Let’s Play Ball: A Novel

Linda Gould
iUniverse (2010)
ISBN 9781450207607
Reviewed by Olivera Baumgartner-Jackson for Reader Views (10/11) 


Linda Gould’s “Let’s Play Ball” is set in the world of professional sports and political intrigue. While it definitely focuses on the games of every kind, it also deals to a great extent with the relationship of twin sisters, Miranda and Jessica. While Miranda seems to have it all, from an important job, tons of money, nice home, and a successful lawyer husband, she is somewhat envious of Jessica, whose life has been a little less rosy and much more challenging. Jessica is a sports writer who, after years of living solely for her job, seems to have finally found happiness with an old flame, the baseball star Manny Chavez. The couple is newly engaged, Manny’s son has been successfully brought back to the U.S. from Cuba, where Manny’s ex abducted him, Manny’s career is looking stellar and Jessica’s lifelong work is showing some real results.

Jessica invites Miranda and her husband to watch the Washington Filibusters hopefully beat the Florida Keys in an important game, and Miranda comes to a realization that this time her sister seems to really have it all, which is more than she could say for herself. If she were to scratch the surface of her own marriage, she would have to face the sad truth of how very superficial that perfect image really is. But her envy is short lived, since Manny is kidnapped from the stadium and the lives of both sisters are thrown in a real turmoil trying to get him back.

Although I fairly enjoyed this imaginative story, the pace of it seemed to drag quite a bit. While the suspense built pretty quickly in the beginning, the middle of the book became rather tediously slow and full of speculations, which at times did not appear supported well enough to be truly believable. After some rather eventful parts with very active involvement of the heroine, the ending turned out to be quite a let-down. The twenty-something pages long epilogue, while certainly the longest I remember ever reading, was simply too detached to keep me as emotionally involved as I would have wanted to be.

Nevertheless I believe that this book is a solid read for those readers who enjoy baseball, politics, stories of corporate greed and general intrigue. “Let’s Play Ball” is entertaining and relevant, touching on many important current issues, including racism, immigration, and the ever present threat of global conflict.

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