Friday, July 4, 2014

Beneath the Surface by Mike Martin (Sgt. Windflower Mysteries #3)


REVIEW
'Beneath the Surface' is the third book in the Sergeant Windflower series. The previous two books are 'The Walker on the Cape' and 'The Body on the T'.

We're back in Grand Bank, southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada.

RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower, his girlfriend, Sheila Hilliard, Corporal Eddie Tizzard, Herb Stoodley - former Crown Attorney with the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Detective-Sergeant Carl Langmead from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Doctor Sanjay and the rest of the fishing town are back and welcoming the readers to their little piece of heaven on earth. The culinary delights of the Canadian tables, the history of the ethnic scramble of nations, and the cultural pot pourri of diversity is celebrated once again. Life is simply better than good in this part of the world. 

However, everything changes when this quiet, serene community is shaken up by the murder of Amy Parsons, a champion rower in the Women's Championship Race at the St. John's Regatta. And suddenly nothing seems to make sense anymore. What was the purpose of the Chinese tourists, led by a Russian tour guide earlier in the year? The discovery of a pink mobile phone with the numbers of prominent public officials including a judge and a Member of the House of Assembly, and senior police officers from both the RCMP and the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary are kept a secret. Possible exposure will have several heads rolling; people are nervous; and sergeant Windflower is center to all the mayhem which secretly rages through the inner circle of power and privilege. Loyalty and friendships are tested. Yes, some powerful people are looking to bury this stuff deeper than the mines on Bell Island and sergeant Windflower's sense of fairness is in the way.

Through it all, Windflower is bombarded with weird dreams, which only his uncle Frank, a dream weaver, can interpret. A new world of voices from the past opens up for Windflower.

A slow, undramatic, yet 'buzzy' read. There is an element of the journal-writing style used in the narrative which places the book in a unique genre of its own. It is as much a community story as it is a detective, murder mystery; just as much a love story as it is a celebration of Canadian customs and cultures, a travel journal. Informative, yes. A gentle, dignified approach to serious issues. The combination of all these elements ensures that the community of Grand Bank won't be forgotten. I loved the opportunity to be back and enjoying their company again. This book is the next best thing to living there!

 Walker On The Cape - a Winston Windflower Mystery #1
 The Body On The T   - a Winston Windflower Mystery #2

 Beneath the Surface - a Winston Windflower Mystery #3

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BOOK BLURB
Sgt. Windflower is back and as usual he’s loving life on the east coast. He may be a long way from his home in Northern Alberta but he has been adopted by the locals as almost one of their own. He has a good life, good work with the RCMP, and a good woman that he has grown closer too in his years on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. But trouble is brewing just beneath the surface of this calm and charm-filled existence.

It begins with the discovery of a dead girl’s body in St. John’s, the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador. The girl is from Grand Bank where Windflower has been stationed for the last few years. Sgt. Windflower and his associate Corporal Eddie Tizzard are pulled further and further into the case. The situation also grows to include a whole array of criminal activities from human trafficking and even the Russian Mafia.

Along the way Windflower not only has to deal with this crime wave operating all around the region, but with some challenges in his own life. He has to go back to his Aboriginal roots to find the answers to some very deep and disturbing questions. But nothing seems to bother his appetite and joy for life, especially his appetite. He continues to sample traditional Newfoundland dishes like fish and brewis but he also expands to include pan-fried sea trout and baked salmon, along with a range of desserts from blueberry buckle to his all-time favourite, peanut butter cheese cake.


His faith in the police force that has become his life is also threatened by a series of events that he becomes aware of that are certainly immoral if not even illegal. He is forced to face not only his own personal demons but those in real life that are lurking all around us. Sometime they are right in front of our face, but at other times they are hiding deep beneath the surface. Waiting to be resolved.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR 


Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a longtime freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand. 

The Walker on the Cape is the first book in the Sgt. Winston Windflower mystery series, followed by The Body on the T, and then Beneath the Surface.

He is the author of "Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People" and has written a number of short stories that have published in various publications including Canadian Stories and Downhome magazine. The Walker on the Cape is his first full fiction book and the premiere of the Winston Windflower mystery series. He is a member of Ottawa Independent Writers, Capital Crime Writers, the Crime Writers of Canada and the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild. For more information and to comment on this book please visit: www.walkeronthecape.com

INFO SOURCE: Mike Martin (2012-11-01T0). The Walker on the Cape 
For more information, visit THE AUTHORS WEBSITE.
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BOOK INFORMATION
Genre: Murder mystery, community, Canadian author, Newfoundland
Formats: Paperback( 456 pages), Kindle (291 pages)
Published: April 15, 2014
Publishers: Booklocker.com | Baico Publishing

Edition language: English
EBOOK ISBN: 9781632631930  
PRINT ISBN: 9781632631138
Purchase links: Amazon USA | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble | Chapters.indigo | Booklocker

1 comment:

Winrich said...

REVIEW 'Beneath the Surface' is the third book in the Sergeant Windflower series. ... surface3.blogspot.com