Rum Point: A Baseball Novel [Paperback]

Rick Wilber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 14, 2009

Set on the gulf coast of Florida and the Cayman Islands, this novel provides a unique blend of modern mystery thriller and baseball narrative. It tells the story of Felicity Lindsay, a small-town police officer who finds a battered murder victim on the beach. Her curiosity about the crime eventually leads Felicity and her father, the alcoholic manager of the local major-league baseball team, into a deadly confrontation with a drug cartel.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"(Rick) Wilber has the kind of voice that makes the writing transparent, in that the reader connects directly with characters and emotions. His vibrant sense of wonderful locales is that much gravy." --Tim Dorsey, author of Nuclear Jellyfish

"Rick Wilber is the sort of writer lots of us like to turn to at the end of a long day: relaxed, inventive, knowledgeable, good-humored, and honest right down to the core. This man tells you the truth, a quality that may be unsettling sometimes, but is never less than absolutely refreshing. Wilber knows how to do justice to the nuances of a complex story, and he deserves a huge readership." --Peter Straub, author of Lost Boy, Lost Girl

"Set in hometown St. Petersburg and the Cayman Islands, Rick Wilber's Rum Point is a taut thriller/mystery in which a brave young woman cop and her baseball manager father battle to stop a violent pair of CIA types from building a drug-smuggling empire. The characters are compelling, the plot intricate, and Wilber even tosses a little baseball into the mix. Don't miss it." --Peter Golenbock, author of George: The Poor Little Rich Boy Who Built the Yankee Empire.

"Wilber will exhilarate, startle, and dazzle you." --Michael Bishop, award-winning author of the baseball fantasy, Brittle Innings

"With Rum Point, Rick Wilber has given us a police thriller with an intriguing heroine, a likable TV evangelist, and a rousing mix of curves and fastballs." --Jack McDevitt, award-winning author of Time Travelers Never Die

About the Author

Rick Wilber is a journalism professor at the University of South Florida. He lives in South Pasadena, Florida.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: McFarland; 1 edition (December 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786445378
• ISBN-13: 978-0786445370
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,401,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent novel, baseball and murder!, May 12, 2011

By 

jeff mitchell (Orlando, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rum Point: A Baseball Novel (Paperback)

I will start by saying that I am a friend of Rick and could be considered biased. That out of the way I will say I am not biased when I say this is an excellent novel. The subtitle say, "A baseball novel" but it is real a baseball novel and a murder mystery. A guy comes ashore in Florida, and is murdered for a flash drive he has. The murderer doesn't find the flash drive. A female cop finds the body, and starts investigating. Her father is the manager of the baseball team. There is a memory challenged television reverend who owns the baseball team. One of the bad guys works for the reverend. The plot is good, and builds quickly, More murders, attempted murders, and shenanigans galore. I read a lot of murder mysteries and science fiction. This was one of those that I started reading on the airplane and didn't want to put down. By the end of the book, I couldn't put it down. That doesn't happen to me very often. Baseball, murder, Florida, the Cayman Islands, sea turtles--it has everything. Hope you enjoy it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Loved this bookl! Very good thriller and not a total "Baseball Novel", January 13, 2012

By 

J S Peterson - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rum Point: A Baseball Novel (Paperback)

Let me preface my review by saying that this is not a pure baseball book anymore than the 'Art of Fielding' is a total baseball book. Baseball is a large part of the story but, as the Amazon description of the book indicates, it is "a unique blend of modern mystery thriller and baseball narrative." I suspect the publisher put the tag "A Baseball Novel" under the title. Apparently the Amazon description escaped some reviewers who were expecting "Eight Men Out."
Residents of the Tampa Bay area will love the real and fictional locales, cuisines and watering holes. The baseball angle is hard to beat. (Self disclosure) I played against Mr. Wilber in the old Men's Senior Baseball League which gets a nice nod in this book and his father played for the St. Louis Cardinals so his passion and knowledge of baseball are honest and spot on. He knows what he's talking about. If you played the game at any level or are a fan of the game, I respectfully submit that you'll enjoy the baseball part and the book as a whole. Non-Floridians should know that the author captures the 'feel' of the Tampa Bay area very well. Mystery fans will not be distracted by the baseball.
I've recommended this book to many non-baseball people and they all told me they enjoyed the book for it's murder mystery angle. It IS a mystery thriller.
In closing, I read this book when it first came out as I tend to support local authors and long enjoyed the fiction the author wrote for the Tampa Tribune. Clearly, he's no longer a 'local' author except geographically. This book is ready for prime time.
While checking to see if the book was in-stock for a friend I saw a couple of negative reviews that peaked my curiosity. In researching one reviewer's 'reviews,' they appear to be a professional 'negative' reviewer on all products. I'm not saying this book is immune to a negatve review and no book is 'everyone's cup of tea' but I do like to see the credentials of a reviewer (this is my first, ever).
Spring Training starts here in a couple of weeks. I highly recommend this book to get you in the baseball mood or to satisfy the need for a good thriller. Or, both...
'Rum Point' is good enough to be endorsed by Peter Straub and that's good enough for me. I recommend 'buy!'

1.0 out of 5 stars Started okay, but then I just didn't care....., January 9, 2012

By 

John Buehler (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rum Point: A Baseball Novel (Kindle Edition)

I thought this got off to a decent start. Then, it seems like the author got so caught up in creating an action-packed plot line that he forgot about making the book readable. About 2/3 of the way through, I realized I really didn't care what happened to the book's characters, and I just skimmed to the end to see how it wrapped up.