by Ace Atkins
Part of Spenser, book 16
First published 1990
Spenser trades the Boston streets for campus quads when Taft University hires him to investigate their star basketball player. The athlete has been deliberately missing shots and botching plays to keep game scores within gambling spreads. Easy money flows from bookies to the player's pocket, but the scheme runs deeper than one corrupt student. Spenser must navigate college politics and underground betting networks while staying ahead of dangerous people who profit from the fixed games. The detective discovers that exposing the truth about collegiate sports corruption puts his own life at risk. As he digs deeper into the basketball program, Spenser faces opponents who play by different rules than street criminals. The case forces him to confront how money corrupts amateur athletics and threatens anyone who gets too close to the operation.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, sports, academic
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, corruption, investigative-journalism
Setting: Boston, Taft University
288 pages · Mass Market Paperback · G.P. Putnam's Sons