Forced Out: A Novel [Hardcover]

Stephen Frey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 5, 2008

THREE MEN, THREE SECRETS, ONE CHANCE AT REDEMPTION. Sarasota, Florida: Jack Barrett is down on his luck. Forced to retire from his job as a scout for the New York Yankees under a cloud of scandal, he's just barely getting by in a small Florida town when his daughter drags him to watch the local team play a home game. And that's when everything changes. On the field he spots a remarkable player, Mikey Clemant, a kid whose amazing natural skill on the field is counter-balanced by a terrible attitude and inconsistent play. In Clemant, Jack thinks he might have found his ticket back to the big time. But Clemant has no interest in Jack's big plan -- he insists he just wants to live out his days playing Single A ball, living the life of a loner on a team that's going nowhere. Jack won't be so easily deterred. Queens, New York: Johnny Bondano is the premier hitman for the Luchessi crime family. Ruthless but with a strict moral code, he is given instructions to find and kill the man who allegedly was behind the wheel during a hit-and-run accident that took the life of the grandson of a family underboss.He suspects the family isn't telling him everything that happened the night the little boy was killed, but to question his orders is tantamount to suicide. As Jack, Mikey, and Johnny's destinies converge, loyalties will be tested and dreams will collide, with violent and unpredictable results. And on the green field of a small town baseball diamond, one man will have a last chance to find redemption.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Known for his financial thrillers, Frey (The Takeover) mixes baseball and crime in his less than compelling 15th novel. Arthritic, 63-year-old Jack Barrett, who lives with his grown daughter in Sarasota, Fla., where he bags groceries at a convenience store, wonders how he got sacked from his job as a respected scout for the New York Yankees and robbed of his pension. While watching a local minor league baseball game, Jack sees a player who just might be his ticket back to The Show: Mikey Clemants, a gifted centerfielder who displays his talents intermittently and doesn't seek or earn the approval of the fans or his teammates. Add to the mix Johnny Deuce Bondano, a Queens hit man hired to murder the guy who killed a Mafioso's grandson. Readers will enjoy unraveling the mysterious backstories of Barrett and Clemants, but a plethora of subplots and minor characters slow the main action. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Stephen Frey is a managing director at a private equity firm. He is the bestselling author of fourteen previous novels, including The Fourth Order, The Insider, and The Takeover. He lives in Florida.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Atria; 1st Atria Books Hardcover Ed edition (August 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416549633
• ISBN-13: 978-1416549635
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (199 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,092,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stephen Frey is a managing director at a private equity firm. He is the bestselling author of fourteen previous novels, including The Fourth Order, The Insider, and The Takeover. He lives in Florida.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Home Run, But Certainly Not A Strike Out, October 8, 2008

By 

K. Harris "Film aficionado" (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forced Out: A Novel (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

I know a lot of readers will approach "Forced Out" as a fan of Stephen Frey's more business and/or financial related thrillers. While I understand this represents a change of pace, I have not been a follower of Frey's previous work. Others will undoubtedly be drawn to the novel due to its baseball content--right down to the metaphorical title. I am, also, no great lover of baseball. So while others may have approached this novel with built-in expectations--I was a relatively blank slate. I was looking for a reasonably entertaining thriller, and that's what "Forced Out" is.

The book tells the story of two men on different paths. There's Jack Barrett, a former baseball scout fallen on hard times. Reaching his golden years, Jack struggles with a past that has betrayed him while simultaneously looking to discover something redemptive--something that would provide a better life for he and his devoted daughter. Then there's Johnny Bondano, a mob hitman set on a mission that is counterintuitive to the moral code that keeps him sane. Both men are drawn to a minor league baseball player (who may or not be a phenom) for different reasons--and this sets up a major collision.

The characters of "Forced Out," both major and minor, aren't particularly likable or relatable--but nevertheless, I was fascinated by their character flaws. The story kept me interested and it is a pretty fast read. I was positive I was on track to a "4 Star" review as I followed the entertaining plot to its inevitable confrontation. The problem, then? The build-up of the whole novel comes to a stunningly quick resolution that lacks the tension I was expecting. And missing this major play in the final inning (I'm no good at sports metaphors), the book sort of fizzles. And after a somewhat unsatisfactory climax, the wrap-up is cursory, bizarre and unbelievable at best. I really liked 90 percent of this book, but the last thirty pages were a major let down. I've stuck with less interesting reads, but it's really disappointing to read something enjoyable that so completely derails in the end. KGHarris, 10/08.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good book... until it goes completely off the rails!, September 5, 2008

By 

Brian Baker (Santa Clarita, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forced Out: A Novel (Hardcover)

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I was a little leery of reading this book as I'm not a sports fan and typically find the topic boring as reading subject matter. I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself becoming quite involved and engaged with the characters, and the Mafia aspect of the story as it came into play.

It moved briskly along as we followed the story of a Grumpy Old Man and his spinster daughter trying to get their lives together, and their chance intersection with a promising young baseball player in the farm leagues in Florida. Meanwhile, in New York, a Mafia hit man is ordered by his capo to find and kill the man who killed the capo's grandson in a traffic accident while trying to escape the clutches of a loan shark. The hit man comes to realize the assignment violates his own set of moral values, and that as marginal as those are, they're the only things that distinguish him from the other animals in his milieu. He's faced with his own moral crisis, and in trying to resolve it realizes his own life is in need of redemption.

Interesting stuff! I'm thinking 4 - 5 stars.

Then last night I hit the last 60 or so pages of this book, and it turned into a train wreck.

Characters started acting completely OUT of character. The hit man killed someone he'd previously saved, and the way it was portrayed in the book was incredibly incompetent technically. One of the important but peripheral characters completely and inexplicably disappeared entirely from the story. MANY rookie errors along those lines.

So now, unfortunately, it's only a 2-star effort.

At best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than I expected, September 18, 2008

By 

Guitar Man (Electric Ladyland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Forced Out: A Novel (Hardcover)

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I loved the way the characters worked with each other. Once the main story lines merged, the book became much more engaging. I'd recommend reading Forced Out...especially if you are a fan of the game of professional baseball, which serves as the backdrop for this story.