Parker Field

Parker Field (Mystery)

By Howard Owen

ISBN #978-1579623616

The Permanent Press www.thepermanentpress.con

Price $28.00

224 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Topnotch Mystery”

Willie Black, a Richmond, Virginia newspaperman, is divorced and sharing a room with an old childhood pal. His mother is usually high on drugs, but caring and loving. She is living with a gentle old man, and they have a vagabond druggie living with them. When the old man is shot near the apartment where Willie lives, he’s one of the first on the scene. Why would someone shoot a 79-year-old man, who has never said a bad word about anyone? In truth, Les Hacker was closer to a real father than his real dad or previous stepdads. With Hacker in the hospital, Willie has to look into the case for the newspaper.

Les Hacker had played at Parker Field with the minor league baseball team in Richmond. His last game was in 1964. Willie finds a clue that all of the team members have met with mysterious injuries or death. Only two members are still alive, and one of those, Les Hacker, has just been shot. The police have arrested a suspect, a homeless veteran living in the park, but Willie has some doubts about his guilt.

This was a darn good mystery, even though we were given enough clues to figure out what was going on, as well as the motive. Readers will figure who the killer is, but Willie has to bring everyone along with him as he runs down surviving family members, supposedly while writing an article about the old minor league team. In actuality, he’s looking for a motive and who could be behind the mysterious deaths. Personally, I would have preferred less language, but this is a topnotch mystery, and the characters come alive. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories