Here are 9 stellar Minnesota-based mysteries published in 2023

Mary Ann Grossmann, Pioneer Press
·6 min read

It’s been a stellar year for Minnesota mystery writers. So many good thrillers from good writers were published that it was impossible to get to all of them. Before we end the year, here’s a roundup of some Minnesota-based mysteries you have to put on your 2024 TBR list. (There’s also one set in Wisconsin.)

“Death in the Wolf Moon”: by Jennifer LeClair (Fog Harbor Press, $18.99)

LeClair, who also writes the Windjammer series, brings back Chief Deputy Claude Renard, first introduced in “Death in the Blood Moon,” He grew up on the Ojibwe reservation on East Portage Bay and “the vast and ancient heart of Gichi-gami beats within him.” The Northern Arts Folk School is holding is annual coffin-making class. When one of the students is found dead in his unfinished coffin, Renard investigates and finds that the victim, relatively new to Grand Marais, has already made enemies. Why did the victim have a history of moving around? Hiding from something? Renard tries to put together the pieces of the man’s life while finding the killer before the case goes cold. And that’s certain to happen in January in the Northland.

“Death of a Fox”: by Linda Norlander (Level Best Books, $16.95)

In her fourth Cabin By the Lake mystery, Norlander introduces readers to Jamie Forest, transplanted New Yorker enjoying her first spring in Minnesota’s North Woods. She’s introduced to an elderly recluse, Nella Fox, who wants help writing her memoirs. Fox lives on an estate that was once a TB hospital, rumored to have been the scene of a long-ago murder. When one of the cousins who cares for Nella is found dead in the old hospital, Jamie is drawn to its dark history. A former Minnesotan, Norlander lives now in Tacoma, Wash.

“Design Flaws”: by Joe Golemo (Level Best Books, $16.95)

In this debut from a Rochester-based author, Grayson Doyle, owner of a fledgling product design firm, discovers he and his brother were adopted. Eager to learn more, he submits a DNA sample online and connects with a prominent lawyer who claims to be their father and that their mother died giving birth to Grayson. When the lawyer is murdered, Grayson becomes a suspect and the killer’s next target. The brothers investigate and find that their mother died suspiciously as well. Their search for justice leads them to a local Catholic bishop whose stonewalling and lies are designed to protect the church and keep family secrets. As Grayson struggles to keep his business from collapsing he has to come to terms with being adopted, prevent his brother from going off the rails, and find the design flaws in the murderer’s plans before he or his brother becomes the next victim.

“Fall Deadly”: by John Baird Rogers (Gotuit Publishing, $16.95)

This third Mayfield-Napolitani thriller, set in the near future, begins when Joe Mayfield is on his way to a weekend with Weezy Napolitani, talented hacker and at-a-distance lover. Mayfield’s corporation is going to be the tech finance deal of the year, until the lights go out in Maine and in Georgia. A ransom note demands $1 billion. As Weezy, Joe and the government struggle to find a solution, a file turns up containing secret data that will destroy a Russian group determined to control the U.S. energy grid. Joe is taken prisoner by the Russians, a pawn to force Weezy to keep the information from exploding. How long can Weezy endure the agony of torture and her fear of losing Joe?

“Just Stay Away”: by Tony Wirt (Thomas and Mercer, $16.99)

Craig Finnigan wants to finish his book but writing and keeping an eye on his 7-year-old daughter is not easy. When Alice makes friends with a neighborhood boy, Levi, Craig is happy. But happiness turns to misgivings when Levi’s behavior evolves from that of a shy, odd boy into something far more disturbing. Can strange noises in the middle of the night and things disappearing from their home be explained away? Craig is sure Levi is behind the missing things and a water heater that is tampered with. As Levi spends more and more time in Craig’s back yard, Craig feels he’s involved in a game he never wanted to play.

“Killer Smile”: by Allan Evans (Immortal Works Press, $18.99)

Det. Cade Dawkins is summoned to a mysterious meeting at the University of Minnesota to learn that a professor has uncovered a site on the dark web made by serial killers who share their exploits. After Cade stopped a serial killer in the Twin Cities and nearly lost the two women closest to him, a new challenge is issued: come to Minnesota and outsmart the detective who stopped the Blonde Killer. Come and Kill. With two killers on the site terrifying the public, the media turning on him, and the governor threatening to fire him, Cade is running out of time. Though written as a stand-alone, “Killer Smile” is a follow to “Killer Blonde.” The author is the son of Doc Evans, prominent Twin Cities Jazz musician.

“Lost Colony: The Hennepin Island Murders”: by Steven Berg (Beta Publishing, $17.99)

This debut novel by a former Minneapolis-based reporter and editorial writer for the Star Tribune, now a resident of Asheville, S.C., is billed as Nordic Noir. Thirty years after the never-solved assassination of the Swedish prime minister in Stockholm, an activist priest is found sacrificed on the altar of a Swedish-American church in Minneapolis. The crime shocks the long-forgotten riverfront neighborhood of Hennepin Island. Span Lokken, a demoralized newspaperman, and Maggie Lindberg, the clergyman’s stylish young assistant, join forces to search for the killers. Their search leads them to the fortress of the Island’s reclusive kingpin, whose delusions bring the story full circle.

“A Reluctant Madonna”: by Alan Miller (Calumet Editions, $18.99)

Author of the acclaimed novel “Holding Court” gives us a follow-up in the second of his husband-wife Danni and Mort series. There’s a lot going on in this plot, including a foreign land grab in the Dakotas, a lecherous artist, a psychotic stalker, a shooting, a Ponzi scheme, illicit lovers, a springer spaniel and lots more. Miller, whose background is in law, has taught at colleges, universities and law schools. He is host of “Writers Corner,” a television show showcasing Minnesota authors.

“Up There”: by Sherry Roberts (Osmyrrah Publishing, $14.95)

Roberts writes contemporary fiction, cozy mysteries and short stories. She adds a little magical realism to this story about a long line of women with the gift of flight. The wind speaks to Ariel Lee, and helps her secretly ride the skies above the family farm in Cossette, Minn. But it also causes her trouble. After an incident involving her best friend, Ariel rejects the call of the wind, losing her connection not only with the skies but with herself. Years later she returns to Cossette and the wind, leading to a storm of decisions she must make, including how to save herself and the man she loves.

Editor’s note: Year’s end thanks to all of you who read the Pioneer Press Book page this year. We hope we pointed you to books you enjoyed and maybe authors new to you. May we all be delighted by books in 2024. We’ll do our best to keep you informed about all things literary in Minnesota. Happy New Year.

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