Enchantment Lake
Enchantment Lake: A Northwoods Mystery
by Margi Preus
University of Minnesota Press • ISBN: 978-0-8166-8302-4 • $16.95 Hardcover
Who would poison a perfectly good tuna hotdish? That’s just one mystery young Francie, straight from New York City to Minnesota’s north woods, must unravel in this perky tale from Duluth’s Margi Preus. Hard-boiled mystery fans be warned: This is more Arsenic and Old Lace than The Long Goodbye. There are serious scenarios (What happened to Francie’s parents?) and headline topics (invasive species, land development, mining), but even the murders are somewhat zany.
Margi, who earned a Newberry Honor for her Heart of a Samurai, populates Walpurgis with the quirkiest of characters, and Francie’s wacky great-aunties delightfully top the lot.
This is a playful view of our northern ways and, yes, there is a mystery or three to solve. Put this on your beach-read list, for sure, you betcha.
The Reflectory
The Reflectory
by Dan Cashman
Lion Bridge Publishing • ISBN: 978-1-501059889 • $14.99 Softcover
Where else in the “real world” would a story that blends mystery and science fantasy feel more at home than by our mystical Lake Superior?
Dan Cashman sets his scenes near Split Rock Lighthouse. He takes Lake-loving readers to familiar sites along Minnesota’s North Shore and name drops real people – a fun treasure hunt for we locals acquainted with both the people and the places.
Dan’s likeable architect Alex is good company as we follow him through healing from the loss of a child, renewed love with his wife plus the mysteries and madness he encounters on the shore.
The story – and Alex via dreams – weaves through the 1905 storm that took out the Madeira, a wreck still under the water near Split Rock. It also introduces the thread of an intriguing real disorder – synesthesia – that affects perceptions, turning numbers into colors, for instance. How we see and who we meet are all part of the allure of this tale.
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