I don’t know if there’s a better feeling for a reader than to discover a new author, unless it’s the first reading of an author who already has a body of work. Nolan Chase’s A Lonesome Place for Dying is his debut under that name, but the writing style demonstrates that the author has polished skills. It didn’t take long to learn Chase is Canadian author Sam Wiebe. I hope this is the first book in a successful series. Fans of Craig Johnson’s Longmire series will want to meet Ethan Brand.

After serving two tours in Afghanistan, Brand returned home to Blaine, Washington. But, he came home with an amputated foot, a prosthesis, and quickly became addicted to opioids. Then, Frank Keogh, the local police chief, recruited him. He worked for the police department for fifteen years before Keogh retired and Brand was appointed the new police chief.

There’s resentment. One of his team ran against him. One has been on a two-month suspension, and Brand has to decide to terminate him or not. The mayor is not a fan. The richest man in town supported his opponent. And, on his first day on the new job, he finds a threatening note on his door. There’s even a body discovered by the railroad tracks. There had only been two murders in Blaine in the fifteen years Brand had been on the force. Now, there’s a third, and the mayor is confrontational, saying Brand isn’t up to the job.

Brand’s determined to find a killer. But, he has to contend with animosity on his team, his own uncertainty as to who he can trust, and put all of that aside to further the investigation.

Ethan Brand is a romantic, a man who reflects on his own weaknesses. He’s a lonely man who looked for a blue-eyed coyote as his only friend. But, he has more support in town than he knows, and people will show up to support a police chief who keeps trying.

I loved A Lonesome Place for Dying. I seldom say that, but when I say I’m recommending this book to my brother-in-law, you know it’s one that stands out. Ethan Brand is another lawman in the northern United States, having to deal with economic and border issues. Fans of Longmire will recognize the type.

Sam Wiebe’s website is samwiebe.com

A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase. Crooked Lane Books, 2024. ISBN 971639107773 (hardcover) 304p.

FTC Full Disclosure – I read a galley through NetGalley in order to review the book for a journal.