A former star basketball player, Sheriff Karen Okerlund Mehaffey just wants to have fun watching the local girls' summer team play against an elite Dakota team that sports the country's top uncommitted college recruit. True, life-changing scholarship offers are on the line, but no one expected that murder would be done.

To make things even stickier, the talented and unfairly maligned daughter of Karen's boyfriend is vying for one of those scholarships, and this may be her last chance to catch the eye of scouts.

Someone is playing for keeps, but who? From entitled players and helicopter parents to classless coaches and dubious sponsors, Karen and her detective-uncle, Marek Okerlund, must play a deadly game of justice to find a killer.

DEAD BALL is a character-driven police procedural. Tenth in series. Word Count: 96,000. Occasional profanity. Minimal gore.