In this third book in the Writer’s Retreat Mystery Series set on fictional Gull Island, a sports related death is explored when Trey Alderman, Gull Island’s most important claim to sport fame, is murdered. Trey was the starting pitcher for the Gull Island Seagulls who went on to stand out nationally amongst college players while attending The University of South Carolina. It was assumed by most … most that he would be a top draft pick a year and a half ago and it seemed at the time that the sky was the limit in terms of his career. Trey came home for spring break during his senior year and while on the island he agreed to play in a charity event held in Charleston. The game, which featured other draft hopefuls, was a one run game. It was the bottom of the ninth, tying run on third, bases loaded, two outs, full count, and the tension was high. The pitch was thrown, everyone in the crowd held their breath. Trey lined up with the pitcher and swung the bat with all his might before falling to the ground. He was pronounced dead at the scene. It was later determined that he died of a heart attack. He was twenty-two, healthy, and, as far as anyone knew, he had no preexisting heart condition. It was later determined that he had a drug mixture in his system that could lead to a heart attack when combined with extreme stress. The local investigator determined that he had most likely engaged in recreational drug use at the party he attended the previous evening.
Alex Cole, a twenty-eight-year-old, fun and flirty millennial who made his first million writing science fiction when he was just twenty-two decided to write a book about Trey’s life and death so he brought the mystery of Trey’s death to the Mystery Mastermind group who live and work at the Gull Island Writers Retreat. The eight members of the colony have all agreed to dig into the facts surrounding the death and help Alex find the answers he seeks.
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Interesting and intriguing! Alex is writing a book on the life and death of Gull Island baseball star, Trey Alderman. The rest of the group is helping by looking into the baseball star’s sudden death of a heart attack when he was home from college to play in a game in Charleston. They try to discover if Trey’s death was an accident or if someone intentionally gave him drugs to kill him. An intriguing mystery. This is such a fun series. I enjoy the characters and the way they look into cold cases. Very enjoyable book!
I loved this book as I do all Ms. Daley’s books. She has an interesting way of weaving a story within a story. Alex is writing a book about Trey, a baseball player who died of a heart attack at a young age. Something doesn’t ring true and all the writers join together to figure out more about his life. When it is found that he was poisoned, we find a whole list of characters who are suspects who keep us guessing until the end.
At the same time a bundle of letters is found in the wall with a possible love triangle from the past, I believe this is leading into the next book, I could be wrong but I love how Ms. Daley hints at something and then it appears in another book as a story.
I love the characters, they are real and people I would love to hang around with.I definitely will continue on with this series.
Third Strike is the third book in the Writers Retreat Southern Seashore Mystery series. Trey is about to put Gull Island on the map, by being a draft hopeful. Suddenly without cause, he dies at the plate. There was some speculation to the cause, but this has become a cold case. No one is sure if it was murder or the consequence of poor decisions. Now the Gull island writer group has come together to review the clues and see if they can figure out which it was. I really enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it.
Fantastic. I read it in one sitting. The ending was a surprise. Would recommend all the writer’s retreat mysteries
“Third Strike: A Writer’s Retreat” earns 5/5 Walk-off Home Runs!
Jillian Hanford manages Turtle Cove Resort, a Writer’s Retreat on Gull Island, for her half brother, Garrett, who is dealing with several medical issues. She and seven other authors of varying ages and literary notoriety collaborate closely to explore and resolve a variety of cold case mysteries that often, well always, involve suspicious deaths. Alex Cole, a millennial who at twenty-two made his first million writing science fiction, has brought the group together; he is eager to write a book about Trey Alderman, a local baseball hero, who at the dawn of his dreams coming true dies of a heart attack. It is known he attended a big party the night before his death, and the ME reports Trey had a dangerous mixture of drugs in his system that linked with “extreme stress” could cause a heart attack. Enthusiastic to get on board with Alex’s investigation, the “Mystery Mastermind” group sets up an avenue of inquiry for their list of witnesses and suspects. Even this early in the investigation, it seems many have motives to ‘mess’ with Trey and upset his plans to be drafted #1…but murder?
“Third Strike,” the third book in Kathi Daley’s Writer’s Retreat series, is a home run! The story is an engaging page turner with Kathi’s signature clever twists that fans enjoy: Women scorned? Teammates’ jealousies? Promises broken? Friendships blossom? All leading to a “Wow, I didn’t see that coming!” ending. She starts with a clever gathering of the writers to set up the details of the cold case and background into the witness and suspects, so newbies can start with this book and not feel out of the loop. For us fans, we see the continued evolution of ‘family’ as these writing sleuths interact, interrupt, and include their own opinions no matter who has taken the lead. It’s always fun to pop in and see how Blackbeard the bird’s squawking and Gertie’s ghost Mortie’s pronouncements add to the final conclusion. The small town nuances of Gull Island, renovations at the Turtle Cove resort, appearance of a new resident, contents of a mysterious metal box, and the romantic interactions between “Jackson and Jillian” play out delightfully in the background. This has become one of my ‘Top Ten’ series of the year!
In this 3rd book of the series Alex needs the writing groups help in finding out what happened to a young baseball player who died at the plate. Trey was an up and coming player who was headed for the major league until he died of a heart attack while playing for his college’s team. Alex wants to write a book about the young mans life and thinks that he was given a cocktail of drugs that caused his death not a preexisting condition. With a ton of suspects to choose from the gang gets started on finding out what happened on that faithful day. Could it have been his ex-girlfriend, or was it his new one that he was getting ready to dump? Was it his high school coach that helped him succeed or his nerdy friend from high school? The options are many and the group must figure out who actually had it out for Trey or did he take the drugs on his own. Kathi delivers a wonderfully written mystery that will keep you guessing the whole way through. I read the book in one sitting because I couldn’t wait to figure out what really happened and was totally surprised. I also loved the addition of another mystery that leads you into the next book. I’m excited to find out what is going on there and if the group will be able to solve it.