From Publishers Weekly
The hardest thing to keep straight at the start of Nighbert's excellent third Bull Cochran mystery (following Squeezeplay) are the names of its lead characters, all brothers: Dewey, Duncan, Donald and Darrell Flanagan. Soon it's easy to tell them apart: Dewey's crazy, Duncan acts guilty, Darrell gambles too much and Donald's sick. Donald is also the father of Det. Sgt. Molly Flanagan of the Galveston PD, who is visiting her family in Knoxville, Tenn., with her boyfriend, ex-pitcher and mystery writer Cochran. The Flanagan brothers disagree about a buyout offer recently made for the family corporation. Dewey, who runs the business and is opposed, is institutionalized for attacking Darrell; soon Dewey's out of the picture, and the sale looks likely. But Bull's poking around reveals evidence of blackmail and a long-buried family secret-reason enough to cause Dewey's death and to endanger the rest of the family, including Molly. Red herrings abound in this sea of family intrigue, which also offers well-developed characters and a rousing climax. All in all, an adroitly crafted series entry, written with care and attention to character, plot and setting.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
William "Bull" Cochran had a cup of coffee in the major leagues and is the only pitcher since Carl Mays to kill a man with a pitch. It follows him around, but he's learned to cope. Now he's a writer and reluctant sleuth. His significant other, Molly Flanagan, a Texas police detective, is called home to help the family in Tennessee. It seems Uncle Dewey, who runs the family business, has had a nervous breakdown. He took a couple of pot shots at one of his brothers and was locked up by the police. From there it's off to a nursing home, where he's heavily sedated day and night. Then, just prior to a visit from Molly and Bull, he commits suicide by slashing his wrists with a plastic knife. Tragedy follows tragedy when Molly's father, Donald, is killed. The investigation leads Molly and Bull into the usual southern gothic family morass of illegitimacy, homosexuality, greed, blackmail, envy, and lust. Sort of like
All My Children but with guns. The third Bull Cochran mystery is an entertaining if unspectacular read.
Wes Lukowsky
