32-year-old Madeline Boucher’s Grandfather instilled a love in the Boston Red Sox into her from an early age and increased that love by purchasing a local Independent League Baseball team, the Abington Armadillos. After losing her corporate job in Boston, Madeline realizes her best option is to join the family baseball business. As the new “Social Media Director” for the team, Madeline attends … attends her first business function and witnesses an argument between her brother Ben, and a strange man.
A few days later when walking the ballpark during her early morning hours, she finds the body of a man beaten to death with a baseball bat in the Visitor’s Dugout. It was the man her brother was arguing with at the party. Madeline is concerned that her brother would be considered a suspect. Through the local Detectives and Davis – the head of security for the ballpark she learns the victim is Christopher Dailey, a local baseball scout and prior felon.
When her brother is arrested and taken to the police station, she realizes she needs to figure out who the real culprit is, so her brother doesn’t take the fall for something she knows he didn’t do.
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Murder at First Pitch by Nicole Asselin is a great sports mystery.
Will Maddie figure out who killed the man in the dugout before her brother is arrested?
Madeline Boucher
Maddie is our sleuth and the new social media consultant for the Abington Armadillos, her family owns the minor league baseball team outside of Boston. On Maddie’s first day she finds a dead body in the visitor’s dugout and her brother is the number one suspect. So, Maddie decides she needs to figure it out before their family name is ruined.
I like Maddie most of the time. She lives with her three cats and spends most of her time at work. Maddie loves her new job and the memories that she has of her and her grandfather at baseball games. She is a natural with the kids.
Mystery
There is murder, drugs, lies, reporters, baseball and lots of things going on, including a couple of love interests for Maddie. Things moved along well, keeping me guessing. I fell for a red herring but Madeline figures it out in the end.
Four Stars
This is a great mystery with lots about baseball and behind the scenes events. I enjoyed reading about Maddie and her family and therefore I am giving Murder at First Pitch by Nicole Asselin four stars. If you like sports mysteries then this is a good one for you.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy from the Great Escapes Book Tours. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of Murder at First Pitch by Nicole Asselin.
Anyways, until next time,
Karen the Baroness
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Dollycas’s Thoughts
I have watched a lot of baseball over the years so I was very excited to read Murder at First Pitch. I was not disappointed at all!
Maddie Boucher’s family owns the Abington Armadillos, an Independent League Baseball Team where pro players not ready to give up the game play with up and coming players with hopes to someday make the Big Leagues. Maddie’s corporate job has been phased out and she has now decided to take a more active role in the family business with her brother Ben and her parents.
Maddie usually takes a morning stroll around the ballpark, taking in everything from the maintenance crew getting the field ready and the scouts, coaches, and players meeting, and the team practices. A few days before the big grand opening game of the season Maddie notices something in one of the dugouts. A closer look shows her it is a body, a man who appears to have been badly beaten with a baseball bat. A man she saw her brother arguing with at a park party earlier in the week. She later learns that the man was a local scout with a felony record and yes, the police have her brother Ben on the top of their suspect list. She is quick to decide she needs to set the record straight and prove her brother’s innocence. Just when she thinks she has struck out a wild pitch brings a new suspect up to the plate. Maddie just needs to bat a little cleanup before she passes her info on to the cops.
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I really liked the family dynamic in this book. They are close-knit with a huge responsibility but everyone can see how much they love baseball, the park, and each other. Family businesses can be stressful but the Boucher family wants their patrons to have fun and they have fun making sure they do. The ballpark is their home away from home and even after a murder they stick together and try to keep things as normal as possible.
Madeline Boucher is a strong protagonist. She followed the clues quite logically and wasn’t afraid to get in people’s faces or hide and eavesdrop to get answers. I enjoyed how she tried to keep the head of security appraised of her findings, there is a definite romantic spark there. The author pitched in some twists and red herrings making the mystery tough to solve. I was totally captivated following Maddie and was surprised when the murderer was revealed.
Ms. Asselin has packed a lot into 188 pages. The book has a nice flow and is full of words that bring the Abington Armadillos complex and surrounding area clearly into focus. She has introduced characters I already care about and want to know better. She has hit this series debut out of the park. Cozy baseball fans will love Murder at First Pitch.