Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs will find much to relate to in Michael McKinley’s debut sports mystery. The Continental Hockey League stands in for the NHL and the hapless New York St. Patricks are suffering a 40-year cup drought. In the insular world of pro sports, retired players find a way to remain close to the game, whether through broadcasting, coaching, or in the case of former St. Pats’ almost-great Martin “Cartch” Carter, a pity job in community relations. Carter was the Pats’ last great hope for a cup before a dirty hit ended his career.

But the team’s woes could be ending. Link “Missing Link” Andrachuk – genius goal scorer and celebrated goon – is back from suspension in time for a run at the playoffs. Unfortunately, during a bench-clearing brawl, Link leaves an opposing player in a coma, and journalist Hayley Rawls, a Vancouver native who is in possession of a video of the incident, finds there is much money to be made. With blackmail on her mind, Rawls seduces Carter, but she ends up dead and her incriminating footage of Andrachuk’s attack goes missing. Carter soon finds himself the NYPD’s prime suspect in the journalist’s killing and flees to Canada, hoping to recover the evidence (a copy of which he thinks Rawls might have e-mailed to herself prior to her murder) and clear his name.

McKinley’s prose is punchy. Many light touches, from the motley array of nicknames to Carter’s nose sporting a “hat trick” of breaks, bring the author’s chosen milieu to life. You can smell the stink of the locker room and hear the shouts of the fans. As a character, Martin Carter strikes just the right balance of abrasiveness and charm. However, the supporting characters not deeply entrenched within the sports world feel more thinly drawn. Still, after a soft middle, which finds amateur sleuth Carter fumbling through both his ad hoc investigation and a romantic subplot, The Penalty Killing returns to New York and builds toward a riotous ending.