I've never been much of a reader of mysteries, although I often enjoy reading a decent true crime book. These days, however, I find myself reading a lot of both fictional mysteries and true crime books written by Michigan authors and/or set in the Great Lakes State.
So, whether you like escaping from the slush and cold by reading a chiller, or you're looking for a few good reads to pack into your beach bag in anticipation of summer, here are a few suggestions for books about Michigan mysteries, murder and other mayhem.
Taking a new look at cold cases always fascinates me, and I found Mardi Link's account of an officially unsolved northern Michigan crime dating to 1968, when an idyllic summer vacation home turned into a horrific murder scene where six members of the Robison family lost their lives, fascinating. Fans of the "Mad Men" television show should also enjoy reading about some real-life 1960s advertising types populating this story.
I saw Link at a book signing where I picked up her next true crime book about another northern Michigan case where she explores the long-held secrets about a nun's death in the tiny northern Michigan town of Isadore-a crime that the locals still only reluctantly, if at all, discuss.
Lest you think tragedies like Columbine and Virginia Tech, where one or two disturbed or disgruntled people take the lives of students as they set about their school day, are unique to our contemporary culture, Arnie Bernstein's book about America's first school bombing that took place in a mid-Michigan town on a spring day in 1927 will be a revelation. Readers learn how the bombing happened, but the reasons for the crime spree that resulted in the deaths nearly 40 people (including the bomber himself) remain shrouded in mystery.
I remember reading newspaper accounts about the deaths of two Detroit-area deer hunters who disappeared during a hunting trip in 1985, as well as the trial that exposed the secrets surrounding their deaths 18 years later. Tom Henderson's book, Darker than Night, is a compelling account of the crime and trial that even earned a 5-star review at Amazon from the prosecutor in the trial. Chapters are extremely short, which I found an effective device to keep me moving through the book as I'd always think I would read just one more chapter...and keep thinking that until I finished the book hours later. I look forward to reading Henderson's other true-crime books.
Richard Carson's book about the death of a 17-year-old girl from Michigan's Thumb area in 1974 is in my "to-read" pile. This case remained unsolved until a rookie detective began investigating it with the assistance of a psychic in 1982. I'm looking forward to reading about the crime, the subsequent trial, and the trial's aftermath.
Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist Bryan Gruley gave me the ultimate trifecta of reasons to read his first mystery novel when I saw that he set it in northern Michigan with a protagonist who played hockey and wrote for a weekly newspaper. I buzzed through Gruley's first book about Gus Carpenter and the northern Michigan town of Starvation Lake, both of which have seen better days, and immediately bought and read the next book in the series. There is a nice Q&A with Gruley at the Traverse City National Writers Series site (you can get to it by clicking on the story link in the "Meet the Writer" column or find it by entering "Bryan Gruley" in the site's search box).
And, of course, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my friend Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's Emily Kincaid Mysteries, where struggling writer, journalist and amateur sleuth Emily Kincaid teams up with her friend and small-town deputy, Dolly Wakowski, to solve mysterious cases in a small northern Michigan town.
Be sure to check out my Q&A with Elizabeth for some insight into her three published Emily Kincaid books and a sneak peek at Elizabeth's next mystery series.
Meanwhile, I'm anxiously awaiting the release of Elizabeth's fourth Emily Kincaid mystery, Dead Dogs and Englishmen, due out in July, 2011. Readers can meet Elizabeth in person on July 22 at a book launch and signing at Brilliant Books in Sutton's Bay, Michigan.
I also posted some more great Midwest reads late last year at Midwest books make for good reads and great gifts.
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
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