Published by RB Media Genres: Fiction, Mystery, thriller
Format: ARC, Audiobook
College football, pay offs, and an FBI investigation are the name of the game in Mississippi Blue 42. Eli Cranor is a former professional football player and wrote what he knows with his latest book. He writes the plays, the ins, and the outs of football! He also writes about the money behind some plays and how far fans and others who affect recruiting and game outcomes by supplying players with bags full of money.
Special Agent Rae Johnson knows football. One might say it is in her blood. Her father is a “national-championship-winning college coach.” When she is chosen to investigate the bags of money delivered to players in Compson, Mississippi by ‘bagmen’, she dives right in! She begins her investigation by interviewing various people ranging from player, gridiron girls, local politicians, and even the coaches themselves. I enjoyed the parts where she wondered about her own father in terms of what he might know and wondering if he was ever influenced by others in terms of outcomes of games.
I had high hopes for this book as I have loved the previous books which I have read by Eli Cranor. I missed the rawness and grittiness of his previous books. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book. I have a feeling that American Football fans might enjoy this book more than I did. I can’t fault Eli Cranor’s writing – it’s top notch as always. Some of the football plays and lingo were lost on me. I did enjoy the connection that Rae had to the college football world. She knows the game inside and out which helped her gain the trust of those with whom she spoke. I did find myself wanting more of her background and wanted some scenes with her father.
Even though this book didn’t completely win me over, I did enjoy the investigative work. I found this book to be thought provoking and found myself wondering how often pay offs and thrown games take place in sports.
While I didn’t love this book as much as I have enjoyed his previous books, I still enjoyed this one. As with his previous books, this book does tackle some tough subjects such a competition, racism, power, poverty, and coercion. It has a good mystery, and the narrator of the audiobook did a fine job.
Thank you to RBmedia | Recorded Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
