Court Trouble

May 23, 2016
Set in Boulder, Colo., this solid series launch from Befeler (Murder on the Switzerland Trail) introduces an unlikely amateur sleuth, platform tennis buff Mark Yeager. Mark, who has recently recovered from cancer surgery, spots his friend Manny Grimes enter an adjoining court one night and get into an argument with the four men already there. Then all the lights go out. When the lights come back on, Manny is lying dead on the court with a gash in his head. Mark, who feels he owes Manny for persuading him to go to the doctor in the first place, resolves to find Manny’s killer. As he digs into his friend’s past, Mark discovers that Manny was involved with some highly unsavory characters. Mark’s wife, his friends, and the police warn him to back off when the attempts on his life begin. But Mark, possessed by a “drive to be alive” again, won’t quit until he catches the culprit. Readers will look forward to seeing more of this determined tennis enthusiast and cancer survivor.

July 1, 2016

One evening platform tennis buff and cancer survivor Mark Yeager spots his friend Manny Grimes in an argument with four men playing on the court next to Mark's. The power goes out for a short time, and when the lights come back on Manny is found bludgeoned to death. Mark is driven to investigate, at least partly because Manny had urged Mark to see a doctor when he began exhibiting symptoms, potentially saving Mark's life. In probing the murder, Mark unearths a number of unsavory facts and nearly ends up a victim himself. As Mark and his wife try to recover from his cancer scare, his strong relationships with his friends will play an important role. VERDICT The author of the "Paul Jacobson Geezer-Lit" mysteries and Murder on the Switzerland Trail introduces a very relatable amateur sleuth in this character-driven series launch.

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