[.ca] Dead Angler (ISBN 0425173550)

What a catch!:
Doc is just an ordinary guy, a retired dentist to be exact, who loves to fish. Lew is the local sheriff who needs Doc's dental knowledge to solve crimes. Together they make a great team. But what makes Victoria Houston's books delightful are the other colorful characters that inhabit Loon Lake and appear, and interfere, in the investigations. If you like blood, guts and testosterone, Victoria's books are not for you. But if you like a puzzle, strange happenings and the characters that go with it, I highly recommend "Dead Angler".

Red Herrings Galore:
There are enough red herrings in Victoria's story to stock a sizeable lake. The book kept me pleasantly in suspense, wondering who-done-it until the last couple pages. Every time I thought I had the culprit nailed, the story took a new surprising twist. I'm not a fisherman but was pleasantly surprised at how connected I felt to the characters and their passions for fly and muskie fishing. Dead Angler is a wonderful romp through the back woods, streams and lives of the inhabitants of rural Wisconsin. Every time I had to put the book down, I found myself anxious to get back to the story and the characters. I'm already deep into Victoria's next book in the series (Dead Creek) and finding it equally thrilling. I have a standing order for her third book.

Not the best in the genre, but OK:
I enjoy this genre of mystery, the type that takes place in a small town with quirky local characters and not much blood and guts. This book is the first in the Loon Lake, Lew Ferris Police Chief, fly fishing series. Although the series touts tough, fly fishing Ms. Lew Ferris as police chief, the book is told through the eyes of retired dentist Dr. Osbourne, who is deputized to be a forensic dentist. Usually in this genre, the story is told through the actual detective. Seeing the mystery unfold second-hand through the dentist's eyes is different, and frankly, not as interesting. His contributions to the clue-finding are tripping over the body and identifying that her gold fillings have been pulled out. For the rest of the clues, the reader must rely on what Chief Ferris chooses to tell him. This is complicated by Dr. Osbourne's developing crush on the police chief. I don't think this author is as good a writer as, for example, Earlene Fowler (quilting mysteries) or Diane Mott Davidson (culinary mysteries with excellent recipes included). However, if you are desperate for another author who can be relied on to keep to the genre, I would recommend this author, Victoria Houston (the name sounds made up, doesn't it?).

Muskie Fever:
Retired Dentist Paul Osborne is widowed from an acquisitive shrew. He teams up with Loon Lake Wisconsin's new Chief of Police, Lew(ellyn) Ferris for fly fishing for trout and solving a murder mystery. But will Bait & Tackle Store owner Ralph tie off the budding romance? And who ripped the gold fillings out of the corpse's mouth? This murder mystery was a little too "cozy" for me (a la Lillian Jackson Braun.) Better the reel action of Walleye or Muskie fishing - and who wants to eat a poor fish who is staring back at you from the plate, anyway? The best part of this book is Ray's hat!

Don't Throw This One Back In:
I've had this book since it's publication in 2000. I bought it when I lived in Texas, shipped it to Vermont when I moved, and it's been on my bookshelf for nearly four years. I finally picked it up to read the other day, and could kick myself for not reading it sooner. This is a wonderful first book. It's got a great plot with lots of twists and turns, quirky characters who are easy to like, and, of course, Loon Lake. Unlike other first-time authors, Houston did not keep secrets from the reader. As the characters found bits and pieces of the puzzle, Houston let us in on them, too. I'm one of those readers who like to read series in order, and I'm sorry it took me so long to read this because I know I'm going to have a hard time finding "Dead Creek" (2000) and "Dead Water (2001). Rats!