Hi team,

Thank you for the ARC. I really appreciate it. I wasn’t able to finish this one, as it didn’t click for me at this time. The part of the sport in the book was significant and while I was aware of it, it still was too much for me. I really apologize and of course appreciate the chance to read.

Mississippi Blue 42 really hit home for me. The narrator did such a great job bringing the story to life, making it feel like you’re right there in Mississippi, feeling all the ups and downs alongside the characters. The mix of football, family, and a little romance was just the right balance. While it’s got a few familiar themes, the heart of the story—especially the southern vibe—made it so easy to connect with. Perfect for anyone who enjoys a heartfelt story with a touch of grit and warmth. Thank you for allowing me to obtain an advanced copy for review!

A rookie FBI agent (and daughter of a college football coach) investigates whether a college in Mississippi is buying its athletes (before NIL became a thing). Her investigation leads her to surprising destinations and leads to even more surprising suspects.

This was my first Eli Cranor book and it won't be my last. I liked it. It was a very Southern Gothic mystery and it was well written. I enjoyed most of the characters and there were some very inventive surprises along the way. This is a fun read.

This was such a good police procedural. Much more polished and less gritty than the other ones I've read. I enjoyed the thorough knowledge of the NCAA and thought this was very well researched!

More of a 3.5 rounded up for me. A well-written book, but just didn't really grab me and I couldn't connect with the characters.

It could also be the football setting that was too immersive for me too, but I don't think so.

The audiobook was well-read and likely this book will connect perfectly fine for other readers.

Thanks to the publishers and Net Galley for the ARC.

This is a multiple POV book that follows all sides of white-collar crime tied to college football. We see the effects through the FBI agents, players, coach, bagmen and higher ups. This story falls during about two months of the investigation near the end of the football season.

First off, this story is about 50/50 crime and football. It also follows a lot of characters therefore you also have to appreciate the motivations of everyone involved. It also happens in Mississippi, so southern culture is another large aspect of this book and the character motivations. The blurb is highly accurate when it describes what to expect out of this book.

Things that one would think would happen but do not happen: 1) The incident of the star quarterback falling off the roof is a very small part of the story even though it is the cover. 2) I would say there isn't a great resolution to a lot of actions. Nothing really feels like it has consequences for people involved. Consquences are a big part of thillers so it feels like there should be actual ones. I would say this is more of a mental thriller, peoples consequense are in their head more than in action. 3) I don't feel like what is resolved is explained well. I have more questions than answers.

If you want a character driven crime filled football book, this is it. In real life, there aren't great conclusions so in that sense this books is accurate.

The narrator was a highlight for me. They did an excellent job.

The world of college football is the subject of this book. The author is a former player so he obviously knows a lot about the game, but you don’t have to be a football fan to read this book. The focus is not on the game itself, but on the sleazy world of boosters, gamblers, coaches and politicians who manipulate the players to their own advantage. The investigation of corruption morphs into something else when a quarterback winds up dead. The blurb describes the book as “a heart-pounding noir thriller”. That is not at all accurate. I found the book entertaining, but it is not a noir thriller.

This book is the start of a series about new FBI Special Agent Rae Johnson. I think that may be a mistake, because I much preferred her middle aged partner Frank. Rae seemed a little naive about college football - supposedly her area of expertise since her father is a college coach. Maybe just read a couple of newspaper articles about how ugly, unfair and corrupt the system is. Her behavior as an agent also seemed out of kilter. A suspect claims that he’s not a bag man, he just helps out the players. So then it’s perfectly ok to sleep with him. And then on your very first case it’s fine to go rogue and violate a direct order from your boss. Neither of those actions helped out in the crime solving department.

In addition to Frank, I liked Moses, the newly promoted quarterback who wants to be a veterinarian. The bad guys included a cartoonish politician (unfortunately, his cartoonish behavior seemed pretty accurate), a Jesus freak coach, and a man pimping out his daughter for the cause. Dan John Miller dud a good job narrating the audiobook. 3.5 stars

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

Mood Confession Time:
This audiobook was chosen for me by the Witches Words reading group. We loved Eli Cranor’s earlier book, so when this one popped up on NetGalley, we cranked the volume and hit play faster than a Friday night kickoff.

What Lit My Mood:
I’m a sucker for a storyline soaked in corruption, and when you add a small town built on a college football empire well my ears perked up. This one's all about blood, money, and the deep roots of power.
Newly-minted FBI agent Rae Johnson has football in her blood, her dad’s a legendary coach. She is there to investigate sketchy money moving in a football-obsessed Mississippi town. But when a player is flung off a roof with a gym bag full of cash, Rae digs deeper than the end zone.

Where My Mood Flickered:
Cranor’s quarterback roots show here and he knows the sport, and it sometimes overshadows the suspense. Rae's interviews with players, coaches, fans, and sleazy politicians were solid, but the grit I loved in his earlier work wasn’t there.

Audiobook Vibes:
The narrator does a great job and I enjoyed his voice. It’s one of those audiobooks that makes chores fly by but maybe wouldn’t have cast the same spell on the page.

Witchy Mood Meter Rating:
Moody Mismatch – I was intrigued, but the energy felt foggy and the spell never fully took hold.

Verdict:
Worth a stir in the cauldron if you're craving sports drama with secrets on the sidelines.

Not quite a touchdown, but the southern shadows and sharp heroine make it worth conjuring.

A Witches Words read with Debra and Dorie!

A new agent gets her first case,  Rae's father happens to be a very sucessful football coach. Rae's first case is about college football corruption before the present day NIL deals. Bags of cash, pretty girls and college football. We get an inside view of college football, especially football down south. This was a very well written sports crime story.  I really enjoyed the banter between Rae and her older partner Frank. I do hope there will be more featuring these characters.

Eli Cranor does sports crime! A combo I didn't know I needed or wanted, as I don't like or care about college football. And he does it without losing much of the murky southern noir flavors that made his previous books so good.

Excited to get more Rae Johnson books in the future. Only real complaint is that there's a male narrator (who does as good a job as he can) for a book with a woman as the lead character. Dual narrators would have been ideal.

Thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books for an advance audio copy.

Alright, I don't typically read books about football, but this was a good one! Mississippi Blue 42 follows a young FBI agent, Rae Johnson, who is investigating a money scandal within college football in Mississippi. Suddenly, the star quarterback dies after he falls off a roof and onto a bag of money. It's about this point that Rae realizes there may be more to this case than just fraud money poured into the college football teams. She begins to dig deeper uncovering layers of corruption within the game of football, small towns and its hierarchy. I listened to this on audio and the mystery of untangling Rae's investigation definitely kept a quick pace! Thanks NetGalley for the audio copy of this book!

College football, pay offs, and an FBI investigation are the name of the game in Mississippi Blue 42. Eli Cranor is a former professional football player and wrote what he knows with his latest book. He writes the plays, the ins, and the outs of football! He also writes about the money behind some plays and how far fans and others who affect recruiting and game outcomes by supplying players with bags full of money.

Special Agent Rae Johnson knows football. One might say it is in her blood. Her father is a "national-championship-winning college coach." When she is chosen to investigate the bags of money delivered to players in Compson, Mississippi by 'bagmen', she dives right in! She begins her investigation by interviewing various people ranging from player, gridiron girls, local politicians, and even the coaches themselves. I enjoyed the parts where she wondered about her own father in terms of what he might know and wondering if he was ever influenced by others in terms of outcomes of games.

I had high hopes for this book as I have loved the previous books which I have read by Eli Cranor. I missed the rawness and grittiness of his previous books. I had a hard time connecting with the characters in this book. I have a feeling that American Football fans might enjoy this book more than I did. I can't fault Eli Cranor's writing - it's top notch as always. Some of the football plays and lingo were lost on me. I did enjoy the connection that Rae had to the college football world. She knows the game inside and out which helped her gain the trust of those with whom she spoke. I did find myself wanting more of her background and wanted some scenes with her father.

Even though this book didn't completely win me over, I did enjoy the investigative work. I found this book to be thought provoking and found myself wondering how often pay offs and thrown games take place in sports.

While I didn't love this book as much as I have enjoyed his previous books, I still enjoyed this one. As with his previous books, this book does tackle some tough subjects such a competition, racism, power, poverty, and coercion. It has a good mystery, and the narrator of the audiobook did a fine job.

A new FBI agent and her ready-to-retire partner are immersed in the world of college football attempting to prove players are being paid to play…and possibly throw the game. When the star QB turns up dead Agent Rae Johnson starts investigating the possible murder, even if it’s not technically in her jurisdiction.

A realistic and somewhat disheartening look at DI sports and the pressures those athletes must face. I liked the agents a lot (though Frank can be a little old-school). Good mystery with interesting turns. Looking forward to the next in the series. The audio narrator did a good job of keeping the voices different enough that you can tell who is speaking.

Trigger warning: racism, forced sexual encounter

I received an ARC of this audiobook from #NetGalley.

This is a DNF for me at 30%. I didn't realize that this book would be so incredibly heavy on football and all that goes with it. I don't enjoy football and found all of the ins and outs of the tactics to sign players boring.

I'm sure this will find it's audience among football lovers

ARC read

If the coach’s daughter from Remember the Titans grew up and became a Federal Agent, this could be her story.

Honestly, I struggled with this one. I wanted so badly to love it, but I should didn’t. It kept my attention, helped pass the time, but I never could get invested in the characters. Although the narrator did an excellent job, I struggled with the female protagonist being voiced by a man. I’m thinking maybe someone steeped in football might enjoy this a little more, but I couldn’t get past the cliche phrases passed off as unique sayings and stereotypical representations of the South (of which I am a proud member and do not resemble the depiction).

It was not bad, I just didn’t love it. I am thankful to have been chosen to review the book for NetGalley.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Even mosquitos know there’s power in the blood.”

“Life in the Waffle House could wear a woman down.”

Finally... I found a book where I am the target audience.

First things first... I'm very familiar with life prior to the dreaded NIL happenings in college football, growing up in Mississippi, having lived in Arkansas for the past 10 years, huge college football fan, former quarterback, has-been college athlete, and avid reader,.. I AM THE GUY TO READ THIS BOOK!!!

Unfortunately, I feel like this is bad news. I know absolutely ZERO other people in my demographic that like to read. I believe we can find a small spattering of people that will seek out this book for its audio adaptation but not many for the physical copy. BUT... if this work can get picked up for TV or film, I believe it can succeed. It has all of the elements that it needs: good vs. evil, a moral hero, creepy old Caucasian villains, money, drama, greed, sex, sports. Good stuff here.

Simple story. I wish the FBI agent wasn't as naive as she is portrayed to be. But this is supposedly the start of a series... so there is plenty of time for this character to grow.

I enjoy this author and look forward to his future works.

Thanks to NetGalley for the early read of this story about a rookie FBI agent being thrown into the college football scene for an investigation on dirty money after growing up the daughter of a beloved coach. It was an enjoyable read, despite me having little interest in football.

I was drawn by this being the first in a series about FBI Special Agent Rae Johnson. The death of the quarterback came early on in the book, and it seemed pretty unrealistic that very little was done to memorialize him. When a beloved student athlete dies, especially in a small town, there would be a lot more fanfare. The smooth transition to the next QB was a bit off putting here, but I am glad it was Moses.

The most redeeming part of this story was Moses. What a great person. The portrayal of this character was probably my favorite part of the book. Frank was fun, too, and I hope to see him in future books.

The cliffhanger (will she/won't she) at the end about her dad gave me mixed feelings about agent Johnson. If she is that easily compromised, it doesn't seem like much of a promising start to a career.

I do recommend this story, especially for fans of football and crime/law enforcement books.

This was just okay for me. I am not the target audience, so that is ok.
I am a sucker for anything sort of police procedural. So, new FBI agent on her first case? Check. Start of a new series? Double check. I like sports. Admittedly, football is not my favorite, but I thought I knew the game. This is where it went a bit wrong, lol. It went too far into football a few times early on.

So, in addition to being a bit over my head because I only know basics, the whole crime/conspiracy didn't draw me in.

Moses is the best thing in the book. I like Frank, too.

Dan John Miller narrates the audiobook.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fascinating audiobook read that opened up my world to the mysteries of sports betting and also to football details that I never knew. The author wrote some richly drawn characters and the mystery was well paced and action packed. I enjoyed this very much!

Living in England I might not have totally understood what was going on or the terminology but I still enjoyed the book. There was a lot of character names and nicknames like gridiron girls and bagman, which at first I struggled to keep straight or understand but it didn't take long to get my head around everything and I was soon catch up in all the action. The story moved at a fast pace as Rae struggled to work her first case. The author created a cast of believable characters and then wrote a story that had you invested in what happened to them. Rae was a good main character but my favourite character was the young football player caught up in all the drama.

Special Agent Rae Johnson is assigned her first case as an FBI agent, based on her knowledge of growing up with a successful football coach. She is tasked with tracking down money being funded through the game. The case takes a deadly turn when the star quarterback takes a drive off the roof. Can Rae find a way to investigate the death and the money? She needs an informant or a way to get close to the man running the show before somebody else gets hurt.
I liked the narrator. He has a pleasant voice that was easy to listen too.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.