Here’s an odd one for you. At the time I’m posting this, I’m not even sure of the release date, only that it’s April. It’s from The University of Washington Press, and, even the author’s website did not yet list Patricia Skalka’s sixth Dave Cubiak mystery, Death Washes Ashore. But, because it said April, I’ll review it today.
After a devastating thirty-six hour storm in Door County, Wisconsin, roofs are off buildings and the beaches are covered with debris. Although he’d been out helping people during most of the storm, Sheriff Dave Cubiak’s son, Joey, awakes him to say he thinks there’s a body on the beach. Joey’s wrong, but the next person who calls with that same message isn’t wrong. When Cubiak arrives at that scene, he finds a man and his dog waiting beside an overturned wooden boat. The two men flip it because they can see a hand underneath. They didn’t expect to see the body of a man dressed in the armor of a medieval knight.
The coroner tells Cubiak that the man was murdered, assaulted before there was a blow to the head. But, it takes time for the sheriff to identify the victim. Who knows a man who dresses in armor? He tries theater companies and local hotels before he’s steered to Door Camelot and Mythweavers LARP Productions. The victim, Scott Henley, was founder of the company. Although Cubiak had never heard of Larping, he finds a whole new world of games where participants physically portray their characters, such as King Arthur and Lancelot.
Although Scott Henley appears to be from Chicago, it turns out he has a Henley family connection to Door County. And, most of the suspects in his death are local residents, everyone from an angry farmer with land next to Door Camelot to jilted lovers and their family members. And, some of the local stories go back much further than Cubiak’s fifteen-year tenure in the county.
I like these small-town sheriff series. While they deal with large problems, they often tie into small communities. I like Steven Havill’s series set in Posadas County, New Mexico, Tricia Fields’ in Texas, Victoria Houston’s in Loon Lake. Now, I’ll add the Door County series to that list.
For those of us who enjoy rabbit holes, I can’t tell you how long I spent reading about Larping, and the difference between it in the U.S. and Europe. Just one more point of interest in an intriguing mystery.
Patricia Skalka’s website is http://www.patriciaskalka.com/
Death Washes Ashore by Patricia Skalka. The University of Wisconsin Press, 2021. ISBN 9780299328207 (paperback), 200p.
FTC Full Disclosure – I received a .PDF to review for a journal.
While I don’t engage in the hobby myself, I do know a number of LARPers. I don’t see where it’s weirder than Civil War re-enacting, which I don’t do either.
I didn’t know anything about LARPers, Glen, until I read the book. You’re right. It’s pretty much the same.
I guess I shouldn’t judge whatever others like to do to pass the time, but I’d rather be at home reading.
By coincidence, I guess, I recently bought the first book in this series, and need to try it. If you compare it to Steven Havill’s series, that is high praise. Claire Booth’s Sheriff Hank Worth is another worth (sorry) reading.
I’d rather be home reading, too, Jeff, but I guess some would find my love of Celtic music to be strange.
I see Claire Booth signed a contract for the next Sheriff Hank Worth! Yay!
Why would your love of Celtic music be strange? Don’t we all love it???
Thank you, Gram. I really was just saying we all have different interests. I’m glad you think we all love Celtic music, though. I find it so haunting at times.