Grand Slam: Boys of Summer, Book 3

Readers who don’t object to the premise of McLaughlin’s third Boys of Summer baseball contemporary (after Home Run) will enjoy its handling of thorny legal and ethical conflicts. The Boston Renegades are shocked when left fielder Travis Kidd, who’s known for being a playboy, is accused of rape by a spurned fan named Blue. Travis’s publicist, single mother Saylor Blackwell, knows the story’s a fake: she was in the bar that night, reeling after a threatening letter from her ex, and heard Blue’s threat to damage Travis’s reputation after he rejected her advances. If Saylor comes forward, she will admit to violating her probation for drunk driving two years earlier, and could go to jail and lose custody of her daughter; if she admits that she and Travis had a one-night stand, she might lose her job because of her boss’s strict anti-fraternization rules. Still, can she let Travis be convicted of a crime he didn’t commit? Saylor fights her attraction to Travis but finally caves in—and is immediately charmed by his ease with five-year-old Lucy, not to mention his sense of humor and genuine caring for others. When other women make baseless accusations against Travis and Saylor’s ex tries to get custody of Lucy, the obstacles to happiness seem insurmountable. McLaughlin is careful not to downplay actual assault or imply that false rape claims are common, but the focus on them may nevertheless put some readers off. A first-rate cast of secondary characters bolsters this tale of how lies can destroy lives. Agent: Marisa Corvisiero, Corvisiero Literary. (Aug.)