A Rain Of Death

by John Logue

INVITATION TO MURDER It's January '74. Nicklaus wishes he were home with the kids. Weiskopf is ready to make a charge, and so is a bell-bottomed blond named Miller. In the world of golf and the realm... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440223970
• ISBN13: 9780440223979
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Dell
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.0" x 0.8" x 4.5"

Customer Reviews

Windy, rainy, Pebble Beach; golf and -- murder!

If you like golf, you'll like this book. If you like to readwell-written mysteries, you'll like this book. If you like books thatdrop names of famous persons all over the place, you'll like this book.All in all, it's almost totally satisfying, even to this non-golfer, and who doesn't even watch it on TV! Although I do read about it in the daily paper. Because what I do like is reading. On almost any topic, as long as the book is well-written, craftily plotted, with some wit and characters I wish I could meet, in person. There are a couple of small and annoying editorial glitches, plus one habitual trick that I almost wish the author would have left out. Set during the Crosby Pro-Am Golf Tournament at Pebble Beach in January, 1974, the author, AP golf writer John Logue, continually writes " . . . would in future years . . " or " . . . would win this tournament (or some other one.)" It's nice to know what would happen in years to come, but it might have been better had he made it contemporary, and looked back, rather than all that looking into the future.That's a minor niggle, though. Much can be forgiven for writing of this high quality; there is a serenely poetical walk-through of each of the holes of this famous course, carved as it is out of cliffs and ocean, and exceedingly vulnerable to the whims of Mother Nature. On its own, this chapter could send you heading for a travel bureau - or an instructor in golf, so you could experience it firsthand.Bing himself plays a minor role, finding himself in the hospital. His brother Larry, plus entertainers Phil Harris and Clint Eastwood, rub shoulders with all sorts of major golfers of the time (and earlier) - Nicklaus, Weiskopf, Bolt, Strange, Snead, Hogan - who wander through the pages along with the eventual winner of the rain-shortened tourney - Johnny Miller.This is the fourth of a series about golf writer John Morris and his lady, Julia Sullivan. I'd not read any of the previous ones, but this one sent me to my library for the first one - FOLLOW THE LEADER, from 1979.

A good mystery and a fun read

John Morris, the 1974 Associated Press sports reporter, is on the way to the Bing Crosby Pr-Am tournament accompanied by his long term companion Julia Sullivan. Both look forward to the event and a chance to renew old friendships. The Crosby is an invitational only tournament, consisting of the crooner, his friends, pro golfers, and Hollywood celebrities. It is also a time when old resentments rise to the surface, manifesting in fisticuffs between two senior citizens. Morris breaks up the combatants before anyone is hurt, but moments later one of the fighters begins to foam at the mouth and ultimately dies. While trying to revive the man, Morris smells almonds on his breath, leading him to suspect cyanide poisoning. The subsequent autopsy confirms Morris' suspicions. Morris and Julia decide to help their good friend, the local sheriff, on his investigation. When the second combatant turns up dead, a victim of cyanide poisoning also, the sleuths realize a killer is on the rampage and needs to be stopped. Fans of golf, historiography, and amateur sleuths will want to follow the latest escapades of Morris and Sullivan. Though 25 years have passed since the events described in A RAIN OF DEATH took place, readers will be shocked at how much the world has changed. Through his two protagonists, John Loque has captured the essence of the early seventies. The story line and the two likable lead characters make this novel enjoyable for non-golf buffs, but it is the fan of the hole in one who will devour this birdie. Harriet Klausner