Sore Loser: A Mickey Donovan Mystery [Hardcover]

Mike Mcalary (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 1998

For tennis star Ginny Glade, life just got a little worse -- her baseball-playing ex-husband clinched the World Series and a bratty fifteen-year-old beat her in a tiebreaker. But Ginny's problems are only beginning because one of her biggest fans is fast becoming a notorious murderer by taking the cry of "Kill the ump!" to a deadly new level.

Mickey Donovan, a veteran NYPD inspector, has his own problems, too: an egomaniacal mayor and police commissioner pulling at him from both ends, a daughter whose nasty little habit could derail his career, and now a psycho who isn't picky about a favorite sport when knocking off the refs and umpires after a game. As the sparks begin to fly between the cop and the tennis star, each realizes the other is holding something back, something that can save them from the "sore loser." McAlary's page-turning debut mystery introduces Inspector Mickey Donovan and a great voice in mystery writing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bedecked with humor, shiv-sharp dialogue and a surfeit of urban lore, this surreal fiction debut from New York Daily News columnist McAlary (Good Cop, Bad Cop) crackles from the first page. NYPD inspector Mickey Donovan, aka "The Wraith," walks the city streets trying to find his junkie daughter, Dillon. Professional tennis player Ginny Glade gets a bad line call in a tournament final and beans the umpire in a parking lot with a tire iron. A seemingly random gunshot fired from a passing train kills a female baseball umpire, and Ginny's murderous feelings escalate when her ex-husband hits an unlikely home run during a World Series game. Then another bad call leads to another uniformed stiff. While Ginny seems a good suspect for one or more of the killings, she soon becomes an unlikely mother figure for Dillon, who's driving Donovan to distraction. Umpires keep on dying and an endlessly scheming mayor calls for an arrest. Worse, professional sports lose some of their luster as fearful referees and umpires hesitate to make the good call, settling instead for the safe one. Meanwhile, Mickey falls for Ginny and she responds in kind?but she has also drawn the attention of a murderer. McAlary favors a style somewhere between Jimmy Breslin and veteran crime writer Jerome Charyn, allowing him to seem at once wonderfully well-informed and spectacularly inventive. His dialogue is slick and assured and he takes chances seldom seen in a debut mystery, launching a series to watch and, hopefully, to cherish.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

From the famed New York Daily News columnist: the fan of a big tennis star is after the umpire's blood.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow (October 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068815610X
• ISBN-13: 978-0688156107
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,867,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great mystery series that pays homage to all NYC boroughs, October 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sore Loser: A Mickey Donovan Mystery (Hardcover)

NYPD Deputy Inspector Mickey "The Wraith" Donovan is working a weird serial killer case. A deranged individual is personally implementing the phrase "kill the umpire" and it is not a William Bendix movie. The first casualty was murdered just after umpiring a softball game near Yankee Stadium. The next victim was murdered just after blowing a tennis call that cost Ginny Glade a victory in a professional tournament. Ginny's former spouse is actually the recipient of a bad call that turns him into the World Series hero. The ump who blew the call was blown away.

The media hangs Ginny since she is the link to at least two of the higher profile incidents. Mike believes that Ginny is innocent and begins a city-wide investigation even as he has to deal with personal problems, mostly caused by his rebellious daughter. An attraction springs up between Ginny and Mike, but before he can fully pursue his feelings, the law enforcement official has to find a killer to bring to justice.

"There's a hold-up in the Bronx; Brooklyn's broken out in fights ...". This little ditty is what comes to mind as Mike runs all over the city bringing the totality of the "Big Apple" to life. That is the core of this exciting novel. Though the characters are well written and the story line moves at a blistering pace, Mike McAlary pays homage to the boroughs, which turns SORE LOSER into a big winner.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sore Loser's a winner, October 5, 1999

By 

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This review is from: Sore Loser: A Mickey Donovan Mystery (Hardcover)

As a writer and avid reader of mysteries/thrillers, I just want to say I thoroughly enjoyed this start to what I hope will be a successful new series. I loved the characters and the way they interacted, especially the father/daughter exchanges and the mystery itself was fun and delightfully twisted. I will be looking forward to the "Wraith's" next adventure.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sore Loser?, August 5, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Sore Loser: A Mickey Donovan Mystery (Hardcover)

Oh, my...the BOOK is the sore loser itself. I really foundthis a dull read, blah blah blah blah blah. And blah blah blah blahand blah! Yes, that boring. I cannot stand the writing, the layout wasn't a beauty either.