Walsh: Michigan authors set crime novels at home

Ray Walsh | For the Lansing State Journal

Two recent crime novels set mostly in Michigan offer intriguing plotlines, showcasing diligent main charcacters, troubled teenagers, dirty cops and sudden death.

Each book is a nicely designed trade paperback, the third in their respective series, with enough action to satisfy readers who might otherwise hibernate.

"Deer Season" by Aaron Stander (Writers & Editors, $14.95) is the latest in the series starring Cedar County Sheriff Ray Elkins. He's initially investigating a complaint about a teen-ager who fired a shotgun at a carload of kids who were cherry-bombing a local mailbox.

He's called out to the scene where a young TV anchorwoman is shot while returning home in the middle of a heavy snowstorm with her two young children.

The most likely suspect is the her husband, an abusive and alcoholic police officer, but he has an ironclad alibi. Other questions are raised; various members of the rich victim's family clamor for answers.

Elkins and his associates do a lot of solid police work as they attempt to solve the case, digging into the dark hidden past of local residents and other deaths that have occurred.

This is another satisfying performance by Elkins, who lives in northern lower Michigan, following his popular regional mysteries "Summer People " and "Color Tour."

"Page One: Whiteout" by Houghton author Nancy Barr (Arbutus Press, $19.95) marks the return of Robin Hamilton, an inquisitive newspaper reporter in the Upper Peninsula town of Escanaba.

Hamilton is still recovering from the loss of her fiance Mitch, a suburban Chicago police officer who was murdered while on duty.

Nick Granati, a Chicago cop and a close friend of Mitch's, has information that a hired killer was involved and needs Hamiliton's assistance to prove it.

This requires a trip to Florida, where other Granati family members join in. One exciting action-packed scene could easily have been ripped from the storyboards of an old "Miami Vice" episode.

The action shifts back to Escanaba, where a local teenage drug dealer has severe problems; the body count rises but a nifty, snowy confrontation provides final closure.

Aunt Gina, one of the most interesting characters, is worthy of a series by herself, but minor typographical errors may slow overall satisfaction. Barr is in fine form; Michigan mystery fans may also enjoy her earlier books: "Page One: Hit and Run" and "Page One: Vanished."

Ray Walsh, owner of East Lansing's Curious Book Shop, has reviewed crime novels and noir thrillers regularly since 1987.