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A KEVIN R. TIPPLE BOOK REVIEW: The Silence Of The Loons by The Minnesota Crime Wave
Setting for me as a reader as well as a writer, is tremendously important. When I read a novel or a story, I want to be able to smell the air and feel as if I am there in every sense of my being. Authors from my part of the country tend to write about the blazing heat of the summer. How it can press down on you like a living fire breathing thing and take every last drop of water out of you in minutes.
The opposite extreme is the brutal cold and we get a version of it for a few days here and there every winter. Granted it is not the day after day of mind numbing cold that they get up north but our version does make us a little wacky after a few days. Authors from Minnesota seem universally obsessed with the cold and it is a theme in their works no matter the length. This leads me into this enjoyable anthology.
The Silence Of The Loons By The Minnesota Crime Wave Nodin Press ISBN# 1-932472-36-3 2005 Large Trade Paperback 225 Pages
That brutal cold of the winter is certainly a factor in a number of stories here but not in all of them. The stories do share a number of clues that had to be encompassed in each story. I’m not going to ruin the clue list by explaining it here but it’s a good one. So too are the stories in this anthology.
Carl Brookins who, among other things, wrote the excellent comedic mystery novel “The Case Of The Greedy Lawyers” which I have reviewed here and elsewhere contributes “A Winter’s Tale.” For the recluse, the snowstorm is bad enough but he really doesn’t need to find the lost traveler nearly dead in his barn.
For Kaye Brock, her past is known by all in “Take Me Out” by Lori L. Lake. Being an ex-con has its burdens as does living up to expectations of others.
Then, there is David Housewright’s tale “A Domestic Matter”. Jack is convinced his wife wants him dead. Reporter Dan Thorn doesn’t believe his old friend at first and then follows the reporter’s credo to take lots of notes as it’s going to be important later.
This anthology also features stories by M.D. Lake, Mary Logue, William Kent Krueger, Judith Guest, Monica Ferris, K. J. Erickson, Ellen Hart, Deborah Woodworth, Kerri Miller, and Pat Dennis. In each of the thirteen stories, some of the clues are the same and yet each author goes in very different directions. While the stories share clues, they also share the fact that almost all of them are highly atmospheric noir style reads. Maybe it’s the cold. Maybe it’s the short daylight hours. But this is a dark read that should be savored in front of a roaring fireplace. Just make sure you can keep an eye on your surroundings while you are reading.
Kevin R. Tipple © 2007 |