cover image Splattered Blood

Splattered Blood

Michael A. Draper. Vantage (www.vantagepress.com), $14.95 paper (318p) ISBN 978-0-533-16469-1

Draper stretches plausibility beyond its tensile strength in this contemporary whodunit set against the world of professional basketball. Insurance agent Randy Larkin turns gumshoe after the suspicious suicide of his friend and client Johnny Kelly. Kelly, a former state trooper, recently started a new job as chief of internal security for the National Basketball Association's New England Highlanders, and his widow, Roseanne, refuses to believe that her husband killed himself. Larkin%E2%80%94along with Roseanne and her brother, Graham%E2%80%94decide to advance the sluggish official investigation, but soon find themselves mixed up with brutal drug dealers and out of their depths. Despite unintentionally causing more bloodshed, the trio plunges ahead, moving the case forward in ways that aren't particularly convincing. Undeveloped characters and a sometimes silly plot don't help.