Football? FBI? Woman Taking Risks? and Southern! Dip Into MISSISSIPPI BLUE 42, by Eli Cranor

Eli Cranor moves toward the middle of the field, away from some of the gore and violence of Don't Know Tough, Ozark Dogs, and Broiler, to spin an entertaining crime novel in MISSISSIPPI BLUE 42, available August 5. 

Set, of course, in Mississippi, the plot tests how a college football team can excel and make it to the top tier -- when the money pushing it forward is unquestionably dirty. FBI rookie Rae Johnson, whose life as a top coach's daughter makes her a pro at analyzing the sport, doesn't yet have field experience in her new career. Six days of crawling through documents about team performance and the thriving success of its hometown hasn't thrilled her, but it's made her certain that no bunch of college players could possibly be as clean as the records show. No DWI? No speeding? No partner issues? Someone's cleaning things up.

Her partner Frank agrees. But unless they can find the threads to the man manipulating the situation, and fast, they'll have to wrap it all up and go back to the office.

Rae's determined to do better than that. 

A month ago, the FBI Director had been handing Quantico's Leadership Award to Rae, top of her class again, but where had that gotten her? Stuck with a past-his-prime field agent investigating a possible NCAA fraud case in Compson, Mississippi. The White-Collar Crime division of the FBI wasn't exactly the trajectory Rae had imagined for her career. A Joint Terrorism Take Force would've been more her speed. More contact. More action. A badass in a black jacket with JTTF stamped across the back, chasing down leads, collecting counterintelligence, and nullifying national security threats. Then again, how many agents' daddies were college football coaches? Rae knew why she was in Compson; she was there because of her father.

The death of rising star quarterback Matt Talley pushes Rae into overdrive, determined to solve a murder as well as track down the stink of dirty money. Her father's maxims are her go-to wisdom: at this point, "In case of doubt, attack." Is it wise for her to pursue the bad guys (hint: a noose is involved) or to fake a background in order to get close to the replacement quarterback? Will her pursuit of an "inside man" break the case, or break out in naked moments? (Come to think of it, how did her field-agent partner stay calm when Rae accidentally answered her door without pants on?)

Under the great action and the quick shots of humor, there's a beguiling protagonist here whose choices may not be wise, but are still smart, strong, and very understandable. The ultimate disaster for Rae comes with a stunning twist, and her ability to save herself -- and the case -- will depend directly on what kind of FBI agent she really is.

You don't have to know a field goal from a touchdown to love this one. And diving into it could be the best break of your summer vacation. Thanks, Eli Cranor and Soho Crime.

PS - Cranor is an Edgar winner. And Soho Crime/Soho Press calls this a series debut! I'm in. 

Classic Thriller, Brilliant in Its Twists, WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT by Sandra Block

Take all the horror stories you've read in the "real news" about sexual molesting at frat houses and other university clubs. Add to it the humiliation and shock of a gang-rape victim who can't remember what happened, thanks to being drugged -- but who arrives at a hospital wounded and damaged in every part of her body, and who eventually finds her office mates watching a video of her assault.

That's the baseline of WHAT HAPPENED NEXT, one of the best classic thrillers I've read this year. But author Sandra Block goes way beyond the suspense and desperate desire for crime solving that this situation inspires when she provides for Dahlia, barely functioning as a paralegal, to find the support she needs from a shy "IT" guy (programmer) named James -- whose "differentness" is captured in the term "Asperger's syndrome." Except for the highly pertinent fact that the term misses out on both his persistence and his tender ability to care for Dahlia. Which is, of course, an astounding situation for both of them, but especially for Dahlia, whose effort to kill herself some time ago made complete sense.

The video's arrival online marks the moment Dahlia chooses to move from ultimate victim to a force for justice. Not necessarily legal justice -- but a fierce and furious balancing of the scales against at least four of the men who raped her and made fun of her painful abasement.

No wonder James seems like an amazing answer to her needs: On his body, unlike the tattoos on Dahlia's, is a string of Japanese characters spelling the word for "revenge."

I could not put this book down. The twists, the suspense, the emotional connections building against the odds between Dahlia and James -- it stunned me. There are also interludes of flashback to the year of the rape, like this one in Dahlia's voice:

It is a bit shocking, but I love my tattoo.

It's the one thing I've managed to accomplish over the last couple of months in Cambridge. Ink. It was like therapy. My tattoo artist, Claire, asked why I wanted a tattoo. I told her that I wanted to take my body back. And she said "Cool" quite simply, and that was that.

We talked. Well, I talked, and she listened. It hurt, sure, but I really didn't mind. It was my idea. My pain. And while she etched survivor on my arm and surrounded it with darkness turning into lightness, I felt better. Tattoo therapy, maybe. It was better than that Rae-Ann woman anyway, who just drank tea the whole time.

I don't try to explain any of this to my mom.

What intrigues me most about WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT is the way it shatters the genre conventions so successfully. Face it, a gang-rape victim turning to revenge -- that should be darkness all the way. But Block commands a rising and wakening from her plot and characters, and the ending is almost too tender to bear -- but not really. It fits, as inevitable as it is surprising.

Don't let the brutal crime involved keep you away from grabbing a copy of this book (new from Sourcebooks Landmark). It's a compelling read, a memorable one, and, dare I say, a lifesaver. Or so I mean light-saver? Yeah, like that. (By the way, it's blurbed by Lisa Scottoline, and deserves it.)

PS:  Looking for more mystery reviews, from cozy to very dark? Browse the Kingdom Books mysteries review blog here.