Dirty Water

FYI: This is the book written by my Aunt Mary-Ann and cousin Jere.

I just finished reading “Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery,” written by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, and her son Jere Smith. The story begins with an abandoned baby being found in the Red Sox clubhouse and quickly moves on to murder, corruption and kidnapping, all against the backdrop of the 2007 World Series. Two seemingly unrelated events ­– the baby and the story of a Dominican baseball player – are tied together by coincidence and the writings of a mysterious blogger, who often times has information well ahead of the police. The detective, Rocky Patel; his partner, Marty Flanagan; the Boston Police force; the FBI; the blogger, named Jay; and the Boston Red Sox all team up to tell the story, each delivering a piece of the puzzle along the way.

The narrative, written by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith, takes you up and down the streets of downtown Boston, in and around Fenway Park. She describes the area as well as, if not better than, most native Bostonians could. The story she weaves draws you in and makes putting the book down nearly impossible. Her characters come to life with rich backgrounds and descriptive dialog. (“If he keeps bitin’ his nails like he’s doin', he'll end up lookin' like Venus de Milo.”)

Every chapter ends with a blog post from Jay, written by Jere Smith, who writes the real-life Red Sox blog, A Red Sox Fan From Pinstripe Territory. Jay's blog mirrors Jere's real-life blog, with descriptive game details, witty observations and baseball facts that can only be gleaned from a person who has studied baseball hard enough to have a doctorate in the sport. Many of the fans and readers of a Red Sox Fan from Pinstripe Territory make a cameo appearance in the fictional blog, The Number One Place.

“Dirty Water: A Red Sox Mystery” is a great summer read for baseball fans and mystery lovers alike.

Click here to pre-order Dirty Water from Amazon.com.