The Tomb That Ruth Built

Mickey Rawlings, Book 7

By: Troy Soos

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 6 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Mickey Rawlings is Back!

The Roaring Twenties: America is dancing to jazz, gangsters are selling bootleg liquor, and the New York Yankees are building a baseball dynasty. In 1923, Yankee Stadium opens and Babe Ruth is about to lead the team to its first world's championship. But the promising season gets off to an ominous start when the body of a murdered bootlegger is found buried in the new ballpark. Utility infielder Mickey Rawlings, in his first year with the Yankees, is called to investigate and soon gets caught in the crossfire of rival gangsters. The Tomb That Ruth Built is the seventh in Troy Soos's acclaimed Mickey Rawlings baseball mystery series.

©2014 Troy Soos (P)2015 Troy Soos

Great book and great narration.

This is the first Mickey Rawlings book I’ve read/listened to. Being a lifelong baseball and Yankees fan I really like the story in the book. I’ve listened to probably 2 dozen audiobooks now and this narration is by far the best yet! The narrator does a great job voicing different characters with different voices and it really brings them to life.

Love these Baseball mysteries

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have listened to all of the Troy Soos books with Mickey Rawlings. I've enjoyed each and everyone of them. I keep them in my active folder so that I can listen to them over and over. I feel like they bring the baseball history to life, even though I know that Mickey is fictional character.

What other book might you compare The Tomb That Ruth Built to and why?

I would compare it to all of the Mickey Rawlings series books. They're all worth listening to over and over again

Which character – as performed by Johnny Heller – was your favorite?

Mickey is always my favorite

If you could take any character from The Tomb That Ruth Built out to dinner, who would it be and why?

I would love to take Mickey Rawlings to dinner and just listen to him talk about baseball and the different teams and players that he's met

Any additional comments?

I wish there were more Mickey Rawlings stories.

Baseball rules!

This was a fun book, and is part of a series I will be tracking down to read in its entirety. It isn’t quite a cozy mystery, but there is little truly graphic violence or explicit sex, so people put off by those things will find nothing disturbing, here. Sure, there is a murder or 2, and lots of gangsters, but some of those are almost likeable. I enjoyed this because of the historical setting. While I’m not a baseball fan to any extent, who can resist the Yankees of 1923, Babe Ruth at the height of his prowess, or NYC during the roaring 20s? Certainly not me!

This was one of those absorbing easy plot driven reads one needs from time to time, especially after reading a complicated, difficult book or 2, and while it won’t change the world, it is eminently satisfying and enjoyable. The writing is crisp, direct, and evocative of a time and place, and the author brings his chosen setting to vibrant an charming life.

The characters are nicely drawn, too, acting and speaking naturally and believably. In fact they are very well done, for a plot driven novel. This book gets 4.6 out of 5 stars from me, only because I reserve 5 stars for books I consider brilliant, or which have a very strong impact on me, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. This one isn’t, but it is at the top of its class for what it is, and what it is, is more than enough to make it a great read.
The narrator did an excellent job with this book! He helped bring the city and the characters to life, and his phrasing, pacing and expression were impeccable. He was able to make each major character unique, and his portrayals of their speaking patterns also were in perfect accord with what we learn of those things from the text, so I happily give the narrator 5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review.

outstanding

I loved it. Mickey Rawlings is a great series and a great story line, especially if you love baseball.

The Roaring Twenties, Baseball, and Murder

My favorite genre is mysteries and I enjoy baseball so I was excited to listen to this story. The main character is Mickey Rawlins, a utility infielder, who recently joined the New York Yankees. He is an all around good guy and management pairs him up with Babe Ruth in hopes the he can be a good influence on Ruth. Meanwhile, Yankee Stadium is just being completed and a dead body is found in one of the walls. That is not the kind of publicity the owner needs so Mickey is enlisted to investigate while trying to keep news of the murder from getting out to the public. Mickey just wants to play ball but realizes if he doesn't take on the job he won't see much playing time.

The story felt very historically correct to me. Prohibition is in full swing and there are plenty of gangsters around. The author definitely knows baseball and has done his research on the time and setting. I listened with my daughter in the car and did not experience any cringe worthy moments which I appreciate. Johnny Heller did a great job narrating. I felt his pacing was good and his voice was a comfortable fit for the story.

This is book 7 in the Mickey Rawlins series but it is a standalone story. I have not listened to any of the others but I enjoyed this one enough that I plan to. Mickey is getting up in age for a ballplayer. I would like to know what the future holds for he and his girlfriend Margie so I hope Mr. Soos writes book 8.

Disclosure: I was given a free copy of this audio book in exchange for an honest review.