Thanks to computer problems, I'm re-posting a "classic" FFB, which I thought might be appropriate considering it's "March Madness" time.
In 2006, Otto Penzler released the
anthology Murder at the Foul Line, with stories contributed by a
Who's Who of crime fiction: Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, Sue
DeNymme, Brendan DuBois, Parnell Hall, Laurie R. King, Mike Lupica,
Michael Malone, Joan H. Parker and Robert B. Parker, George Pelecanos,
R. D. Rosen, S. J. Rozan, Justin Scott and Stephen Solomita.
Michael
Malone's winningly deadpan "White Trash Noir," about domestic violence
from a former NCAA star that seemingly drives his wife to murder, was
nominated for the 2007 Edgar Award for best short story, but had to be
withdrawn because it had been previously published in a collection by
the author. There are other winners, though: Lawrence Block's hitman
character Keller takes in a Pacers game in "Keller's Double Dribble,"
but the assignment doesn't go as planned and we get glimpses into
Keller's past; "String Music" by George Pelecanos focuses on a
streetwise D.C. kid trying to escape his troubled life by playing pickup
basketball; Laurie R. King's "Cat's Paw" features the coach of a girl's
junior high basketball team who is haunted by repressed memories and
whose life is shaken up after she runs over a cat; and Jeffery Deaver's
"Nothing But Net" is filled with Deaver's trademark twists and turns,
featuring con men trying to swindle a naive NBA player.
Penzler
would probably argue there's plenty more fodder for murderous takes on
professional basketball. As he notes in his Introduction, "Perhaps the
biggest difference in the game is the level of criminal activity. One of
the big crime stories of the 1950s was when some Manhattan College,
CCNY, and Long Island University players conspired to fix games so that
certain gamblers could make a killing. The scandal rocked the sport for
years, and those teams, then national powers, never recovered. Today, of
course, that would be looked upon as kid stuff. Now we're really
talking. Stars are commonly arrested for drug abuse, drunk driving, wife
(and girlfriend) battering, barroom brawling, rape, and so many other
acts of violence and criminality that it is difficult to keep track."
Murder at the Foul Line is the fifth installment in Penzler's sports mystery anthology series, so if you're not a fan of basketball, instead try Murderer's Row (baseball), Murder on the Ropes (boxing), Murder is My Racquet (tennis) and Sudden Death
(football). I should point out that these books were published by the
defunct New Millennium publishing arm, and that Penzler successfully
sued the company claiming breach of contract. It's an unfortunate
conclusion to what was originally an intriguing collaboration, but that
doesn't change the fact the stories still stand on their own, with many
sparkling three-pointers among them.
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