Forced Out » (Reprint)

Stephen Frey is a managing director at a private equity firm. He is the bestselling author of fourteen previous novels, including The Fourth Order, The Insider, and The Takeover. He lives in Florida.

Three men. Three secrets.
One chance at redemption.

New York Times bestselling author Stephen Frey delivers a mesmerizing new thriller where life and death are played out against the backdrop of America's favorite game.

Sarasota, Florida: Forced to retire from his job as a scout for the New York Yankees, Jack Barrett is just getting by in a small Florida town when his daughter drags him to watch the local minor-league team play. It's a night that will change his life. Jack spots a remarkable player named Mikey Clemant, a kid whose amazing natural skill on the field is overshadowed by his bad attitude and solitary habits. In Clemant, Jack thinks he might have found his ticket back to the big time. But the young man has a secret that will put all of Jack's plans — and maybe even his life — in jeopardy.

Queens, New York: Johnny Bondano is the premier hit man for the Lucchesi crime family. Ruthless and cold-blooded but with a strict moral code, Johnny is given instructions to find and kill a man who took the life of a crime boss's only grandson. He suspects the family isn't telling him everything about his latest assignment, but to question his orders is tantamount to suicide.

As these three men's destinies converge, loyalties are tested and dreams collide with violent and unpredictable results. Forced Out is a nonstop, tightly wrought tale of suspense by a true master of page-turning fiction.

Publishers Weekly

Known for his financial thrillers, Frey (The Takeover) mixes baseball and crime in his less than compelling 15th novel. Arthritic, 63-year-old Jack Barrett, who lives with his grown daughter in Sarasota, Fla., where he bags groceries at a convenience store, wonders how he got sacked from his job as a respected scout for the New York Yankees and robbed of his pension. While watching a local minor league baseball game, Jack sees a player who just might be his ticket back to "The Show": Mikey Clemants, a gifted centerfielder who displays his talents intermittently and doesn't seek or earn the approval of the fans or his teammates. Add to the mix Johnny "Deuce" Bondano, a Queens hit man hired to murder the guy who killed a Mafioso's grandson. Readers will enjoy unraveling the mysterious backstories of Barrett and Clemants, but a plethora of subplots and minor characters slow the main action. (Aug.)

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