Blockade Billy.

King, Stephen. -- Library Journal, 04/26/2010

Cemetery Dance. May 2010. c.112p. illus. ISBN 978-1-58767-228-6.  $25. F

Combining a reminiscent, folksy first-person point of view of a third-base coach now in a retirement home with one of his best forms, the novella, King (Under the Dome) takes readers on a nostalgic journey to 1957. The framing device is forgotten almost instantly as the reader becomes engrossed in the story of a young player, William “Billy” Blakely, who is called up from the minors to get his big break on a major league team. There’s something not quite right about Billy, but he scores as a catcher and a hitter until his sinister secret is unveiled. King excels when he mines the slightly off-kilter reality of seemingly ordinary people who are hiding dark secrets, and this story is no exception. Verdict Readers unfamiliar with baseball may feel a bit lost in the narrative, which is heavy in both baseball lingo and action, but those who love the game will appreciate the insider’s knowledge and loving detail King expresses. Lavishly illustrated with Alex McVey’s gorgeous pen-and-ink drawings., this read-at-one-gulp tale, which ends with an expected gruesome twist, will appeal to both King and baseball fans.—Charli Osborne, Oxford P.L., MI