In the early days of the Covid pandemic, Chris Merrill enrolled in an online creative writing course at a local community college. The long-time tennis player and industry veteran didn’t have a project in mind, but a story about a tennis sales rep that found himself in the middle of a complex web of lies, deceit, and yes, even murder took root. What ultimately emerged is a book that is the best fictional novel with a tennis-centric theme that I have ever read.
Game Set Murder: A Stan Powell Thriller, is a thoroughly engaging book that captured and held my attention from the first page through the dramatic conclusion. For a first effort, the character development is outstandingly rich. It is apparent that Merrill pulled from his extensive experience in the tennis industry as personas are instantly recognizable and relatable to anyone who has spent time around the sport.
Stan Powell is an FBI agent whose investigation into human remains revealed a vast criminal conspiracy of fraud and exploitation at a major tennis equipment manufacturer. He uncovers a trail of greed and corruption that put innocent people in danger that they never saw coming. While it was clear from the onset that a murder had been committed, the real intrigue was untangling the motives and who was responsible before others suffered a similar fate in the aftermath of the cover-up.
As an overthinking tennis geek, I enjoyed the glimpse into the inner workings of the equipment industry and the daily grind of the life of a manufacturer’s sales rep. Similarly, the tournament tennis that was depicted in the novel surrounding the pursuit of gold balls and National Championships rang true to my own experience.
I am convinced that I would have read Game Set Murder in a single continuous sitting had my life constraints allowed that. When I was forced to set my copy aside for any length of time, I found myself continuously thinking about the story and how the narrative would be ultimately resolved. The extent to which it dominated my thoughts is a testament to how very good this book is.
Game Set Murder is presciently well structured for potential continuation as a series. I am eagerly anticipating the next installment. Future books from Merrill might not necessarily revolve around tennis-centric storylines, but it does not matter. I am thoroughly hooked.
While the narrative of Game Set Murder is based on a tennis theme, enjoyment will not be diminished for people with no interest or knowledge of the sport. However, if you are a tennis fan looking for a great book that still scratches the tennis itch, this is definitely the book for you.
 | GAME SET MURDER: A Stan Powell Thriller |
A copy of this review has also been posted on Amazon. It would be very helpful to me for people to visit that page and mark it as “Helpful” which improves my prospects of receiving advance copies of upcoming tennis books for pre-publication review.
While I’ve only been following your journal for a few months I’ve quickly become addicted to your daily posts. Your writing and stories about tennis are the best of any that I follow. Your review of my novel Game Set Murder brings tears to my eyes. I can’t thank you enough for your thoughtful and passionate review. With this being my first novel, putting it out into the world was a bit unnerving. Would anyone like it? Would the reader get it? Thank you for answering both of those questions in your review.
I look forward to writing more…and as a teaser, book 2 is underway with Stan Powell finding trouble in the bicycle industry. But don’t worry, I have some fun ideas for a return to tennis in book 3!
Thank you for Fiend At Court.