by James J. Fischer (Word Association Publishers, 2000)
Runner’s Blood opens, as a good mystery should, with a puzzle—an Olympic 10,000 meter runner is beaten by a middle-aged jogger who somehow manages a world class time, without even breathing hard. This is quickly followed by the obligatory corpse—this time that of the jogger, who happens to have been a professor at the prestigious local medical school. What ensues is not as much a "whodunnit" as a "how’dtheydoit," for unlike conventional mysteries, we learn the culprits in the next chapter: the Chinese athletic association, assisted by disgraced East German swimming coaches, who steal the dead doctor’s secret to cheat at the Olympic Games. Throughout the rest of the book we follow the Olympian’s quest to discover the secret and devise a method to stop them from stealing his medals.
Dr. James Fischer, M.D. and Professor at Yale, is eminently qualified to write this medical mystery. Reading the book is an education on the molecular biology and genetics that could produce such a scenario. Though the science can occasionally become overwhelming, it is always explained in layman’s terms. More troubling for runners are errors like referencing USATF as the TAC, or having a 10,000 meter track time disqualified for being wind aided. Despite these limitations, the book draws you in, hoping to find out if the bad guys will be caught and the hero will win the medal and the girl—like all good mysteries.
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