THE PENALTY KILLING by Michael McKinley (McClelland & Stewart), 339 pages, $29.99 cloth. Rating: NNN
Normally, I wouldn’t pay that much attention to a hockey mystery, especially one that hasn’t got much style in the writing department.
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But three things distinguish The Penalty Killing. First of all, author Michael McKinley knows hockey. He’s written five books on the subject, including a companion to the CBC series Hockey: A People’s History.
His hero, Martin Carter, is fascinating, mainly because he’s survived a concussion that knocked him out of the sport 15 years ago, and that figures prominently in everything that motivates him as head of community relations for the New York St. Patricks. He’s a man for our hockey times, given the current rash of head injuries rocking the NHL.
Carter helps a filmmaker shoot a key game, and when she gets footage of the Pats’ star nearly killing the opposition’s franchise player during an on-ice brawl, she tries to blackmail the team. Within days she’s dead, and Carter, who spent the night with her, is the main suspect.
Soon someone’s after him. Why? Does it have to do with a possible sale of the Pats? Whoever’s making the deal really doesn’t want that footage made public. The Pats’ star would be suspended, and the whole team would go down with him.
Like I said, the writing is far from spectacular. But McKinley’s take on violence in pro hockey is refreshing and – here’s the book’s third virtue – the gay characters and subplot even more so in a hockey mystery.
McKinley reads at Harbourfront’s Brigantine Room with Alan Bradley, Wednesday (March 24). See Readings.
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