Book Review: Dead Angler

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Dead Angler     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Victoria Houston
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural
Series: Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries # 1
Berkley, Apr 2000, $5.99, 265 pp.

Sixty-three years old Paul Osborne is a retired dentist who wants to learn how to fly-fish. Loon Lake (population 2654) Chief of Police Lewellyn Ferris enjoys fly-fishing at night as a stress reliever from her job. Through the machinations of mutual friends, Paul and Lewellyn go fly-fishing together. The duo enjoys their evening together until the former dentist discovers the body of a dead woman in the river. Paul recognizes the victim as Meredith Marshall, a former patient of his. He believes someone killed her because all her gold fillings were removed. The subsequent autopsy proves Paul’s theory is right.

Lewellyn deputizes Paul because she believes his knowledge of the deceased and her friends, relatives, and acquaintances will prove invaluable in the investigation. Paul enjoys his new job, taking it very seriously. An added bonus to Paul is to work with Lew, a woman he is beginning to love. Lew and Paul work well together as if they have been partners for years rather than days. Soon, they find an abundance of suspects who gain financially with Meredith dead.

There are colorful and eccentric charcaters populating DEAD ANGLER with most of them involved with fishing. Readers who prefer their fish either in a restaurant or supermarket exclusively will still enjoy this delightful mystery because Victoria Houston hooks her audience from start to finish. The Great lakes make a wonderful backdrop to fine charcaters and a delightful story line. The well-plotted story line contains many viable suspects while retaining a level of believability that leave readers wondering who the killer actually is. This regional mystery has a powerfully tasty (somewhat fishy) taste to it.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner