Silence of the Loons: Thirteen Tales of Mystery by Minnesota's Premier Crime Writers (Paperback)

~ Minnesota Crime Wave (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Nodin Press (September 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932472363
• ISBN-13: 978-1932472363
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #766,116 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Stories I Could Not Put Down, September 10, 2005

By	Marie Williams "mariawilliams2003" (Chicago, IL who reads a lot of lesbian fiction) - See all my reviews

What a cornucopia of terrific stories! I highly recommend all of them, but the ones by Judith Guest, Ellen Hart, MD Lake, Lori L. Lake, and Pat Dennis were particularly good. I had heard of most of these authors, but I hadn't read works by all of them, and this collection whets my appetite to go and look up books, especially by authors like William Krueger, Keri Miller, and Mary Logue. The Minnesota connection is well done, and the 8 clues they selected were ingeniously used by all of the 13 authors. Here's hoping for another collection soon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Loons and nothing but Loons, January 7, 2007

By	Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews

While writers of the southwest in particular write of the broiling heat of summer, writers of a Minnesota background seem to write about the brutal cold of the winter. That brutal cold of the winter is certainly a factor in a number of stories here but not in all of them. The stories do share a number of clues that had to be encompassed in each story. I'm not going to ruin the clue list by explaining it here but it's a good one. So too are the stories in this anthology.

Carl Brookins who, among other things, wrote the excellent comedic mystery novel "The Case Of The Greedy Lawyers" which I have reviewed here and elsewhere contributes "A Winter's Tale." For the recluse, the snowstorm is bad enough but he really doesn't need to find the lost traveler nearly dead in his barn.

For Kaye Brock, her past is known by all in "Take Me Out" by Lori L. Lake. Being an ex-con has its burdens as does living up to expectations of others.

Then, there is David Housewright's tale "A Domestic Matter". Jack is convinced his wife wants him dead. Reporter Dan Thorn doesn't believe his old friend at first and then follows the reporter's credo to take lots of notes as it's going to be important later.

This anthology also features stories by M.D. Lake, Mary Logue, William Kent Krueger, Judith Guest, Monica Ferris, K. J. Erickson, Ellen Hart, Deborah Woodworth, Kerri Miller, and Pat Dennis. In each of the thirteen stories, some of the clues are the same and yet each author goes in very different directions. While the stories share clues, they also share the fact that almost all of them are highly atmospheric noir style reads. Maybe it's the cold. Maybe it's the short daylight hours. But this is a dark read that should be savored in front of a roaring fireplace. Just make sure you can keep an eye on your surroundings while you are reading.

Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Some luscious Loons, a few clunker Cormorants, May 21, 2006

By	TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Anthologies are like Forrest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. In this box of chocolate loons and a cormorant or two from the Land of Sky Blue Waters, the reader gets, as Garrison Keillor would say, the "pretty good" ( (Pat Dennis and David Housewright,) the OK (Wm Kent Krueger staying on terra mudda he knows,) and Judith Guest's ever-present Edina angst (resulting in another "Hunh?' Moment for this reader.) Each of the contributing Minnesota mystery writers tells a tale with 4 of 8 shared elements. Can you guess the common currents? (If not, peek at the list in the back.) If you can relate to M.D. Lake's assessment `of whose residents `fine dining' brought up memories of lutefisk suppers in the church basement" then bring this book up to the cabin with you . /TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer