Sudden Death

Gr 5–9—In this adventure thriller, 15-year-old Jake is a football (aka soccer) player with a famous father, who was a footballer but now coaches. The action starts early; after Jake's dad is offered a job coaching a new St. Petersburg team, a man dies while they are having dinner, then Jake gets in a skirmish with a suspicious waiter, and soon after father and son move from London to Russia. The chance to train with pros appeals to Jake, but his enjoyment is stunted when more people are murdered and Jake's dad becomes a suspect. He doesn't seem to be playing things straight and while Jake wants to believe there's a reason for all the suspicious evidence, he has witnessed too many weird circumstances to wipe it all away. Throw in a team owner with dubious business practices, the Russian mafia, and a rising body count and the mystery gets even more complicated. There isn't much character or setting development, but the action is nonstop and the straightforward vocabulary and simple structure will draw reluctant readers. There's nothing to inhibit action addicts from racing through the pages, but there's also nothing to warrant rereading or lingering. With plenty of sports terminology and facts, this novel seems particularly designed to appeal to footie fans.—Carol A. Edwards, Denver Public Library, CO