cover image Baseball Cat

Baseball Cat

Garrison Allen, Allen Garrison. Kensington Publishing Corporation, $18.95 (320pp) ISBN 978-1-57566-183-4

Welcome to Empty Creek, Ariz., home to some of the state's shapeliest women, the Coyotes minor-league baseball team and the detecting duo of Penelope Warren and her feline partner, Big Mike (Stable Cat, etc.). Before the Coyotes' opening game, the body of managing general partner Peter Adcock is discovered in the visitor's dugout, his skull apparently having been used for batting practice. Enter mystery bookstore owner Penelope with Big Mike in tow to aid Empty Creek's finest, headed by her sister's boyfriend, Police Chief Dutch Fowler. There are hidden clues in the womanizing Adcock's past. The Coyotes' seemingly endless losing streak parallels the frustrations in the investigation as Empty Creek anticipates that first win and the solution to the crime. Allen's prose flows freely and there is only one major flaw: the Coyotes finally claim a victory, but the runs don't add up to a triumph. In a zany, but satisfying, ending, Big Mike literally tangles with the murderer; the women of Empty Creek, including Penelope, pose nude for a town calendar; and the Coyotes have a winning season. As usual, Allen tells a witty, entertaining tale that doesn't take itself seriously. (July)