AT THE EDGE OF THE WOODS

Fishing, pickleball, and murder in the Northwoods of Wisconsin.

McBride County Sheriff Lewellyn Ferris is called to a remote pickleball court where a man has been shot dead. Formerly the head of the Loon Lake police, Lew has plenty of experience but still calls on her coterie of experts. The dead man is wealthy dentist Bert Willoughby, and the person who reported the crime is Robin Carpenter, his pickleball partner. Lew, who’s also a well-known fly-fishing teacher, has plenty of contacts in the area eager to tell her how many people wanted Willoughby dead. The morning coffee crew that includes retired dentist Paul Osborne, Lew’s significant other, is a particular font of knowledge on local gossip. Notified of his death, Willoughby’s wife, June, puts first things first, visiting their lawyer to find out where she stands financially, though not before she reaches out to her daughter, Katherine, a dentist who works in her father’s practice. The two women are furious when the lawyer reveals that Willoughby had recently sold his dental practice with the proviso that Katherine be kept on as an employee; had filed papers to divorce June, though he hadn’t told her yet; and, planning to marry Robin, had rewritten his will to leave most of his money to her. June is so angry that she refuses to listen to Katherine’s explanation that Robin was his pickleball partner and not his office assistant, who’s also named Robin. At first Lew thinks that Willoughby’s death was one of those unfortunate accidents involving a bullet that’s traveled a long distance, but when Robin—the pickleball player—is also shot dead, her opinion shifts along with the suspect list.

A meager mystery, but the sterling cast of characters and fishing minutiae provide an interesting read.