Dead Tease

January 23, 2012
Reading Houston’s spare 12th Loon Lake mystery (after 2011’s Dead Deceiver) is like listening to a raconteur catching you up on the rural Wisconsin community, complete with contextual interjections and regionalisms (e.g., “razzbonya,” local vernacular for nincompoop). The stabbing murder of Jen Williams, a young woman of easy virtue who just had an afternoon tryst with a married man, is the first of several unnatural deaths. Deputy coroner Paul Osborne, a retired dentist, assists Loon Lake police chief Lewellyn Ferris in her investigation, which centers on neighbors and staff at the clinic where Williams worked, including a hostile ER physician, Cynthia Daniels. Series fans will enjoy spending time with old friends, but others may wish the suspense wasn’t limited to wondering how high the body count will rise before Ferris stops the culprit. Agent: Martha Millard, Martha Millard Literary Agency.

March 1, 2012

The small population of Loon Lake, WI, wouldn't seem to lend itself to hit-man murders, but there you have it. Jen Williams has just left a clandestine tryst with the local hospital's executive, John McNeil, when she is knifed at her own mailbox. Sheriff Lewellyn "Lew" Ferris once again employs her deputized friend, retired dentist Paul Osborne, to help her figure out who the two-legged loon is, in this tale of jealousy and revenge. She has her hands full interviewing a full deck of suspects, including McNeil's jilted lover, his wife, and a crazed old widow. Perhaps there's a touch of Columbo about Lew's team, but don't underestimate this small-town squad. VERDICT A delightful procedural that makes the most of the series' (Dead Deceiver) offbeat ensemble cast. Couple with Keith McCafferty's recent The Royal Wulff Murders for the fly-fishing connection or Mary Logue's Claire Watkins series.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.