Dead Madonna (Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Victoria Houston (Author)

Book Description

Series: Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries | Publication Date: April 2007

When the body of a lovely young woman is found floating beneath a party pontoon on a popular lake in northern Wisconsin on the same morning that a prominent widow is found bludgeoned in her gracious home, Loon Lake Police Chief Lew Ferris is caught short-handed.

This is not a problem for Doc Osborne whom she deputizes to act as coroner and to assist with the investigation. Fishing aside, there's nothing Osborne likes better than helping Lew -- a world-class fly fisherman in her own right - delve into Loon Lake's criminal underworld. They're joined in their efforts to untangle two seemingly unrelated murders by walleye-expert, talented tracker and teller of really bad jokes, Ray Pradt.

A charming resort town on the surface, life in Loon Lake turns murky as bank officials soon discover that both victims' accounts have been looted - along with a dozen others. One grisly development after another further links the two murders even though the victims did not know each other. Wealthy Chicagoans, visiting entrepreneurs and the young denizens of "Party Cove" complicate the scene. Whoever thought life in the Northwoods could be this dangerous?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Loon Lake is a typically sleepy Wisconsin resort town--except for its per-capita homicide rate, which rivals that of Baghdad. A young woman is found dead beneath a wealthy vacationer's houseboat, and another local is discovered bludgeoned to death in her living room. Police Chief Lewellyn "Lew" Ferris is hard pressed to investigate both with her limited staff, and enlists Doc Osborne, her sometime lover, retired dentist, ad-hoc coroner, and occasional deputy, to help solve the apparently unrelated deaths. With the local citizenry chipping in as needed, Lew and Doc soon have a dozen looted bank accounts as a possible motive and a pair of slick strangers who may provide a thread to connect the killings. Fans of small-town mysteries--such as Bill Crider's Texas-based Dan Rhodes capers--will find the eighth entry in the Loon Lake series a likable change of pace from some of the more grisly whodunits populating the best-seller lists. Houston populates her little burg with two engaging protagonists and a steady stream of mildly eccentric townies as she leisurely moves a clever plot toward a suspenseful and satisfying conclusion. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Is the author of the highly popular Loon Lake mystery series. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and on National Public Radio. The next book in her series, Dead Madonna, will be her first with Bleak House Books.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Bleak House Books (April 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932557393
• ISBN-13: 978-1932557398
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,008,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars dead madonna, April 16, 2007

By 

L. Hirt "big reader" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Madonna (Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries) (Paperback)

DEAD MADONNA - a Loon Lake mystery--by Victoria Houston (Bleak House Books- ISBN13-978-1-932557-39-8) This time DEAD MADONNA is being published in both hardback and trade paper back. This is the newest and eighth in the series, and I have read all of them. I read all of the series because I get a kick out of some of the characters, I am following the romance between widower Doc and Sheriff Lew Ferris, who has her own problems and I like the plots. If you are a fisherman, you will enjoy the books. Lois Foster Hirt
No the story has nothing to do with religion or the singer, so relax and enjoy the book.
Rich kid Robbie Moriarty is not feeling so hot after a night of drinking and who knows what else. He is having trouble with his pontoon boat It seems like something is stuck under it preventing movement. When he discovers it is the body of a young woman, DeeDee Kurlander, a friend of his, that solves his problem of feeling sick. DeeDeehas been murdered. The upper part of her body has been brutalized, especially her face. She wasn't an innocent kid but still a nice person, so why would someone do this to her?
Meanwhile, Sharon Donovan has given up teaching to buy and sell antiques on eBay. She has an appointment with Nora Loomis and enters her house through an open back door. At first she thinks Nora is a horrible housekeeper and worries that the antiques were be in great shape. Unfortunately, Sharon won't have to worry about that because she finds Nora dead. It isn't a pretty sight-her face is bashed in. Sharon was also scheduled to meet with Doc's daughters to evaluate some of their mother's items.
Lew swears in Doc to help with the cases. You have to love Houston's sense of humor with this part-Lew is told that their incompetent, overpaid coroner is off on a week's vacation playing his accordion at a polka convention. She was never told he was leaving. As it turns out, they are better off with his not there.
There is more going on in Loon Lake than just murders. Lew has to deal with a scam that they discover is taking place. She is getting calls from bankers from around the area. They are losing money. It is also tourist season so Lew has lots of problems that this time of year causes. Will she and Doc ever find time to get their special fishing time in? Did I mention the wolf that's coming around Lew's place also?

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Appealing characters bring book to life, April 24, 2007

By 

Lesa Holstine (Glendale, AZ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Madonna (Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Houston fills her latest Loon Lake mystery with great lead characters and a strong supporting cast. Police Chief Lew Ferris is caught so shorthanded when there's a crime wave that she's forced to deputize a fishing guide who has been known to skirt the law and a retired dentist as the acting coroner. The reader is allowed to put the clues together right along with Ferris, but the strength in this book is in the appealing characters. Ferris and Doc Osborne are mature adults with an evolving relationship. Readers will return to the Loon Lake mysteries to catch up with the small town residents.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read all of Victoria Houston's Northwoods Books, April 12, 2007

By 

James E. Mccullough - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead Madonna (Loon Lake Fishing Mysteries) (Paperback)

I welcomed another opportunity to visit with the Loon Lake characters. This is the eighth book by Victoria Houston and I've read them all. Each is a stand-alone book since Victoria does a good job of introducing the characters as she unfolds the story. In Dead Madonna, Victoria weaves the mystery through current events and contemporary technology. She finally puts you into a fishing kayak for a very exciting ride. I heartily recommend Dead Madonna.