The Cincinnati Red Stalkings

A Mickey Rawlings Baseball Mystery

Troy Soos

Step up to the plate for a page-turning blend of baseball murder mystery and historical fiction — with a touch of rom-com. Set in 1920s Cincinnati, it features utility infielder and amateur sleuth Mickey Rawlings.

Our man Mickey — the heart of the Mickey Rawlings Mystery Series — is just what you want in a jazz age bloodhound: He has a dangerous habit of being too curious and is armed with more chutzpah than common sense. He’s a bad luck magnet, but his good nature rarely falters. He’s a champion of the downtrodden and damsels in distress. His role as a journeyman player ensures he has plenty of free time to nose around illicit goings-on, and, thanks to his low spot on the roster, he’s mostly invisible around the ballpark.

His career has taken him to Fenway Park to play with the Red Sox, to the old home of the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field, and to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. Now he’s arrived in Cincinnati to play for the Reds. He instantly strikes up a friendship with Oliver, who’s putting together an exhibit of memorabilia from the historic 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. Before you can say ‘buy me some peanuts and crackerjack,’ Oliver’s dead — murdered in his office among his trinkets.

Mickey does precisely what he must: He investigates the murder, even though assorted tough guys and pillars of the community — with more money than integrity — try to convince him otherwise. First with words, then with bullets.

He’s aided in his investigation by his girlfriend Margie, who has plenty of moxie, and a muckraking journalist who gives off Damon Runyon vibes. It’s all got the shimmer of a black-and-white film: a little screwball comedy, a little noir, a strong sense of time and place, and a whole lot of fun.

I cupped the baseball in my palm and gently ran the tip of my thumb over the scarlet stitches. Neatly lettered on the ball in dark red paint was: Cin’ti BB Club July 2, ‘69. The first all-professional team in baseball history: the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869. Lead by the legendary Wright brothers — manager Harry and shortstop George — that pioneering ball club traveled from coast to coast, taking on the top teams in the country and never suffering a single defeat. Their winning streak captured the fancy of the nation and helped popularize the young game. As a result, Cincinnati became to professional baseball what Kitty Hawk and those other Wright brothers were to aviation. I turned the ball slowly, studying the discolored leather. The stains could have been sweat from the hands of George Wright himself… particles of earth and grass from the fabled Union Grounds… maybe a shot or two of tobacco juice from pitcher Asa Brainard. It was as if a foul ball batted fifty-two years ago had just come down into my hands. I imagined myself sitting in the grandstand, watching the Red Stockings take their positions on the field. — Troy Soos

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