This is quite the page-turner! And despite the blurbs, it's really not all about pro baseball.

It's a procedural: it starts just before the murder takes place, and it tracks the investigation, the trial and more.

The characters are well-drawn and make emotional sense. The plot is twisty -- and i won't get more into that because of spoilers! -- but plausible and well-crafted.

The mood throughout is somewhat low-key, and for me, that added to the experience. Plus, I really liked that all the characters have clear motivations; that makes the plot twists feel more realistic.

This is apparently Kirby's first novel, but it does not read like a first novel, since it misses many of the awkward elements that most first novels contain. This is a polished work.

Mostly these days, novels do not keep me up and reading when I ought to be sleeping. This one did. Kudos!