair Announcer contest. On the night of the big game-the biggest opportunity of Lenny's life-an up-and-coming player drops dead on the mound. It's written off as a fluke thing, but Lenny and his friends find it suspicious. Everyone who was in the stadium that night is a suspect, and anything could be a lead in this fast-paced murder mystery. The plot is fairly straightforward and the mystery is not difficult to solve, but the characters are engaging enough to carry the plot. Sports fans will enjoy the humor and will attempt to crack the case alongside the intrepid investigators. A good choice for most collections, particularly those needing more mysteries.—Brandy Danner, Wilmington Memorial Library, MA