The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

While “The Green Monster: A Johnny Denovo Mystery,” the sequel to “Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery,” is still a few weeks away, a local sportswriter, Bill Ballou of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, has been kind enough to comment on a preview copy I provided him in May. Here’s his formal blurb about the book:

Andrew Kent’s new novel, “The Green Monster,” proves that everything in New England revolves around the Red Sox. In this, his second mystery novel following the exploits of supersleuth and Red Sox fan Johnny Denovo, Kent’s characters traverse Yawkey Way, greater Boston, and the wilds of rocky New Hampshire to foil a sinister plan that makes even a Sox loss to the Yankees seem trivial. Addictive and fun, “The Green Monster” weaves baseball action into a fast-paced blackmail plot, creating a top-notch detective story that readers of all types will find hard to put down.

That’s a very nice blurb from an excellent baseball reporter. I didn’t know this at the time, but Bill is also the author of “Behind the Green Monster: Red Sox Myths, Legends, and Lore,” a book that strives to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the Sox and their storied past. It was great to have Bill read my book, find little wrong with my baseball knowledge (just some updated terminology around pitching rotations), and tell me in emails how much he looked forward to reading it each night after getting back from covering a game.