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"The Ringer" is the story of what happens to two families after one father, a police officer, shoots and kills another father, a Mexican immigrant, during a no-knock raid on a Denver home. It turns out the warrant had the wrong address—the cops had no business being at Salvador Santillano's home in the first place. That part of the story is based on an actual incident that happened in Denver in 1999. But author Jenny Shank creates two fictional families to explore the many possible impacts of such a tragedy, and she chooses a unique backdrop for her story. In the novel, the son of the dead man and the two sons of the cop play baseball in the same little league. The question becomes: can the competition and pressure, teamwork and community of American baseball be the salvation of these two families, or might it destroy everything they still have? The Ringer is told from two points of view: Patricia Maestas, the wife of the victim, who was separated from her husband, and who must deal not only with her anger at police, but also her guilt over not making up with Salvador before he died; and Ed O’Fallon, a cop who feels guilty over killing an innocent man, who fears facing another life-or-death situation on the job, and who becomes increasingly alienated from his family. Both characters have more in common than they realize: Denver roots, college education, low-paid yet professional careers (Patricia is a nurse), an obsession with protecting their children, and guilt. Salvador wouldn’t have been at the wrong house if Patricia hadn’t kicked him out, partly because she suspected him of an infidelity she couldn't prove. Meanwhile, O’Fallon shot Salvador in self-defense, yet later reports indicate he may not have read the situation clearly. Both are launched into the center of a political firestorm pitting minority activists against city leaders. The story is filled with very real undercurrents that face Denver and other cities: police powers, civil rights, stereotyping of both minorities and cops, the unrecognized dangers that face both minorities and cops, immigration, and racial tension of all sorts. The story also calls attention to the difference between minorities born in the U.S. and minority immigrants. Patricia’s own mother disapproves of her daughter, a Mexican-American, marrying a Mexican immigrant. Salvador became a citizen, but not all his paperwork was 100% accurate. Of course, that doesn’t mean he deserved to die. Then again, Ed acted in what he believed was self-defense, and it seems unfair that he might lose his career and his family because of it. Into the midst of this drama, enter center stage: "The Ringer." Patricia’s son, Ray, is a 12-year-old pitcher with the fastest fastball in Denver’s little leagues. Ed and his unwitting sons can't help but admire the kid. Ed, who switched to coaching his daughter’s T-ball team because he got too excitable when coaching the boys, feels a pang of regret over what might have been if he and Salvador had met on the field as fathers. The drama intensifies as the season heads toward the championships, and both families find themselves moving on a collision course toward the final diamond. The end is a real surprise. This was a meaningful story and a compelling read. I can’t wait to see what Jenny Shank has in store next.

I am another reader that discovered this book through the film - which I really enjoyed. I even frequented the movie theatre that is dead to me in order to see it. The books far surpasses the film - which really only covers about a third of the book. Its nice to find a scifi series that has a lot of meat on the bones - finally a series where the main character figures out the twists and turns before you do. Moscow as the homebase for the war between good and evil as office politics and red tape is original and way more fascinating than those strictures would lead you to believe.