“This job would be so much easier if everyone told the truth,” observes Johnny Adcock. “Then again, if everyone told the truth, I wouldn’t have this job.” The job he’s discussing is not really a job, but his hobby. Adcock is a relief pitcher, a highly specialized, much-valued commodity in the major leagues. When a dangerous lefty comes to the plate in the late innings, it is Adcock’s responsibility to get him out. It’s his only job, and he’s richly paid, earning $1.6 million a season.

The seasons are piling up for Adcock, and he is contemplating what he will do after his baseball career ends. Working as a private investigator has some appeal, so he has decided to do some part-time work while still pitching. Readers were introduced to Adcock in THE SETUP MAN by T. T. Monday, a pseudonym adopted by novelist Nick Taylor. DOUBLE SWITCH is the second installment in what clearly has the potential for an extended series. It mixes interesting baseball anecdotes with equally interesting mystery and thriller ingredients to produce an enjoyable novel.

"Sometimes rookies arrive on the baseball scene with an explosion and then are rarely heard from again. One might say the same for mystery writers. There is no sophomore slump in DOUBLE SWITCH. In fact, the opposite is true. Johnny Adcock seems to be getting better with age."

Any baseball fan recognizes that the game provides a vast array of subject matter for an enterprising private investigator and his author/creator. DOUBLE SWITCH opens when Tiff Tate, a baseball “stylist,” approaches Adcock after a game seeking his detective services. Tate is known in the baseball world as a consultant working to create the perfect person for her baseball clients. For a large fee, she creates images for those players. She grooms them, and obtains product and endorsement contracts. Through her efforts, many of her clients have received lucrative financial rewards beyond their substantial major league salaries.

Now one of Tate’s players, the Cuban ex-patriate Yonel Ruiz, has a problem that she needs help solving. Like many Cuban players, Ruiz was smuggled out of the country in order to play major league baseball. The smugglers are now threatening his family and demanding that Ruiz pay more money to ensure their safety. Tate needs Adcock’s help to determine the identity of the extortionists. He agrees to look into the matter, promising only to uncover who they are and then passing the matter off to authorities.

Not surprisingly, the investigation takes some unusual twists and turns. It is not as Tate described it when Adcock agreed to look into Ruiz’s plight. Some dead bodies begin to appear, and he finds himself in the middle of a double-cross that is not only dangerous but also possibly career-ending.

Adcock usually faces only one batter, but Monday provides readers with a great deal of “inside” baseball material and insight. In addition, his portrayal of the life of baseball players both good and bad is thoughtful. The non-baseball mystery plot is engaging and does not stretch the bounds of logic or reason too far. Most baseball writers, whether offering fiction or nonfiction, recognize that baseball players have rather active sex lives. Adcock is no different, and his sexual escapades do advance the story line.

Sometimes rookies arrive on the baseball scene with an explosion and then are rarely heard from again. One might say the same for mystery writers. There is no sophomore slump in DOUBLE SWITCH. In fact, the opposite is true. Johnny Adcock seems to be getting better with age. Left-handed relievers often pitch past their 40th birthdays. Adcock could be around for several more years, which would be a good thing for both baseball and mystery fans.