Book ~ "Curveball" (2012) Jen Estes

From Goodreads ~ Baseball reporter Cat McDaniel specializes in exposés. Now that very talent has left her unemployed. Desperate to get off the bench and back into the lineup, she is thrilled to land an interview with the Buffalo Soldiers’ General Manager Roger “Rakin’” Aiken--Baseball legend, eight-time All Star ... and oblivious father to a Major League bratty co-ed named Paige. 

Aiken offers Cat the team writer position for the following spring but the opportunity is tempered by a curveball of a caveat: she must first spend the winter as a blogger reporting on the Latin American training facility. She is also supposed to look out for Paige, nominally the team’s newest scouting assistant. Being a glorified babysitter and chaperone still beats being an out-of-work sportswriter.  Cat reluctantly leaves behind her gorgeous boyfriend, Benji, and accompanies the party girl to sunny Santo Domingo to balance baselines and conga lines. 

Paige falls for Chance Hayward, an agent who plays hardball—the figurative kind. Joining them on the field is Paige's ex, Junior DeLeon, one of the coaches who’d really like to score with Cat. When an aspiring player turns up dead, it is up to Cat and Junior to devise a game-changing strategy. Will Cat’s snooping work in her favor this time, or will she strike out ... losing her job, her boyfriend and her life? Curveball follows Big Leagues as Book 2 of the Cat McDaniel Mysteries, also known as the Foul Ball series.

I like mysteries and I like baseball (go, Blue Jays, go!). I'd never heard of this author but the book sounded fun ... and it was. 

All Cat wants is a job with the Buffalo Soldiers and she's willing to nanny the owner's daughter, Paige, if that's what it takes.  It's only for three weeks ... how hard can it be?  But Paige is a spoiled brat with no filters and you can feel Cat's frustration with her.  When Paige hooks up with Chance, Cat thinks there is something funky about him and is determined to find out what it is.  In addition, she is missing her boyfriend, Benji, who lives in Las Vegas but is feeling a vibe with someone she runs into and knew in university, Junior.


I enjoyed the writing style.  It was fast and comical.  I didn't find that it dragged.  There was a bit of a twist with the resolution and I was satisfied with the ending.  The language at times is mature.

This is the second book in the Foul Ball series with Cat McDaniel ... I'm going to look for the first one and read it.  This one is a stand alone, though, so you don't need to have read the first one to know what's going on.  I hope there's more to come in this series and from this author.