Rush for the Gold: Mystery at the Olympics by John Feinstein

Reviewed by Danilo C.
Grade 8

As the sixth book of a book series that has been one of my favorites ever since I started reading it, I knew Rush for the Gold was bound to be a good book, and I was right. This thrilling mystery takes place at this year’s London Olympics’ swim races. Just like in the books before it, this book incorporates interesting sports understanding as well as investigative reporting which make it a tremendously exciting novel.

Stevie Thomas and Susan Carol Anderson, two teenage reporters who have been covering sporting events together for two years, are back again, this time under completely different circumstances. Normally, Stevie and Susan Carol cover big-time sporting events together as newspaper reporters. In this book, Susan Carol is there as an Olympic athlete. Susan Carol swims the 100 and 200 fly, and after nearly breaking records at the trials, she made it on the Olympic swim team for both races. At first it seemed like a dream come true, but it soon became a nightmare. Soon enough there were agents at her doorstep wooing her father with unfathomable amounts of money, and before she knew it Susan Carol was being used more as a marketing tool than as a swimmer. Things only got worse from there; her longtime swim coach was almost fired, her best friends were being shut out of her life, and her father wasn’t listening to her or anyone but the agents. To make matters worse, she and Stevie found themselves entrenched in a mystery scandal involving a sportswear company and a Russian swimmer.

John Feinstein has always been one of my favorite authors for multiple reasons. One, I am an avid sports fan, so his extensive knowledge of sports always interests me whenever I read his books. Two, I also enjoy mysteries, and John Feinstein is able to combine both of these topics and make them into an outstanding novel. I also like the way he combines real people into the story to make it more realistic.

This entire series is a must read for any mystery reader, sports fan, or both. The way the author incorporates big time sporting events and turns them into thrilling mystery novels is unheard of, which is what makes this book a must read. Reading this book and the ones before it will have any reader anticipating the next masterpiece Feinstein comes up with.