The Hopeless Tigers just won the biggest football game in school history! But as often happens in the quirky yet snakebitten town of Hopeless, Idaho… there’s a bit of a problem. A dead body has shown up.

That’s right. Another one.

As usual, Investigative reporter Hope Walker is on the scene. But this time, the mystery is particularly thorny. Hope has to sort through various motives and suspects in her most confusing mystery yet. Plus, she has to figure out where she stands with the handsome sheriff in town.

Especially now that a new suitor has thrown his hat into the ring. Will this be the crime to finally stump Hope? And will Hope ever figure out what she really wants out of life?

As this book opens, we see Hope as she arrives at her apartment from a rather comical five-mile run. Tired she rummages through a box of old clean clothes left by Granny, while not the best fit, they would work for sleep. When the heat kicks on she removed the sweats which normally wouldn’t be a problem, but there was a fire next door and smoke was coming in. The next thing she knows she’s carried out by a fireman, her lucky charms underwear on display for all those gather on Main Street to see. The fireman also approves of her underwear and thinks they should go on a date that night. His name is Fireman Bob and he doesn’t seem to be the sharpest of the bunch and doesn’t really give her a chance to say yes or no.

The flower shop was ruined and fortunately Mr. Henry Tanaka, the owner who lived above it is fine but devastated. Even worse the Fire Chief says it’s arson. During the cleanup Granny decides that the win or lose celebration for the football team that night, it would also be a fund-raiser for Mr. Tanaka.

Hope’s ‘date’ with Fireman Bob is of course to the football game. Where they joined the whole town to cheer the team to victory. Everyone crediting Coach Mossback for the incredible season that has their team going to the State Finals.

Hope manages to interview the other coaches, but Coach Mossback refuses until after the final game next weekend. Coach Duncan says he’ll try to get her five minutes before practice the next day.

Unfortunately, it appears Coach Mossback is late. He’s never late and Coach Duncan and Hope go to check on him. Guess what they found.

This is a favorite scene.

When Sheriff Kramer arrived five minutes later, Coach Duncan and I were sitting on the front steps getting some fresh air. Alex looked at me with disappointment and gave me a slight shake of his head.

I stared daggers back at him. “How about we skip the spiel where you get all over my case about finding dead bodies, and we get right to the part about how horrible this all is.”

“You’re right, it is horrible,” he said. “And it’s not going to take long for the neighbors to figure out something’s wrong, so let’s talk inside.”

We strode into the kitchen, and Alex turned to Coach Duncan. “Does he have family? Who do we need to tell?”

“I guess his wife. Susan,” Coach Duncan said soberly.

The sheriff and I exchanged a look. “He’s married?” Alex said.

“Sure,” Coach Duncan said, staring blankly ahead.

“Then why isn’t she here?” I asked.

“Randall puts her up in a hotel every weekend during the season.”

“That’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” I said.

Coach Duncan nodded, then gave a resigned sigh. “I guess you don’t get to be as good as Coach Mossback by being normal. Everything he does . . . or did . . . was calculated. It was all part of the Mossback Method. When he was working on the game plan, he wanted no distractions. From Friday night to Sunday morning, it was all work.”

“And his wife was a distraction?”

“Yep.”

“Any idea how to get ahold of her?” Alex asked.

The coach nodded. “I think I have her number somewhere.” He scrolled through his phone, then turned it around. Alex dialed the number, stepped to the side, had a short conversation, then ended the call.

“How’d she take it?” I asked.

“Stoic. Matter of fact.”

“Like she already knew?” I asked.

Sheriff Kramer rolled his eyes. “No, Hope. Like she wasn’t expecting to hear that her husband was dead and she didn’t know how to react.” He turned to Coach Duncan. “Arnie, you can contact the other coaches now. And before news of this gets out, I’m sure you’ll want to meet with the players.”

Coach Duncan said nothing, but kept staring blankly into nowhere.

“Coach Duncan?” Alex said. “Your players?”

The man shook his head as if rejoining the present. “Oh, um, yeah. Our regular team meeting starts in a few minutes.”

“Then go—be with your team. I’ll let you know if I need anything from you.”

While Coach Duncan walked off in a daze, Alex made a quick call to Dr. Bridges. Then he ended the call and handed me a pair of latex gloves. “Unless you’ve already contaminated the crime scene?”

“Would you consider rubbing my sweaty hands on everything I could see ‘contaminating the crime scene’?”

He closed his eyes and shook his head. “Is it your mission in life to be a pain in the rear?” “No. That’s just an enjoyable side benefit.”
Carson, Daniel. A Hopeless Game (A Hope Walker Mystery Book 4). Kindle Locations (683-708). Daniel Carson Books. Kindle Edition.

From this point there are several interesting turns, beginning with the interesting dynamic of Mossback’s marriage and continuing with Mossback’s training methods.

I really love all the twists and quirkiness in these books. The friendship with Katie and wow those kids. Granny is a hoot and Bess holds everything together. Fireman Bob is interesting, funny, and full of himself, but no match for Alex as far as Hope is concerned. We see the Buck’s Diner murder club as they work to help Hope solve this strange murder.

I am already reading the next book in this series.

5 Contented Purrs for Daniel!

Daniel Carson

Daniel Carson writes cozy mysteries with humor, romance, and plenty of heart.

His first series is The Hope Walker Mysteries and A Hopeless Murder is the first book in that series. His second series is the Baking School Mysteries featuring Delaney Dodge. Fudge Frosting Murder is the first book in that series.

Daniel lives in Omaha, Nebraska with his wife, their children, and the world’s toughest eight pound dog, a maltipoo named Emmett.