Time for some crime stories – set in Minnesota – Twin Cities

Today it’s Murder in Minnesota, with a new Sam Rivers mystery from Cary Griffith, the first in a new series from Linda Norlander, and Death by Prescription by Jeanne Cooney, all reading this week. Griffith will be in Apple Valley; Norlander and Cooney are sharing a venue at Lake Country Booksellers.

“Dead Catch”: by Cary J. Griffith (AdventureKEEN, $16.95)

“Something’s going on up here,” Holden said. “I mean, something’s wrong. Not just what happened to me, but the lake up here. My house is on the Vermillion. I’m on that lake every day. I fish there. Walleye, especially. I know a lot of people who fish there. The walleye population has been declining in the last few years. On the Vermillion.” He paused again. “And I’ve tried some other lakes nearby. Crane. Kabetogama. Over at the Elbow. Big, good walleye lakes. Every one of them has been declining. Something’s going on.” — from “Dead Catch”

Did you know that Minnesota has a $25 million walleye industry? The fish is so sought after by restaurants that a character in Cary Griffith’s new crime novel is willing to skirt the law to get walleye cheaper than they can buy it in Canada.

Sam Rivers is a special agent with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and his partner is Gray, a regal and intelligent wolf-dog mix who is always by Rivers’ side. Sam is in love with Carmel, but he can’t fully commit to the relationship.

In this fourth Rivers mystery, Sam is asked to meet with Holden Riggins, his best friend from when they were 12. Riggins, an outdoorsman and known poacher, is arrested after being found nearly frozen to death in his boat. Two Department of Natural Resources conservation officers found his boat anchored next to an illegal walleye net. In a nearby net lies the body of their missing colleague. Riggins is suspected of murder, but the only person he wants to talk to is Rivers, with whom he shares his feeling that something is causing the decline in walleye populations in the lakes surrounding the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

As Rivers and Gray begin investigating twisted nets, a Twin Cities restaurant owner who buys illegally caught walleye, and rogue cops, Sam receives messages, such as a flat tire, telling him to stop investigating. The reader knows who the culprit is and why he wants to get rid of the law. But Rivers knows that no matter what danger he’s in, his big dog will always be his protector.

This mystery book has something for everyone, from supporters of the BWCA to those interested in the work of organizations that care for our lakes and fish populations to those who wish they had a friend like Gray. Rivers even shares his favorite whitefish recipe and his favorite dipping sauce.

Griffith lives in Rosemount, grew up in eastern Iowa and has a degree in library science from the University of Minnesota. He also writes nonfiction, including “Gunflint Burning: Fire in the Boundary Waters” and “Opening Goliath: Danger and Discovery in Caving,” which won a Minnesota Book Award.

He will discuss his book at 6 p.m. on Monday, July 22, at Lunds & Byerlys, 15550 English Ave., Apple Valley. The event is sponsored by the Apple Valley Rotary Book Club. The program is free and open to the public.

“The Death of Goldie’s Lover”: by Linda Norlander (Level Best Books, $16.95)

She kept meowing until I realized I had forgotten to feed her. As I served her the liver meal, I thought about the simple life of a house cat. Someone to feed you, get you a sofa and an expensive pillow, and clean the litter box. Not a bad life. Then I remembered that the poor cat had spent two days in a hot apartment next to her dead mistress. – from “The Death of Goldie’s Lover”

If there’s such a thing as a laugh-out-loud crime novel, trust former Minnesotan Linda Norlander to write it. Norlander, who lives in Tacoma, Washington, is the author of the Cabin at the Lake crime novels set in northern Minnesota. “The Death of Goldie’s Mistress” is the first book in her Liza and Mrs. Wilkens series.

Liza is a teacher who lost her summer job. She spends her days in her Minneapolis apartment, watching reruns of “NCIS” and feeling sorry for herself. That’s how she wanted to stay, but her 84-year-old upstairs neighbor, Mrs. Wilkens, has other plans. Dressed in a T-shirt, cargo shorts, and bright orange tennis shoes, Mrs. Wilkens drags Liza off the couch because she’s worried about her relative, Ramona, who taught Liza after Ramona kicked her drug habit and started working toward her high school diploma.

When Ramona is found dead, the police assume she has relapsed and died of a drug overdose. But Mrs. Wilkens is convinced she was murdered. Liza is hesitant to get involved, especially when Mrs. Wilkens insists that she keep the dead woman’s cat “for a few days” until the animal can be taken to an animal shelter. Liza, who had an unfortunate experience as a child when a gerbil died in the heat shafts, wants nothing to do with the cat. But as she and Mrs. Wilkens delve deeper into Ramona’s life, the haughty animal becomes a kind of friend to her.

They wonder why Ramona was involved in a failing church run by father-son pastors that preaches hate. When Liza agrees to read to the younger pastor’s wife, she finds a very sick, bedridden woman who gives her a mysterious note. Liza must also deal with the voice of her twin sister Charlee, who died when they were four. Charlee disappears for long periods of time, coming back at regular intervals to tell Liza what to do. Charlee is back, urging her sister to further investigate Ramona’s death and the creepy rectory where sealed boxes are constantly being delivered.

So Liza has to juggle the cat’s needs, the voice of her dead sister who wants her gone, and Mrs. Wilkens’ plans to break into the rectory. The fact that her ideas are illegal doesn’t bother Mrs. Wilkens at all.

Fans of Norlander’s Cabin by the Lake series will be pleased to hear that the fifth book in the series, Death of a Dream Catcher, was released on June 25th.

“It’s murder, you bet on it”: by Jeanne Cooney (North Star Press of St. Cloud, $20)

In the second part of her “Hot Dish Heaven” crime stories, humorist and author Cooney, who is in demand for speeches and other appearances, presents us with a bizarre murder story with recipes.

Doris Day Anderson Connor, a 61-year-old retired farmer, lives in the Scandinavian Lutheran farming community of Hallock in northwestern Minnesota. Doris and her sister, local cafe owner Kelly Anderson, go ice fishing with 90-year-old Rose O’Brien. They don’t catch any fish, but they do find a body. Like all good amateur detectives, Doris investigates to further the murder investigation, angering the sheriff and an ex-boyfriend. Only in Minnesota would Doris find an answer at a gender reveal party during a snowstorm. Kirkus Reviews says, “Cooney brings so much charm to her story that it’s hard to fault the leisurely pace. An engaging and cozy crime thriller that takes its time.”

The author divides her time between northwest and central Minnesota.

Norlander and Cooney will sign copies of their books on Friday, July 26, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Lake Country Booksellers, 2766 Washington Square, White Bear Lake.