da bushes (Book) - 11/30/2003 10:27:16 AM
Review Received from:
Betsie’s Literary Page Newsletter
Date: 11/28/03
Rating: Highly Recommended
A Major League Talent!
Get ready for a wild ride with Harry Mickey Shorts, intrepid private eye, in the first of a series of Harry Mickey Shorts adventures. da bushes sets out to solve the mystery of why a seemingly unbeatable minor league team suddenly tanks in the middle of its first season and it is up to Harry to find out not only why, but who is behind it all.
Harry is a 31-year-old divorced father, private eye, and almost-was baseball player. After some hard times, Harry has made his way back into his children's lives and has developed a civil relationship with his ex after moving back onto Long Island to be close to his kids. He rents space in an office that his brother-in- law owns and gets by OK, although he is not in the greatest financial shape. Then out of the blue, he is suddenly handed a case that could make his career. One day, Mr. M. Randle Trundle, corporate and very wealthy CEO of a "major New York conglomerate" calls Harry and asks him to help him out with a situation he is having. It turns out that Mr. Trundle is the owner of the Bayport Schooners, a minor league team which started out looking as if it was ready for major league stardom in its first season. But halfway through the season, things mysteriously changed. The players suddenly weren't feeling right anymore - they moved more slowly, couldn't seem to hit or catch the balls the way they had earlier in the season, and it was obvious that something had happened, but Mr. Trundle needs Harry's help to find out exactly what.
Harry goes undercover to solve the mystery and becomes a player-coach for the team, earning the trust of the players while the pieces of the puzzle start coming together. He also gets to live his seemingly lost dream of playing baseball for a real team. Working for Mr. Trundle, Harry now travels in style to various ports of call. And Harry enjoys the ladies as much as he enjoys his Becks - and the ladies enjoy him in return. Readers be warned - there is a great deal of salty language in the book as well as adult situations, but none of those scenes are graphic or in bad taste. We come to know that Harry does have a heart of gold beneath his rumpled and cynical exterior. He truly loves his kids and we see how he enjoys his time with them. And once he knows he can trust someone, he will go the distance for them. He is like a bulldog, with a tough exterior, but a tenacious and loyal interior.
As Harry delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, certain things start becoming clearer to him while others become more confusing and dangerous. There is an interesting and eclectic cast of characters inhabiting the pages of this book and we are taken inside the world of minor league baseball on a detailed and intimate level.
Readers will enjoy the author's wry sense of humor as they try to see if they can fit the puzzle pieces together along with Harry. Rich Kisielewski's writing is snappy and fast-paced, honest and funny. He obviously has an expansive knowledge of and deep love for baseball, which comes through in the book. It is also apparent he has a deep affection for Harry, which, as the reader gets to know him, will be something the reader will feel as well. da bushes is a fun read and I will very much look forward to the next adventure of Mr. Harry Mickey Shorts.
Reviewed by Nancy Machlis Rechtman
