Other editions of book Double Play: A Thriller

“Parker pretty much defies category altogether in this deeply felt and intimately told memory tale, which takes place during the historic baseball season of 1947...Fusing this chapter of sports history with a hard-boiled gangster plot and haunting recollections of his own Boston boyhood, Parker fashions a hugely entertaining fiction.”—The New York Times1947: Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball’s color barrier—and changes the world. The event also changes the life of Joseph Burke, veteran of World War II and Robinson’s bodyguard—because under the media spotlight, hard truths are easier than ever to see, and harder to escape. And some can prove fatal.

“Parker pretty much defies category altogether in this deeply felt and intimately told memory tale, which takes place during the historic baseball season of 1947...Fusing this chapter of sports history with a hard-boiled gangster plot and haunting recollections of his own Boston boyhood, Parker fashions a hugely entertaining fiction.”—The New York Times1947: Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball’s color barrier—and changes the world. The event also changes the life of Joseph Burke, veteran of World War II and Robinson’s bodyguard—because under the media spotlight, hard truths are easier than ever to see, and harder to escape. And some can prove fatal.

The Grand Master of mystery offers a richly textured, change-of-pace historical novel set in 1947, the year that Jackie Robinson breaks the major league baseball color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, as seen through the eyes of Joseph Burke, a World War II veteran and survivor of Guadalcanal, who is hired by Dodgers manager Branch Rickey as Robinson's bodyguard. 125,000 first printing.

New York Times Bestselling Author It is 1947, the year Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball's color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers - and changes the world. This is the story of that season, as told through the eyes of a difficult, brooding, and wounded man named Joseph Burke. A World War II veteran, Burke is hired by Dodgers manager Branch Ricky to guard Robinson. While Burke shadows Robinson, a man of tremendous strength and character suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, the bodyguard must also face some hard truths of his own in a world where the wrong associations can prove fatal. Part novel, part history, part memory, Double Play is an astonishing creation from the Grand Master of Mystery.

Robert B. Parker fans have been quick to embrace each addition to his remarkable canon, from the legendary Spenser series to the novels featuring Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall. And his occasional forays into the past -- Gunman's Rhapsody, a fresh take on Wyatt Earp, and Poodle Springs, based on a Raymond Chandler story -- have dazzled critics and confirmed his place among the greatest writers of this century. With Double Play, he presents us with a book he was literally born to write.It is 1947, the year Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball's color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers -- and changes the world. This is the story of that season, as told through the eyes of a difficult, brooding, and wounded man named Joseph Burke. Burke, a veteran of World War II and a survivor of Guadalcanal, is hired by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey to guard Robinson. While Burke shadows Robinson, a man of tremendous strength and character suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, the bodyguard must also face some hard truths of his own, in a world where the wrong associations can prove fatal.A brilliant novel about a very real man, Double Play is a triumph: ingeniously crafted, rich with period detail, and resounding with the themes familiar to Parker's readers -- honor, duty, responsibility, and redemption.

Robert B. Parker fans have been quick to embrace each addition to his remarkable canon, from the legendary Spenser series to the novels featuring Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall. And his occasional forays into the past -- Gunman's Rhapsody, a fresh take on Wyatt Earp, and Poodle Springs, based on a Raymond Chandler story -- have dazzled critics and confirmed his place among the greatest writers of this century. With Double Play, he presents us with a book he was literally born to write.It is 1947, the year Jackie Robinson breaks major-league baseball's color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers -- and changes the world. This is the story of that season, as told through the eyes of a difficult, brooding, and wounded man named Joseph Burke. Burke, a veteran of World War II and a survivor of Guadalcanal, is hired by Brooklyn Dodgers manager Branch Rickey to guard Robinson. While Burke shadows Robinson, a man of tremendous strength and character suddenly thrust into the media spotlight, the bodyguard must also face some hard truths of his own, in a world where the wrong associations can prove fatal.A brilliant novel about a very real man, Double Play is a triumph: ingeniously crafted, rich with period detail, and resounding with the themes familiar to Parker's readers -- honor, duty, responsibility, and redemption.

The Grand Master of mystery offers a richly textured, change-of-pace historical novel set in 1947, the year that Jackie Robinson breaks the major league baseball color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, as seen through the eyes of Joseph Burke, a World War II veteran and survivor of Guadalcanal, who is hired by Dodgers manager Branch Rickey as Robinson's bodyguard. Simultaneous.

The Grand Master of mystery offers a richly textured, change-of-pace historical novel set in 1947, the year that Jackie Robinson breaks the major league baseball color barrier by playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers, as seen through the eyes of Joseph Burke, a World War II veteran and survivor of Guadalcanal, who is hired by Dodgers manager Branch Rickey as Robinson's bodyguard. Simultaneous.