Forced to retire from his job as a scout for the Yankees, Jack Barrett is just getting by in a small Florida town when his daughter drags him to watch the local minor league team play. On the field, he spots a remarkable player, Mikey Clement, a kid whose amazing natural skill on the field is overshadowed by his bad attitude and solitary habits. In Clement, Jack thinks he might have found his ticket back to the big time. But the young man has a secret that will put all of Jack's plans—and maybe even his life—in jeopardy.
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"Good read, hard to put down. Quite a departure from Frey's past stuff, but really did like it--feel good book with the baseball bit not as huge as expected. A few too many people and plans intersecting, but very entertaining all the same."
— Ed (5 out of 5 stars)
" OK. Nothing spectacular. "
— Al, 2/17/2014" This was almost dual plotted. Every other chapter dealt with either the protagonists or the villains. Each set of stories held your interest and made you want to know what happens next. The baseball setting was a plus. All in all a good read. "
— Joyce, 2/10/2014" This was good, but I've liked other novels by him better. "
— Becky, 1/9/2014" If you like basball you will enjoy this book. Story was predictable but still somewhat entertaining. "
— Guy, 12/9/2013" Not his best but a very solid novel from Stephen Frey. "
— Fryingpan, 11/2/2013" Unfortunately this book did nothing for me. It didn't pass the 100-page test and even getting to the 100th page was difficult enough "
— Ricardo, 9/9/2013" hmmm i liked the mafia plot.. more... than the baseball "
— Bill, 8/25/2013" Forced Out: A Novel by Stephen Frey (2008) "
— Tom, 8/23/2013" I enjoyed the insider baseball details. Got connected and drawn in by most of the characters but the ending was a bit of a letdown. "
— Donna, 2/16/2013" Fast paced. The ending sucked a bit for me :) "
— Jaana, 1/1/2013" I really enjoyed this book, up until the last couple of chapters. I have no idea why he decided to end the book the way he did. It was kind of a cop-out. Almost like he didn't know how to end the book. "
— Debbie, 3/22/2012" A good idea poorly executed. The plot of the book was very good with tons of unrealized potential. The dialogue was not good with unnecessary vulgarity and smatterings of cheesiness. The ending was a disappointment. Would not recommend :0( "
— Philip, 2/28/2012" I have read a bunch of Stephen Frey's books and enjoyed them, but I cannot say the same for this one. The characters were week, and not sure why the ones that died had to die. I thought he was all over the place. "
— mosley, 1/22/2012" I was tempted by this book because it has something to do with baseball and the Yankees - but it is utter crap: dumb plot, stupid characters, ridiculous occurrences and poor writing. "
— Linn, 11/15/2011" Good beach read. Too bad I read it in January. "
— Jim, 6/6/2011" Very Good; Converging stories of a Mafia hit man with a conscience, a former Yankee scout, and a too good to be true ballplayer who the mob is after; very strange ending that took away from the whole "
— Joe, 6/5/2011" This book held my interest, although it wasn't "edge of your seat" intense. I liked the minor league baseball setting. "
— Leslie, 2/11/2011" This book had potential to be a good read, but failed in the end. Very disappointing. Very fake and unrealistic twists that ruined the storylines. I did not like the last quarter of this book. Bad, bad ending. "
— Meg, 8/20/2010" Baseball + The Mafia = Great Read! This was so much better than I thought it would be. "
— Beth, 6/28/2010" Meh... not too much to say here. I liked it, but it was surely not extraordinary in any way. The plot was ok, the characters were likable, the ending twist was a nice attempt, but all said, meh. "
— Kevin, 4/24/2010" A good idea poorly executed. The plot of the book was very good with tons of unrealized potential. The dialogue was not good with unnecessary vulgarity and smatterings of cheesiness. The ending was a disappointment. Would not recommend :0( "
— Philip, 4/23/2010" This book had potential to be a good read, but failed in the end. Very disappointing. Very fake and unrealistic twists that ruined the storylines. I did not like the last quarter of this book. Bad, bad ending. "
— Meg, 2/12/2010" If you like basball you will enjoy this book. Story was predictable but still somewhat entertaining. "
— Guy, 1/22/2010" Fast paced. The ending sucked a bit for me :)<br/> "
— Jaana, 1/17/2010" I really enjoyed this book, up until the last couple of chapters. I have no idea why he decided to end the book the way he did. It was kind of a cop-out. Almost like he didn't know how to end the book. "
— Debbie, 1/13/2010" This might have been a better story if I hadn't taken a couple week break from listening over the holidays. Or not. Baseball and the mob, lives broken and put back together or utterly destroyed. Not a fan of mafia stories. "
— Jody, 12/23/2009" Forced Out: A Novel by Stephen Frey (2008) "
— Tom, 12/15/2009" Very Good; Converging stories of a Mafia hit man with a conscience, a former Yankee scout, and a too good to be true ballplayer who the mob is after; very strange ending that took away from the whole <br/> "
— Joe, 8/28/2009" I've read all of his other books and have enjoyed them. I didn't like this one at all and only read half of it. He should stick to stories involving lawyers instead of mobsters. "
— Margie, 8/27/2009" Baseball, suspense, great characters and lots of surprises. I enjoyed it. "
— Pat, 8/9/2009" Not his best but a very solid novel from Stephen Frey. "
— Fryingpan, 8/3/2009" This book was uneven. I felt attached to the characters and often could not put it down. Other times the story bogged down or became predictable and I did not want to pick it up. <br/> <br/>Overall, well worth reading. "
— Steven, 7/6/2009" This was almost dual plotted. Every other chapter dealt with either the protagonists or the villains. Each set of stories held your interest and made you want to know what happens next. The baseball setting was a plus. All in all a good read. "
— Joyce, 1/26/2009" I was tempted by this book because it has something to do with baseball and the Yankees - but it is utter crap: dumb plot, stupid characters, ridiculous occurrences and poor writing. "
— Linn, 1/25/2009" It was good until the end. The ending was awful! "
— Penny, 1/17/2009Stephen Frey is a principal at a northern Virginia private equity firm. He previously worked in mergers and acquisitions at J. P. Morgan and as a vice president of corporate finance at an international bank in New York. He is the bestselling author of various novels, including The Successor and Forced Out.
L. J. Ganser is a multiple Audie Award–winning narrator with over six hundred titles recorded to date. Prized for versatility, his work ranges from preschool books to crime noir thrillers, from astronomical adventures in both science and science fiction, to Arctic Circle high school basketball stories. He lives in New York City with his family and dog, Mars.