A Difficult Trade: The Baseball Mystery

by Sam Leonard

With no offers to buy his defending World Series Champion baseball team, business magnate Harry Hvide orders his people to drastically slash payroll. Their plan is predicated on trading superstar... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1885003633
• ISBN13: 9781885003638
• Release Date: January 2010
• Publisher: Robert Reed Publishers
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Baseball at its best!

Looks like it doesn't have to be spring to enjoy baseball! The best mystery novel I have read this decade!

For the dedicated mystery buff and the ardent baseball fan

In A Difficult Trade: The Baseball Mystery, author Sam Leonard spins a complex tale of greed, arrogance, desperation, and good detective work when the owner of National League's Florida Sailfish orders drastic cuts on the ball club, including Dick Johnson, a home-run-hitting outfielder with a sixty-six million dollar contract and a no-trade clause. Johnson is shot outside a Miami strip club. Enter Miami Police Department detective Stanley Starfish whose investigation results in confronting some of the most powerful personalities in South Florida, and a plot of twists and turns leading to an ending that is as satisfying as it is surprising. A Difficult Time is a first class treat for the dedicated mystery buff and the ardent baseball fan!

Praise from Publisher's Weekly

"This debut novel is a gripping blend of high-stakes sports and lethal mystery. With a plot taken right off Miami's sports pages, [The author, Sam Leonard] spins a complex web of greed, arrogance, desperation and good detective work as the defending World Series champions, the National League's Florida Sailfish, take some extreme measures to trim their lineup and cut salaries. The team owner, Harry Hvide, is a stand-up guy who earned billions hauling garbage and renting videos, but now he is saddled with an overpriced baseball team that loses money every year. To sell the team, Harry must get rid of Dick "Don't Call Me Rictchie" Johnson, a home-run-hitting outfielder with a $66 million contract and a no-trade clause. Johnson is also a whining, prima donna with no loyalty or morals, and is enthusiastically hated by management, coaches, teammates and fans. Greg Barrett, an associate of Harry, comes up with a private plan to put Johnson on the disabled list permanently, but he is not the only one with a reason to want Johnson tagged out. Enter Stanley Starfish, a brilliant, tenacious detective who looks like a choirboy, which is why everyone foolishly underestimates him. However, no one's plan works out as expected, and the twists and turns provide some delightful surprises. [Leonard] writes like a baseball insider, with intimate knowledge of team financing, trade and contract negotiations, player-management relations and the not-always-admirable personalities of the players. From the boardroom to the locker-room, and from Miami's South Beach to Little Havana, this is a superb sports yarn with a line-drive pace and a colorful scorecard of pampered athletes and nervous executives. (Nov. 2000) Forecast: [The author] has a good thing going here, with his double appeal to sports buffs and suspense novel aficionados. If the publisher and booksellers capitalize on the book's dual market, it could slug a few home runs. Its appearance after the end of the baseball season will present a challenge, but will also make it a good sell to those looking for something in the field to fill the time until spring."Publisher's Weekly, September 25, 2000