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Rating: 
Summary: A quick, quaint read
Review: The first installment of the Mickey Rawlings series leaves you hoping that both the hero and the character will mature as things progress. "Murder at Fenway Park" is linear, neat little bit of amatuer sleuth fiction, but nothing spectacular. The writing and the plot are a little too flat.The little bits of baseball history that are threaded through the book are very nice, but the descriptions of the character playing in the games become very tedious and really do nothing to move the story along. They're the sort of descriptions that you'll find in the sports section of any newspaper during the summer. For someone who is clearly passionate about the game of baseball, Soos descriptions of play are surprisingly mundane. And in spite of the book's historical setting, the day-to-day events of the era seem to be dropped in for effect, rather than interwoven into the fabric of the story. And our hero Mickey seems to have quite a few anachronistic notions about forensic evidence for a boy who grew up in rural New Jersey at the turn of the century. These will come across as patently absurd to fans of historical mysteries. Still, there's a simple charm to the book that shows through, and the book leaves you wanting to give Soos one more chance. Maybe in the next installment the writing perks up and is a little less grade-school level. And maybe the descriptions of life around a baseball locker room are a little less G-rated and stilted. And maybe the plot isn't wrapped up so tidily at the end of the story. I'm rooting for Soos and his hero Rawlings to get better, because the premise of his series is so engaging. But if it keeps up like this, it's not going to cut it.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start to the series
Review: There is just the right mixture of baseball, mayhem, and 1921 events to make a fine book. The author's subsequent baseball mysteries are a little better, but this one certainly satisies. Of course, if you're not a baseball fan, this may leave you a little cold--no pun about death intended.
Rating: 
Summary: Charming start
Review: There is just the right mixture of baseball, mayhem, and 1921 events to make a fine book. The author's subsequent baseball mysteries are a little better, but this one certainly satisies. Of course, if you're not a baseball fan, this may leave you a little cold--no pun about death intended.
Rating: 
Summary: Magnificent
Review: This is one of the best novels I've read in my life! I bought it in New England, thinking that Soos must be a local writer. He captured the essence of New England at the turn of the century. Any serious baseball fan has to read this book while on a trip to Boston (which must, of course, include a trip to Fenway!) Bravo, Mr. Soos!
Rating:
Summary: Slow start to the series
Review: This was the second Mickey Rawlings book I read and I thought the "Cincinnati Red Stalkings" was much better. I thought that the characters in "Murder at Fenway Park" were not very well-developed or differentiated from each other. I also thought that most of the middle of the book consisted of Mickey going from here to there without advancing the plot or doing much detecting. I look forward to reading the other books in the series but don't recommend this one.
Rating:
Summary: A home run
Review: Troy Soos has started a wonderful series with this first installment of the Mickey Rawlings mysteries. The combination of the early 1900s time period, the freshness of a young kid new to the big leagues, and a murder intertwined with baseball is great. It is an easy and quick read. The setting plays a big part of the appeal of this mystery novel--which Soos masterfully creates. The mystery/plot is believable and does keep the reader in suspense. I eagerly await each installment of this series. Soos writing seems to get progressively better.
Rating:
Summary: A home run
Review: Troy Soos has started a wonderful series with this first installment of the Mickey Rawlings mysteries. The combination of the early 1900s time period, the freshness of a young kid new to the big leagues, and a murder intertwined with baseball is great. It is an easy and quick read. The setting plays a big part of the appeal of this mystery novel--which Soos masterfully creates. The mystery/plot is believable and does keep the reader in suspense. I eagerly await each installment of this series. Soos writing seems to get progressively better.
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