THE BABE RUTH DECEPTION

In the aftermath of World War I, two unlikely partners reunite to protect those they love.

Babe Ruth, who’s just starting his fabled career with the Yankees, is filming a movie that hopes to profit from his fame. Because Dr. Jamie Fraser’s wife, Eliza, was involved in making the movie, they chat with Babe at the premiere. He’s unhappy to learn that one of the backers is Abie Attell, champion prizefighter and close associate of notorious gambler Arnold Rothstein. Rothstein is rumored to have fixed the 1919 World Series, and Babe is worried that the authorities will be digging up material on the 1918 series, in which he played for the winning Red Sox. He admits to Fraser that he owes Rothstein more money than he can repay, but Fraser’s sure he’s hiding something even more troublesome. During the war Fraser helped his friend Speed Cook, a former Negro League player, get his son Joshua off a bogus charge. Now he turns to Speed for help with Babe’s problem. When a bomb goes off at the Morgan Bank, Joshua comes to the rescue of Fraser’s daughter, Violet. Her society boyfriend dumps her after her leg is hurt badly enough to require a brace, and she and Joshua begin seeing each other without telling their parents. When the Frasers find out, they fear their daughter could be reviled and Joshua killed. Undeterred, Violet moves in with Joshua, who’s taken up bootlegging to finance their move to Europe, where mixed marriages are less stigmatized. As Fraser and Speed use their knowledge and contacts to help Babe, they little know that their own family problems will become entangled with his and put their lives in danger.

The third from Stewart (The Wilson Deception, 2015, etc.) cleverly mixes real-life people and historical events. The problems of the unlikely sleuths will particularly appeal to baseball fans.