Chin Music by Lee Edelstein ~ TLC Blog Tour with review

• Paperback: 324 pages
• Publisher: Lee Edelstein (November 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0988343401
• ISBN-13: 978-0988343405

This book is also available as an e-book.

Publication Date: November 14, 2012

In baseball, “chin music” is a 95 mile-per-hour fastball thrown at a hitter’s chin.  It presents two possibilities—disrupting a batter’s concentration or hitting him in the head.  As a metaphor in life, chin music is that split second—a phone call in the middle of the night or a visit to the doctor—when our lives are irrevocably changed and our destinies are forever altered.

For Lee Edelstein, CHIN MUSIC is the title of his new novel to be released straight into the spring training season in March 2013.   CHIN MUSIC is a warm-hearted salute to the game of baseball; the kids who dream of being in the majors; the collectors who hold onto their jerseys, hats, and cards; and a storytelling tradition that springs from the lore surrounding the greatest ballplayer of all – Babe Ruth.

CHIN MUSIC opens in St. Petersburg, Florida.  It is 1926 and the New York Yankees have begun spring training.  Their famous star player, Babe Ruth, nonchalantly walks into a barbershop for a haircut and a shave, and Zel, a female barber (rare for those times), becomes Ruth’s favorite.  As the season goes on, their friendship deepens.

Flash forward to Jupiter, Florida.  It is now 2013 and Ryan Buck, a high school senior and talented athlete, is weighed down with guilt and the nightmare that has haunted him for the past two years.  After the horrific car accident that maimed his brother and killed his father, his mother, Susan, is forced to consider selling the valuable Babe Ruth artifacts that have been in her family for five generations.  But a chance meeting with a retired baseball memorabilia collector leads to a close friendship that provides the support Susan needs to investigate a secret that has plagued her family for as long as she can remember.

Learn more at www.chinmusicthenovel.com.

My take on this book:

"Chin Music" opens in 2013 in Jupiter, Florida. We meet Ryan Buck whose life was changed forever in 2010 after an accident that left his father dead. His younger brother Michael lost a leg, along with the dream he held of becoming an athlete. Ryan's scars are emotional, he doesn't remember anything about the accident and is plagued by a dream that he has been having since right after the accident. His mother Susan, is coping the best way she knows how, and her one major worry is that she needs to figure out how to come up with some  money to purchase a prosthetic leg for her son Michael. She decides to sell some old Babe Ruth memorabilia that has been passed down through the family from her great-grandmother Zel, who just happened  to be Babe Ruth's barber in 1926. When she goes to sell a baseball card one person tries to take advantage of her, but a sports collector named Sam steps up and helps her. They become friends and she seeks his advice on her other collectibles  When she lends Sam Zel's diary so that he can prove provenance of the memorabilia it opens up an old mystery surrounding Zel and Babe Ruth that has plagued the family for generations. What does Sam uncover, and can he finally solve the mystery of what really happened during the summer of 1926, but more than that will Ryan ever be able to move forward and let the past go?

This book hooked me from the prologue, and I am someone that knows next to nothing about baseball!  I was immediately drawn to Ryan and his family who were suffering the effects of a major tragedy. I could easily empathize with Ryan and his struggles. What really intrigued me though was the story between Zel and Babe Ruth during the summer of 1926. The mystery that surrounded the story of Zel was one that I had to know the conclusion to. I loved the authentic feel of the 1920's time period and the slangy terms that were used, especially the ones uncovered in Zel's diary. It was interesting how different people in the family interpreted the diary, and ultimately what the Buck's decide to do with the memorabilia  Overall, a great story that blends together well drawn, realistic characters, a great plot along with a splash of mystery to make for a page turning read whether your a fan of baseball or not. 

About Lee Edelstein

Lee Edelstein was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY where his love of baseball was kindled by his Dad, an ardent Dodger fan.  After a successful business career, Lee resolved to pursue a lifelong passion for writing.  CHIN MUSIC is his first novel.

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