Brushback (novel)

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Brushback
Brushback (novel).jpg
First edition
Author K. C. Constantine
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherThe Mysterious Press of Warner Books
Publication date
1998
Media typePrint (hardback)
Pages278
ISBN 0-89296-646-7
OCLC 36499106
Preceded by Family Values  
Followed by Blood Mud  

Brushback is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine set in 1990s Rocksburg, a fictional, blue-collar, Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.

Detective Sergeant Ruggiero "Rugs" Carlucci, the self-deprecating protégé of recently retired Mario Balzic, is the protagonist.

It tells the story of Carlucci, now acting chief of the Rocksburg, Police Department. When a former professional baseball player is beaten to death, Carlucci delves into the past of the athlete and finds that the bases are loaded with suspects.

It is the fourteenth book in the 17-volume Rocksburg series.

"Ruggiero "Rugs" Carlucci is investigating the brutal murder of Brushback Bobby Blasco, a local hero who once beaned the immortal Ted Williams, even though Williams was his Red Sox teammate. Blasco, who has a history of beating wives and girlfriends, has been bludgeoned to death with a Louisville Slugger autographed by the Splendid Splinter. But Rugs has many competing concerns: his mother's nightly anxiety attacks; his duties as acting police chief; byzantine city politics; undertrained, overworked cops; and summoning the courage to ask a beautiful woman for a date. The denouement scarcely resolves all his worries, but readers will feel a kind of affirmation from knowing that Rugs and Rocksburg will soldier on. K. C. Constantine is our truest detective of the heart".
Thomas Gaughan [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Carlucci</span> American politician (1930–2018)

Frank Charles Carlucci III was an American politician who served as the United States Secretary of Defense from 1987 to 1989 in the administration of President Ronald Reagan. He was the first Italian American to serve in that position.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brushback pitch</span>

In baseball, a brushback pitch is a pitch–usually a fastball–thrown high and inside the strike zone to intimidate the batter away from the plate on subsequent pitches. It differs from the beanball in that the intent is not to hit the batter, nor does it target the batter's head. Hitters will often crowd the plate in order to have a better swing at pitches on the outside half of the plate. The hitters hope that the pitcher will be scared to throw inside because they might hit the batter. The brushback helps a pitcher to "reclaim" the corners of the strike zone by forcing the batter to stand farther away.

Brushback may refer to:

<i>The Rocksburg Railroad Murders</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

The Rocksburg Railroad Murders is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine. The book is the first in the 17-volume Rocksburg series, which introduces Mario Balzic as a detective working to solve crimes in Rocksburg, a fictional blue-collar Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania.

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<i>Upon Some Midnights Clear</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

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<i>Joeys Case</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

Joey's Case is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine set in 1980s Rocksburg, a fictional, blue-collar, Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.

<i>Sunshine Enemies</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

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<i>Bottom Liner Blues</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

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<i>Cranks and Shadows</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

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<i>Good Sons</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

Good Sons is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine set in 1990s Rocksburg, a fictional, blue-collar, Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.

<i>Family Values</i> (novel) Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

Family Values is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine set in 1990s Rocksburg, a fictional, blue-collar, Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.

<i>Blood Mud</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

Blood Mud is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine set in 1990s Rocksburg, a fictional, blue-collar, Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.

<i>Grievance</i> (novel) Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

Grievance is a crime novel by the American writer K. C. Constantine set in 1990s Rocksburg, a fictional, blue-collar, Rust Belt town in Western Pennsylvania, modeled on the author's hometown of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, adjacent to Pittsburgh.

<i>Saving Room for Dessert</i> Crime novel by K. C. Constantine

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References

  1. Brushback (1998), Booklist, 1998. Mysterious Press. March 1998. ISBN   9780892966462.