A Venture Into Murder

By Henry Kisor

Book Overview

Porcupine County is nestled into the peaceful landscape of Michigan's Upper Peninsula; a small town where the residents all know one another, and the latest gossip is never something that can be kept quiet for long. But there's one secret that Porcupine County has tried to keep quiet for years . . . and those who try to uncover it sometimes wind up dead. Deputy Steve Martinez - Lakota Indian by birth, white by association - fell in love with the town after running away from a secret of his own. After finding the love of his life, Steve was able to make peace with his past and find comfort in the land that had been so good to his people. The quiet is broken, though, after the discovery of a mob hitman's body. Then, during a routine operation, one of Steve's men literally falls over the long-buried body of one of Porcupine County's missing . . . a man who was last seen over one hundred years ago. The two deaths are seemingly unrelated at first . . . but Steve Martinez isn't one to let a matter of relation stop him. As Steve probes deeper, he's confronted with problems both professional and personal that could jeopardize everything: his career and his relationship with the beautiful Ginny Fitzgerald - a wealthy widow with quite a few secrets of her own. Through shoot-outs and death-defying surveillance flights, Deputy Steve Martinez is willing to do whatever it takes to keep the peace in the land he loves, but he may find that - even in the quietest of towns - there are some things that are better left buried.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076531228X
• ISBN13: 9780765312280
• Release Date: November 2005
• Publisher: Forge
• Length: 287 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Former Yooper's Perspective

Those who love the Michigan's UP will delight in references, both real and veiled, to places and people. The culture comes through, but must be taken with that proverbial grain of salt. The characters created in SEASON's REVENGE continue a believable development. I have plain, old enjoyed the entire book, series. This Christmas, relatives ( former Yoopers) in Connecticut and Arizona received the book; they, too, loved it. Mystery buffs who like small place books by writers such as Archer Mayor and William Kent Krueger will find another author to add to their must reading list.

Sex, drugs, and the mob in the U.P.

I thoroughly enjoyed Season's Revenge and so was glad to see the return of Porcupine County Sheriff Deputy Steve Martinez. Despite its close knit and gossipy nature, Upper Peninsula Michigan can be a lonely place; one that offers a lot of time to think. As a result Martinez is prone to ruminations on everything from identity politics, the drug war, and life in the boonies to the joys of being a pilot, home cooked meals, and the love of a good women. These ruminations slow the pace down at times, but they make for interesting reading. As in Season's Revenge the clues to the mystery build up slowly. A body washes up on shore, then a hundred year old body shows up in the woods, and soon Martinez knows that something fishy is going on in Porcupine County. Kisor weaves in some relationship problems for Martinez and even some local politics. Kisor, like his character Martinez, takes it slow painting the scene and laying the ground work. It doesn't take long for, however, the things to get interesting. You have a sexed-up suburbanite from Chicago on the prowl, a mysterious boat captain with a past, and bodies being found in the woods. Throw in some possible mob connections and the suspicion of drug trafficking and the tension mounts. Despite its languid start, A Venture into Murder has an action packed climax involving a shootout in an old cooper mine and an airplane/boat chase out on Lake Superior. Their unique setting and interesting observations/ruminations make Kisor's mysteries a real treat. I recommend them to anyone who enjoys a good mystery.