MYSTERY REVIEW -- BENEATH THE SURFACE

BENEATH THE SURFACE
by Mike Martin
Baico Publishing Inc.


Reviewed by Mary Jane Maffini

In the company of Sgt. Winston Wildflower of the R.C.M.P., Beneath the Surface makes for a nicely plotted mystery and an excellent trip to Newfoundland.

Wildflower is a long way from his home in Northern Alberta and from his Cree roots and yet he is fitting in very well. He has to sort out his own values with some practices in the force and he will. Although the Newfoundland expressions, pace and the local food add an extra element of pleasure to the reading, it is Wildflower who makes it such an engaging read. He is kind, honest and usually very hungry. He’s also a gentle man who can stand his ground and respect his own principles, even if it costs him. I loved this aspect.

The plot works well and, as a young girl has been murdered, the stakes are high and the twists are twisty.

I’m looking forward to more in this series.

SCHMOOZING WITH MIKE MARTIN

1. Who has influenced you the most in your writing career?

There are many people who have been a part of shaping me as a writer. I think I have always admired great writers, like Dickens or Hemingway but that has been more adoration than trying to model myself after them. I am inspired by all writers who manage to actually finish and publish a book. In mystery writing I also like the classics but my series started as trying to capture the same sense of food, culture and scenery as Donna Leon’s Inspector Brunetti’s series. Newfoundland is not Venice but we’re trying!

2. What are you working on now?

I am completed Book 3 of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series, Beneath the Surface. and it should be on the shelves this spring. So I will enjoy that book’s journey into the world. I am also thinking about Book 4 but I like those ideas to percolate, so I probably will not do any more major writing on that until later in the year. I think I may even write another book, not a Windflower, and maybe not even a mystery. But that too is still brewing on the back burner.

3. In what ways is your main protagonist like you? If at all?

I think that consciously or not we all put pieces of ourselves into our protagonists. It is really hard not to. So the parts I will acknowledge are that Windflower hates WalMart. That’s not him, that’s me. But on the other characteristics I think that Sgt. Windflower is more like the man I would like to be, rather than the one I am. He is much better than me in many, many ways right now.

4. Are you character driven or plot driven?

My first book, The Walker on the Cape, was all about the plot. I wanted the story to be so good so that’s what I focused on. The second book, The Body on the T, was almost completely character driven. My third book, Beneath the Surface, is hopefully a combination of the two. It felt like a natural progression, and I hope my readers agree.

5. Are you a pantser or a plotter?

I am a true-blue pantser. I cannot imagine sitting in front of the computer and trying to plot out the whole story from beginning to end. To me, that sounds like too much work. The fun of writing, IMHO, is in watching the story unfold from your imagination, just like the reader does. The characters come. They tell the story. I write it down. I get to say where the story begins, and where it ends. At least for now.

6. What do you hope readers will most take away from your writing?

I hope that people have fun when they read my books. If they learn a little more about Newfoundland or Windflower’s culture background, that’s a bonus. I want them to feel like they have visited my home island province, tasting the food, felt the strong wind in their hair. Maybe even imagined what it was like to just sit by the ocean and watch the waves.

7. Where do you see yourself as a writer in 10 years

I hope I’m still writing. That would be enough for me. And of course being famous and as rich as possible, lol.

8. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to know about you?

This is often the toughest question for me to answer. Most of the people that know me well would be and are very surprised to know that I am a writer, and that I write mystery novels. I have always been a social policy, serious, save the world type of writer. I’m still trying to figure out how I got here.


9. What do you like to read for pleasure?

I read everything from the back of the cereal box to the latest fiction. Some mysteries, always some Canadian, and whatever anyone gives me as a gift.
Usually I have two or three books happening at once. Every year I make a book list, a trick somebody showed me years ago. On the list you have to put 4 new books, 4 books by authors you have read before, 4 biographies, 4 science books, and 4 ‘classics’. That at least ensures I get a range of books throughout the year.

10. Give us a summary of your latest book in a Tweet (140 characters or less)

Beneath the Surface is about honour and betrayal. It's about crime and corruption. About fish, fog and freedom. A taste of life in Nfld.

Mike Martin is the author of the Windflower Mystery Series, set in small communities on the east coast of Canada. His latest book, The Body on the T, is now available as an e-book on Amazon.com and Chapters.ca
www.bodyonthet.com

CRIME ON MY MIND

Busy month ahead!

If you haven't heard about my latest blogspot woes, this time I've not been able to post my usual Events column. I must admit, I have only so much patience when it comes to anything electronic. Maybe one day, when my frustration is a dim memory, I'll try again. In the interim, I thought I'd use today's blog to highlight some of the book events coming up in November. There are a lot more happening in this city, Ottawa being a city that's brimming with mystery writers, however these are the signings that I know.


Sat. Nov. 9 -- Erika Chase signs her latest, COVER STORY at Books on Beechwood, 35 Beechwood Ave., 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Mike Martin signs his second mystery, THE BODY ON THE T at Brittons, 846 Bank St., 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 16 -- Erika Chase signs COVER STORY at Perfect Books, 258 Elgin St., 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sun. Nov. 17 -- Sandra Nikolai signs her second book, FATAL WHISPERS at Brittons in the Glebe, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 23 -- Barbara Fradkin signs her latest, THE WHISPER OF LEGENDS at Brittons in the Glebe, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Sat. Nov. 30 -- Vicki Delany signs her newest mystery, A COLD WHITE SUN at Brittons in the Glebe, 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

For a more complete list of book events happening across the country in November, I suggest you visit the Crime Writers of Canada website, always a good place to keep on top of mysterious happenings! www.crimewriterscanada.com

MYSTERY REVIEW

THE BODY ON THE T
by Mike Martin
Baico Publishing

Reviewed by Carole Dalgleish

This is the second book in a good “down home” series set in Newfoundland, with characters you'd enjoy spending time with in real life. You'd also learn to cook – the descriptions of the Newfoundland cuisine had my mouth watering throughout the story.

RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower is a Cree from Northern Alberta, who has lived in Grand Bank, Newfoundland for three years. He doesn't want to leave. He has a girlfriend, Sheila Hillier, and has gained the respect and acceptance of the locals – most of them anyway.

However, the local bad guys threaten to turn his newly-settled world upside down and shatter it. Discovery of a floating body in the sea nearby is the beginning of an ugly, wide-angled case connected to a previous one. (Recommendation: Read the first book in the series, The Walker on the Cape.)

The story takes the readers into Windflower’s and Sheila's deepening relationship as well as through an RCMP investigation that takes in aspects of Newfoundland history. This includes present day conditions after the collapse of the centuries-old cod fishing industry.

Windflower's ways of dealing with life blends his Aboriginal heritage well with the fast-changing Newfoundland culture as a crisis hits him an Sheila.

A good read. Enjoy!

MYSTERY REVIEW

The Walker on the Cape
by Mike Martin
Baico Publishing

Look at the cover of The Walker on the Cape. An exquisite site, isn't it? That's Grand Bank, Newfoundland, the setting of this tale of RCMP, power and corruption. But it's mostly the story of life on the rock. Because it's the setting, the people, and the way of life in a small Newfoundland community that makes a difference in this first mystery by Ottawa writer Mike Martin. He writes about what he knows and that's his home province.

The discovery of the body of an old man on the trail overlooking Grand Bank shakes the community when it's found he was poisoned. Therein lies the tale of old secrets, power that corrupts, and lies that lead to ruined lives. At the heart of it all is RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower, a First Nation officer who finds himself posted in far away Newfoundland. He's a really nice guy who's facing what sounds like his first major investigative challenge, which he handles with intelligence and understanding.

Along the way we meet Sheila Hillier who owns a local cafe, the officers and civilian staff at the small detachment, and many of the locals who form the fabric of the community. Sheila's a nice woman and seems a natural pairing for the bachelor sergeant, and this provides a peak into his private life. It's to be hoped that any future instalments give us a deeper understanding of what it means to be an aboriginal in the RCMP. We get a glimpse with his morning ritual of smudge bowl and medicine bag but knowing more about his past and his beliefs would help give depth to the man.

Martin has thought through his plot and provided a mixture of motives and suspects to keep it moving forward. And, he's done his homework when it comes to RCMP procedure. He has a lot of room to grow his characters which should make the second book (I'm assuming and hoping it's a series) well worth looking for.

Enjoy an armchair visit to Newfoundland!