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Author:  Michael Balkind

ISBN:1563154048

Publisher:  Sterling House Publisher, Inc.

Headline: Tee Time for Suspense

“Saturday was an exquisite day. A deep blue sky was dotted with just enough cottony clouds to give periodic relief from the intense sun. The air was balmy and as expected, the crowds overflowed the fairways.”  Descriptions like this put the reader right into the context of Balkind’s story about a pro golfer playing through a personal threat on his life. Told in a play-by-play style, “Sudden Death” is rich with detail. Each day is rooted in a solid foundation of narrative and top-dressed with believable dialogue.

Reid Clark, the main character, lives the somewhat stereotypical life of the sports star and he treats the supporting cast of characters thoroughly and delightfully throughout the novel. One entertaining example describes Reid lavishing all-you-can-spend shopping trips on his sisters and another illustrates the family’s enjoyment of one another as they spend time together between the Master’s tournament and the contest laced with the threat on Reid’s life. 

The security detail embedded with Reid as he goes about practicing and playing serves as a counterweight to the family-and-friends scenes. They, along with the wide range of emotions experienced by Reid as the tension builds, remind the reader that having superior skills and worldly success are no guarantee of sustaining a peaceful state of mind. Balkind does a good job of gradually building the mystery and suspense throughout the story: “As much as he had tried, Reid couldn’t concentrate on the movie.  He was upset and annoyed. Why had it taken a death threat to get him to spend time with the people he loved? Was someone really going to take all this away from him?”

Adding another layer of interest to the story is a scene where Reid films an endorsement commercial for a golf ball company. I thought this scene provided an interesting insight into how professional sports stars have to be good at more than just the sport they love and it provided a sense of balance to the mystery and description of daily activities of life on the tour. 

I gave Sudden Death four stars because while the suspense built throughout the novel and I felt that Reid’s character grew steadily with each chapter, I didn’t really get a good look inside the head of the character who wished to kill Reid. Part of the enjoyment of reading mysteries for me is gaining an understanding of how evil people think and what drives them to plan harmful actions. This was missing for me in this novel.

Overall, however, Balkind does an excellent job on his debut novel and his attention to detail and thorough understanding of both golf and his characters supplies the reader with an enjoyable read. There is enough substance in this book to appeal to golfers and non-golfers and men and women both are likely to find it entertaining.

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The above review was contributed by: Paula Buermele: Paula is the author of The Dream Catcher Tour and has extensive experience in corporate writing, process documentation, and writing training materials. She is a member of the Upper Peninsula Publishers and Authors Association and the Metro Detroit Creative Writers group.To read more of about Paula and her reviews  Click Here