Murder in the Rough: Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps from Today's Great Writers [Hardcover]

Otto Penzler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2006

Lawrence Block, Simon Brett, Ken Bruen, Christopher Coake, Stephen Collins, Tom Franklin, Jonathan Gash, Steve Hamilton, H.R.F. Keating, Laura Lippman, Bradford Morrow, Ian Rankin, John Sandford, William G. Tapply, and John Westermann, along with introductory comments by Otto Penzler, deliver up an ace anthology of original short stories that mix murder and mystery on the fairway. This collection is sure to appeal to sports fans and those eager to read stories by the most celebrated authors in the mystery genre.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Penzler, the mystery genre's jack-of-all-trades (editor, publisher, bookseller), showcases golf in this enjoyable all-original anthology, the fourth entry in his sports crime series (Murder at the Racetrack, etc.). Authors who would qualify for the senior tour turn in some of the best performances, including Lawrence Block's wry "Welcome to the Real World" and Jonathan Gash's "Death by Golf," in which Lovejoy performs an uncharacteristic good deed. Also on the senior circuit are H.R.F. Keating, who reaches back to golf's beginnings in "Miss Unwin Plays by the Rules," and William Tapply, who spins the best caddy story in "Unplayable Lies." Ken Bruen's brutal "Spittin Iron" and Ian Rankin's "Graduation Day," which features a very tricky shot, add an international flavor, while Laura Lippman, sole distaff member, offers the clever "A Good **** Spoiled." Other contributors include Steve Hamilton, Bradford Morrow, John Sandford and Simon Brett. There are a few hooks and slices, but just about everyone breaks par. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Too often authors of crime stories rely on bodies buried in bunkers (there's not enough sand) or on wily caddies exposing the pomposities of country-club fat cats (way too easy). Penzler, who has made a cottage industry out of sports-themed mystery anthologies, doesn't totally avoid these hazards, but the original stories he has commissioned for this volume have one big thing going for them: the writers are all top drawer, from Ian Rankin and Ken Bruen, on the hard-boiled side, to Jonathan Gash and William G. Tapply, on the more relaxed, over-easy side. But these stories all have an edge, often using our stereotypical images of golf to help create it. Bruen does it best, in a story that begins, "I hate fuckin' golf," and then proceeds to explain why. Lawrence Block isn't far behind, in "Welcome to the Real World," in which a retired executive, happy to hit balls at Chelsea Piers Driving Range in Manhattan, is forced onto a real course. For golf and crime fans, Penzler's exhaustive bibliography of golf mysteries is almost as much of a treat as the stories. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Mysterious Press; 1ST edition (June 21, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892960175
• ISBN-13: 978-0892960170
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,236,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good, Wicked Fun!, July 20, 2006

By 

G. A. McKevett (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in the Rough: Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps from Today's Great Writers (Hardcover)

When you assemble a group of the world's foremost writers of any genre, you're bound to have a winner, and Otto Penzler has one in Murder in the Rough. Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master, Lawrence Block, shows the dangers of routing a curmudgeon out of his rut in "Welcome to the Real World." Pulitzer Prize winner, John Sandford gives us a glimpse inside the head of a highly determined young woman who redefines "goal oriented" with his "Lucy Had a List." Ken Bruen's "Spittin Iron" is a tad dark, even for my morbid taste. "The Man Who Didn't Play Golf" by Simon Brett will amuse golf widows. (Buy your golfer hubby the book and stick the bookmark there.)
But my personal favorite is "The Secret" by John Westermann. Former cop, turned author, Westermann is known for his comic novels about the seedy side of law enforcement on Long Island. The chuckle-per-paragraph, the quirky characters, and the quality of Westermann's writing will delight the non-golfer, as well as the fairway-obsessed.
In his story, the membership of the luxurious, expensive Le Club Fantastique consists of "the normally deplored" nouveau riche of the Hampton set, "...dot com billionaires...and a Pakistani newsstand operator who won Powerball," who "pay dearly to feel good about themselves." And while these wildly wealthy outcasts are impressing themselves on a course built for ease, bragging about their new-found fortunes, swilling booze, and swapping wives, one of their least illustrious members goes missing. He turns up, of course, in the...well...you'll see. And laugh.
Told from the point of view of an assistant pro named Jay, who is up to no good himself, the story moves quickly and keeps you guessing. Oh...and the "Secret?" The one tip that pros take to their graves, the one that will change your game forever? Well, I ain't tellin'. This story alone is worth the price of the book.
G.A. McKevett
(author of the Savannah Reid Mysteries)

4.0 out of 5 stars Better'n average book of short stories, March 4, 2010

By 

Holey Moley "birder" (colorado) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Murder in the Rough: Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps from Today's Great Writers (Paperback)

Nice relaxing read - like short stories, you can put them down a lot. This batch was a good selection, and I liked nearly all of them.

1.0 out of 5 stars Not for real golfers, January 10, 2010

By 

Sports Reader - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder in the Rough: Original Tales of Bad Shots, Terrible Lies, and Other Deadly Handicaps from Today's Great Writers (Hardcover)

I spent a dollar on this at Borders and I wish I could get my money back. It is full of over-used golf sayings that are funny the first time you hear them, but if you're a golfer who has played for a while, you've probably heard them a thousand times. The stories either lacked plot or ended abruptly. It's like these authors didn't know how to write a short story. The stories that setup the plot well and described things fully, ended quickly. It felt like the editor gave them a certain number of pages they could write and they shoe-horned a story into it.

If you want a good book about mystery and golf, this isn't it. I would stick to the true story books and enjoy the 'stories' that actually happened over the years in this great game of golf. If you want a book of short story mysteries, there are much better ones out there, but they aren't centered around golf.