Good Reads for the "Sport" in You
Whether you are a professional, an armchair athlete, or a weekend warrior you're sure to enjoy some of these novels about sports. All of these titles are located in the Adult Fiction section of the Library unless otherwise noted.
| Baseball | Golf | Skiing |
| Basketball | Hockey | Soccer |
| Boxing | Horse racing | Tennis |
| Fishing | Ice skating | Wrestling |
| Football | Running | The Olympics |
Baseball
Bain, Donald. Three Strikes and You're Dead: A Murder, She Wrote Mystery. 2006. (Mystery BAI).
Baker, Kevin. Sometimes You See It Coming. 1993.
Bouton, Jim. Strike Zone. 1994.
Boyd, Brendan C. Blue Ruin: A Novel of the 1919 World Series. 1991.
Brashler, William. The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings. 1973.
Brock, Darryl. Havana Heat. 2000.
Carkeet, David. The Greatest Slump of All Time. 1984.
Carrington, Tori. Foul Play: A Sofie Metropolis Novel. 2007. (Mystery CAR).
Deford, Frank. The Entitled: A Tale of Modern Baseball. 2007.
DeLillo, Don. Underworld. 1997. Also available: Cassette
Dyja, Tom. Play For a Kingdom. 1997.
Evers, Crabbe. Fear in Fenway: A Duffy House Mystery. 1993. (Mystery EVE).
Farrell, James. Dreaming Baseball. 2007.
Ferrell, David. Screwball. 2003.
Foley, Mick. Scooter. 2005.
Fowler, Karen Joy. The Sweetheart Season. 1996.
Friedman, Mark. Columbus Slaughters Braves. 2001.
Geist, William. Little League Confidential: One Coach's Completely Unauthorized Tale of Survival. 1992.
Gischler, Victor. Suicide Squeeze. 2005.
Gordon, Alison. Night Game: A Kate Henry Mystery. 1993.(Mystery GOR).
Granger, Bill. The New York Yanquis. 1995.
Gunn, Elizabeth. Triple Play. 1997. (Mystery GUN).
Hamill, Pete. Snow in August. 1997. Also available: Large Type
Holtzman, Jerome. Fielder's Choice. 1979. (Adult Nonfiction 808.03 F).
Honig, Donald. The Plot to Kill Jackie Robinson. 1992. (Mystery HON).
Hudgens, Dallas. Season of Gene. 2007.
Jenkins, Jerry B. The Youngest Hero. 2002.
King, Kevin. All the Stars Came Out that Night. 2005.
Kinsella, W.P.. The Iowa Baseball Confederacy. 1986.
Klinkowitz, Jerry. Basepaths. 1995.
Latour, José. Havana World Series. 2003.
Leonard, Sam. A Difficult Trade: The Baseball Mystery. 2000. (Mystery LEO).
Lindquist, N.J. Glitter of Diamonds. 2007. (Mystery LIN).
Malamud, Bernard. The Natural. 1952. Also available: Cassette, eAudiobook
Manderino, John. The Man Who Once Played Catch With Nellie Fox. 1998.
Mosher, Howard Frank. Waiting for Teddy Williams. 2004.
Nighbert, David F. Squeezeplay. 1992. (Mystery NIG).
Parker, Robert B. Double Play. 2004. Also available: Large Type, CD
Pomeranz, Gary. Out At Home. 1985.
Robinson, Patrick. Slider. 2002.
Sherwin, Byron. The Cubs and the Kabbalist: How a Kabbalah-master Helped the Chicago Cubs Win Their First World Series Since 1908. 2006.
Smith, April. Be the One. 2000. (Mystery SMI).
Soos, Tony. Murder at Wrigley Field. 1996. (Mystery SOO).
Traisman, Ken. The Chicago Gale. 2001.
Winegardner, Mark. The Veracruz Blues. 1996.
Zimmerman, Jack. Gods of the Andes. 2006.
Basketball
Chafets, Ze'ev. Hang Time. 1996.
Coben, Harlan. One False Move. 1998. (Mystery COB). Also available: CD
Katz, Michael J. Murder Off the Glass. 1987. (Mystery KAT).
King, Tabitha. One on One. 1993.
Lupica, Mike. Full Court Press. 2001. Also available: eAudiobook
Martin, Eric. Winners. 2004.
McCallum, Jack. Foul Lines: A Pro Basketball Novel. 2006.
Penzler, Otto. Murder at the Foul Line. 2006. (Mystery 813.0872 M).
Revoyr, Nina. The Necessary Hunger. 1997.
Rosen, Charles. Have Jump Shot Will Travel. 1975.
Wimmer, Dick. The Schoolyard Game: An Anthology of Basketball Writings.
1993.
(Adult Nonfiction 810.80355 S)
Boxing
Blake, James Carlos. The Killings of Stanley Ketchel. 2005.
Staudohar, Paul D. Boxing's Best Short Stories. 1999. (Mystery 808.83 B).
Boyle, Alistair. They Fall Hard. 2004. (Mystery BOY).
DeVido, Brian. Every Time I Talk to Liston. 2004.
Heinz, W.C. The Professional. 1958.
Muller, Eddie. Shadow Boxer: A Billy Nichols Novel. 2003. (Mystery MUL).
Murray, Yxta Maya. What It Takes to Get to Vegas. 1999.
Penzler, Otto. Murder on the Ropes: Original Boxing Mysteries. 2001.
(Mystery 813.0872 M).
Rutman, Leo. Thy Father's Son. 2002.
Schreck, Tom. On the Ropes: A Duffy Dombrowksi Mystery: Round One.
2007.
(Mystery SCH).
Toole, F.X. Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner. 2000.
Fishing
Bass, Rick. Platte River. 1994.
Elkjer, Thom. Hook, Line & Murder. 1997. (Mystery ELK).
Fly Fishing Tales: Literary Bait by Angling Authors. 1994. (Adult Nonfiction 813.008 F).
Galligan, John. The Blood Knot. 2005. (Mystery GAL).
Hemingway, Ernest. Islands in the Stream. 1970. Also available: CD, Cassette
Houston, Victoria. Dead Madonna. 2007. (Mystery HOU).
Hull, Jeff. Pale Morning Done. 2005.
Kay, Terry. The Valley of Light. 2003. Also available: Cassette
Leitz, David. Casting in Dead Water. 1996. (Mystery LEI).
Maclean, Norman. A River Runs Through It. 1976. Also available: Cassette
Rice, LuAnne. Blue Moon. 1993.
Torday, Paul. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. 2007. Also available: CD
Wylie, Philip. Crunch & Des: Classic Stories of Saltwater Fishing. 1990.
Football
Anderson, Douglas. First and Ten. 1993. (Mystery AND).
Coben, Harlan. Deal Breaker. 1995. (Mystery COB). Also available: Digital Player
DeLillo, Don. End Zone. 1972.
Green, Tim. Double Reverse. 1999. (Mystery GRE).
Grisham, John. Bleachers. 2003. Also available: Large Type, CD
Grisham, John. Playing for Pizza.
2007.
Also available: Large Type, CD, eAudiobook, Digital Player
Jenkins, Dan. Semi-Tough. 1972.
Jenkins, Jerry B. Hometown Legend. 2001. Also available: Large Type
Kienzle, William X. Sudden Death. 1985. (Mystery KIE). Also available: Large Type
Kingsbury, Karen. Between Sundays. 2007.
Klein, Dave. Fourth Down. 1999.
Lupica, Mike. Red Zone. 2003.
Mara, Wil. The Cut. 2007.
Reid, Elwood. If I Don’t Six. 1998.
Rivers, Reggie. 4th and Fixed. 2004.
Rosenfelt, David. Sudden Death.
2005. (Mystery ROS).
Also available: Large Type, CD, eAudiobook
Wimmer, Dick. The Gridiron Game: An Anthology of Football Writings.
1997.
(Adult Nonfiction 796.332 G).
Golf
Bernhardt, William. Final Round. 2001. (Mystery BER). Also available: Cassette
Binchy, Dan. Loopy. 2005.
Borthwick, J.S. Murder in the Rough. 2002. (Mystery BOR).
Breaznell, Gene. Deadly Divots: A Golf Murder Mystery. 2003. (Mystery BRE).
Corrigan, John R. Out of Bounds. 2006. (Mystery COR).
Coyne, John. The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan. 2006.
Coyne, Tom. A Gentleman’s Game. 2001.
Cullen, Robert. A Mulligan for Bobby Jobe. 2001.
Cupp, Bob. The Edict. 2007.
Daly, Conor. Local Knowledge. 1995. (Mystery DAL).
Feherty, David. A Nasty Bit of Rough. 2002.
Gregson, J.M. Death on the Eleventh Hole. 2002. (Mystery GRE).
Griffith, Michael. Spikes: A Novel. 2001.
Hollingsworth, A.B. Flatbellies: It's Not About Golf, It's About Life. 2001.
Jenkins, Dan. Slim and None. 2005.
Links, Bo. Follow the Wind. 1995.
McAllister, Troon. The Foursome. 2000.
Merullo, Roland. Golfing With God. 2005.
Miles, Keith. Double Eagle. 1987. (Mystery MIL).
Mitchell, Robert L. Match Made in Heaven. 2006.
Mott, Billy. The Back Nine. 2007.
Murphy, Michael. Golf in the Kingdom. 1972.
Penzler, Otto. Murder in the Rough. 2006. (Mystery 813.0872 M).
Pipkin, Turk. Fast Greens. 1994.
Pressfield, Steven. The Legend of Bagger Vance: Golf and the Game of Life.
1995.
Also available: Large Type
Reilly, Rick. Shanks for Nothing. 2006. Also available: CD
Robinson, Anthony. The Member-Guest. 1991.
Shefchik, Rick. Amen Corner. 2007. (Mystery SHE).
Shropshire, Mike. The Pro. 2001.
Veron, J. Michael. The Caddie. 2004.
Wodehouse, P.G. Fore! The Best of Wodehouse on Golf. 1983.
Hockey
Gaston, Bill. The Good Body: A Novel. 2000.
Lathen, Emma. Murder Without Icing. 1972. (Mystery LAT).
Horse Racing
Constantine, K.C. Joey’s Case. 1988. (Mystery CON).
Daniel, Mark. Sleek Bodies. 1995. (Mystery DAN).
Dobyns, Stephen. Saratoga Fleshpot. 1995. (Mystery DOB).
Ehrman, Kit. Dead Man's Touch. 2003. (Mystery EHR).
Francis, Dick. 10 lb. Penalty. 1997. (Mystery FRA). Also available: Large Type, CD, Cassette
Johnson, Susan. Sinful. 1992. (Romance JOH).
Maristed, Kai. Fall: A Novel. 1996.
McEvoy, John. Blind Switch. 2004. (Mystery MCE).
Paige, Robin. Death at Epsom Downs. 2001. (Mystery PAI).
Parker, Robert B. Hugger Mugger. 2000. (Mystery PAR). Also available: Large Type, Cassette
Penzler, Otto. Murder at the Racetrack. 2006. (Mystery 813.0872 M).
Shoemaker, Bill. Stalking Horse. 1994. (Mystery SHO).
Smiley, Jane. Horse Heaven. 2000. Also available: Large Type, Cassette
Smith, Brad. All Hat. 2003.
Ice skating
Adams, Alina. Murder on Ice. 2003. (Mystery ADA).
Bartlett, Joan. Nice Shows. 2000. (Mystery BAR).
DeAndrea, William L. Killed On the Ice. 1984. (Mystery DEA).
Lathen, Emma. Going for the Gold. 1981. (Mystery LAT).
Phillips, Meredith. Death Spiral: Murder at the Winter Olympics. 1984. (Mystery PHI).
Robitaille, Julie. Iced. 1994. (Mystery ROB).
Thomson, Maynard F. Dreams of Gold. 1999.
Running
Barnes, Linda. Dead Heat. 1984. (Mystery BAR).
Parker, John L., Jr. Again to Carthage. 2007.
Sillitoe, Alan. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner. 1959.
Zweibel, Alan. The Other Shulman. 2005.
Skiing
Katz, Michael J. The Big Freeze. 1991. (Mystery KAT).
Moyes, Patricia. Dead Men Don’t Ski. 1959. (Mystery MOY).
Page, Katherine Hall. The Body in the Snowdrift. 2005. (Mystery PAG).
Also available: Large Type
Soccer
Apodaca, Jennifer. Ninja Soccer Moms. 2004. (Mystery APO).
Hoyt, Richard. Red Card: A Novel of World Cup 1994. 1994. (Mystery HOY).
Patterson, James. Hide & Seek. 1996. Also available: CD, Cassette
Tennis
Clarke, John. The Tournament. 2003.
Coben, Harlan. Drop Shot. 1996. (Mystery COB). Also available: Large Type
Lamott, Anne. Crooked Little Heart. 1997.
Navratilova, Martina. Killer Instinct. 1997. (Mystery NAV).
Penzler, Otto. Murder is My Racquet. 2005. (Mystery 813.0872 M).
Woods, Stuart. Choke. 1995. Also available: Large Type, Cassette, eAudiobook
Wrestling
Connelly, Neil O. Buddy Cooper Finds a Way. 2004.
Katz, Michael J. Last Dance in Redondo Beach. 1989. (Mystery KAT).
The Olympics
Barclay, Max. Red Mercury. 1996.
Coldsmith, Don. Long Journey Home. 2001.
Keegan, Nicole. Swimming. 2009.