Dream Killer
By Mike Baldwin
Genre: Mystery
Book Description
To fulfill her friend’s dream, legendary sports agent Veronica Townsend has constructed a kids’ summer camp where baseball hero John Jensen was raised on a farm in Burlington, Kansas. Camp Dream Catcher, though, is in danger of shutting down after a lifeguard is murdered. With cancellations pouring in, Veronica must solve the mystery in a desperate attempt to keep the camp open.
Veronica adores her loyal assistant, Missy Sykes, the camp’s bookkeeper, a lonely, single woman born and raised in Queens. Missy is committed to assisting her boss in an attempt to keep open a camp that awards “free scholarships” to inner-city kids that normally couldn’t afford the fee.
Ashley Webb, the camp’s co-director, has taken a sabbatical from her job in Omaha to oversee the camp’s day-to-day operations. Since evidence reveals the killer most likely is on the camp’s staff, Ashley is concerned Veronica is in denial the camp needs to shut down until law enforcement officials uncover the person responsible for shooting the handsome lifeguard.
Reggie Gordon, the camp’s other co-director, is a former African American Major League Baseball star, who vows to help Veronica. Because he grew up in the projects in Chicago, Reggie sees the benefits of a camp that caters to inner-city kids.
When additional problems surface, it appears Veronica has no choice but to shut down the camp, in part because she made some risky financial decisions to open ahead of schedule. Veronica, though, is resolute the camp will not shut down so she can honor John Jensen, “the kindest man I’ve ever met.”
DREAM KILLER eBook can be purchased at the following:
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1K6GVpX
Barnes and Noble (Nook): http://ow.ly/WrBzp
Apple (iTunes, iBooks): http://ow.ly/WrBB9
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/dream-killer-1
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/49480134-mike-baldwin
My review:
As anyone who has read my reviews for awhile you know that I am not much of a YA reader, although I do give them a chance every once in awhile. Dream Killer intrigued me because it was a teen whodunit. The beginning was a little dry, I will admit and it took me a little while to get invested in the story but after a bit I found myself cruising through the book.
What kept me reading is the concept/plot of the book is awesome. You have impoverished kids, a camp, a mystery and one slightly arrogant woman trying to keep this camp afloat. There are tons of characters to keep your mind spinning and a few spots that are real head scratchers. The violence is minimal despite the murders (it’s off scene for the most part) and the teens are, well, teens.
Dream Killer is a pretty good mystery. At times I forgot I was reading a YA book, it read more like a mystery novel to me. Solid 4 stars.
Author Bio
A former sportswriter, Mike Baldwin has transitioned to becoming a full-time novelist who specialists in mysteries that feature female lead characters; classic whodunits that appeal to mystery fans of all ages and gender.
His niche is fast-paced stories about dynamic female lead characters involved in plots packed with twists and turns, capped by surprise endings. Sprinkling in humor, Mike injects thought-provoking elements to introduce readers to new experiences while they’re being entertained by a fun story.
Mike’s favorite author is John Grisham because of his unique storytelling skills. He enjoys a well-written mystery whether it’s a page-turning novel or TV shows like Law & Order, Monk, Cold Case and Major Crimes. His favorite current series is “Suits,” simply because of the crisp, engaging dialogue. Mike’s only pet peeve is he believes many quality TV shows and commercials feature outstanding writing that rarely get the attention it deserves.
During his newspaper career, Mike covered Super Bowls and Final Fours, interviewed countless Hall of Fame athletes and coaches and was blessed his career allowed him to see the country. He attended games in 80 of the 90 NFL stadiums, NBA arenas and Major League Baseball stadiums, plus visited more than fifty college campuses.
The highlight of his career was when he wrote daily stories as a beat writer for The Oklahoman, the Oklahoma City newspaper. For seven years, he covered owner Jerry Jones’ team during the Barry Switzer era when the Cowboys were led by future NFL Hall of Famers Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Deion Sanders.
Mike was humbled and honored last year when he was inducted into the Oklahoma Christian University Sports Hall of Fame (class of 2015).
Find the Author Online:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mikebaldwinbook
Website: http://mikebaldwinbooks.com/
Jen: This is Mike Baldwin, the author of Dream Killer. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing Dream Killer and being part of Sage’s Blog Tour. I wanted to remind readers there will be some prizes, including Amazon Gift cards, following the Blog Tour.
THX again.