A ballpark. A bay. A body.
Robbie Blum was San Francisco’s most prominent sports agent. His clients included players on the Giants, Warriors, and Niners. It all came crashing down when his body was found floating in San Francisco Bay after a Giants game, his skull crushed. A Louisville Slugger floating next to his body.
Though Blum was a wildly successful agent, his personal life was a disaster. Two failed marriages. Allegations of spousal abuse. Alcohol. Drugs. Gambling. Even his biggest client, Giants’ slugger David Archer, had reservations about Blum’s erratic behavior.
Jaylen Jenkins is a native of Oakland (“before it was woke,” as he likes to say). The graduate of McClymonds High School ekes out a living and pays for his mother’s drug rehab by working at fast-food restaurants, driving for Uber, and selling Giants T-shirts outside the ballpark. Jaylen also ran errands for Blum—and it was more than getting his laundry. Jenkins picked up illegal drugs for Blum from a supplier at a strip club. Blum also provided Jaylen with Giants swag to sell behind the ballpark.
On the night that he died, Blum met with Jaylen at his stand and gave money to Jaylen to deliver to Blum’s drug supplier. Blum also had an autographed bat that he was going to give to his son. According to the police, Jaylen attacked Blum and killed him. Jaylen appears on a security video with a bat in hand.
In the twelfth installment of New York Times bestselling author Sheldon Siegel’s iconic San Francisco series, ex-spouses and Public Defenders Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez defend Jaylen in a high-profile case where they race from the glamorous world of professional sports to the low-rent world of strip clubs and homeless encampments in a desperate search for an elusive truth where everybody has something to hide.
An intricate plot, engaging characters, powerful suspense, and a touch of humor are Sheldon Siegel’s hallmarks. In FINAL OUT, readers will discover once again why Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez are two of the most compelling characters in contemporary crime fiction.
The Sexy Nerd's Review. . .
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I haven’t read my favorite series since last year and I’m almost embarrassed to say that I’ve fallen way behind. But the beauty about that is, I can always pick up where I left off and continue on. As in true fashion of the Daley/Fernandez ex-spouse duo, quite a bit has happened since I last read the series.
Jaylen Jenkins is a young African-American male trying to earn a buck just like everybody else in this world. He sold baseball merchandise outside the ballpark. A very prominent sports agent by the name of Robbie Blum would throw merch at Jaylen to sell and he also hired him to run drug errands and whatever else he might have needed. Jaylen was all too happy to take Robbie’s money. That is, until Blum’s body ended up in the San Francisco Bay outside the ballpark. Add insult to injury, a signed autographed bat by David Archer was found floating next to Blum’s dead body. And it also didn’t help that Jaylen was captured on videotape running with a bat leading up to the recent decedent.
Mike and Rosie knew they were in for the long haul on this one. Not only did the videotape show Jaylen with the bat, but it didn’t help matters none that Jaylen wasn’t forthcoming with information to help exonerate himself. Mike was extremely frustrated. When Mike and his legal team, including his brother, Pete, who is a private detective, get to working on this case, it soon becomes apparent that there are some liars among our midst. It was up to Mike to get his young innocent client off before it was too late.
OMG! Siegel is one of my favorite legal authors. This man sure does know how to write a great impactful legal thriller keeping you turning the pages and on the edge of your damn seat. I love his novels so much because they remind me of watching episodes of Law & Order. The defense tactic that Mike and his team decided to go with reminded me of another legal show I used to love called The Practice, which aired on ABC many years ago. They used to do this thing where they would “Plan B” witnesses and it could get pretty darn ugly to say the least. This story reminded me so much of how they used to devour witnesses on the stand. Mike and his team were so good at it, the poor unsuspecting witness had no idea they were in a room full of two-legged sharks ready to soak up as much blood as they could get. What an incredible story!
The Sexy Nerd gives Final Out five extra innings. As I mentioned, I’m a huge fan of this author and this series. What is so awesome about it is these books read as standalones. I do plan to go back further in the series and see how some of the things that happened in this installment came to be, but overall, it was an incredible thrill! Until next time, you know what to do!
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