At the Edge of the Woods

by Victoria Houston Narrated by Whitney Dykhouse

Overview

When a local pickleball player is shot in the head while practicing at an abandoned tennis court with his partner-slash-lover, Sheriff Lew Ferris suspects that the bullet was a stray shot from hunters in the area. It's not until a second player-the first victim's mistress and pickleball partner-is killed that Sheriff Ferris realizes this is no hunting accident. Someone is hunting people, and it's up to her to find out who. With the first victim's crazed widow breathing down Lew's neck, there's no room to breathe, let alone to find time to appreciate the beautiful Loon Lake fall and go fishing. Adding to Sheriff Ferris's difficulties are three pickleball players convinced someone has targeted them, someone who will do anything, even murder, to frighten them away from the courts where they play-but why? Who is really at risk? The pickleball players, or Lew and the people close to her?

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Praise for At the Edge of the Woods:
“Fans will appreciate the emphasis on the Northwoods and the peace and tranquility of fly-fishing.”
—Library Journal

“A rollicking comedy of errors combines mystery and romance.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Ferris is somewhat of a rough-around-the-edges kind of gal but she gets the job done.”
—San Francisco Book Review

“An entertaining mystery . . . with a strong female lead and plenty of outdoor fun.”
—Fresh Fiction

“One of those fun small-town murder mysteries, with quirky characters that are fun to read . . . Fans will be happy with this one.”
—Red Carpet Crash

Praise for the Lew Ferris Mystery series:
“Wolf Hollow draws you in like a trout to a perfectly cast fly. Victoria Houston is a master storyteller.”
—Marc Cameron, New York Times bestselling author of the Arliss Cutter Mysteries

“Houston keeps you hooked from the very first page not only with compelling twists and turns but also with the richly drawn residents of Loon Lake. Readers may come for the murder, but they’ll stay for these engaging characters. At turns atmospheric, heart-warming and intensely gripping, Wolf Hollow is a must-read!"
—Brianna Labuskes, bestselling author of Her Final Words

“This mystery manages to be both heart-warming and scary—a terrific trick. Highly recommended.”
—Mary Logue, author of the Claire Watkins mysteries and The Streel, on Wolf Hollow

“Houston’s loving portrayals of the continuing cast members and the wild Wisconsin settings add up to a charming read.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"A master of juxtaposing nature’s beauty with humanity’s ugliness."
—Publishers Weekly

“This is a winner.”
—San Francisco Book Review, on Wolf Hollow

“Houston offers smooth and lively action and insight . . .  A solid and relaxing traditional mystery.”
—New York Journal of Books, on Hidden in the Pines

“[A] 'whodunnit' novel of impressive originality . . . for readers with an interest in police procedurals and small town fiction.”
—Midwest Book Review, on Hidden in the Pines

Library Journal

01/01/2024

After 15 years as police chief in Loon Lake, WI, Lewellyn Ferris is elected sheriff of Northwoods County. She prefers to moonlight as a fly-fishing instructor, but duty calls most days. When an obnoxious dentist is shot on the pickleball courts one morning, everyone is quick to jump to the conclusion that he was murdered. But Lew has seen too many accidental gun deaths to make that assumption. She hears a great deal of gossip about the dead man's family and his lack of professionalism, but nothing points to murder. However, a second shooting and the death of another pickleball player changes her mind. This time, there's a witness who saw someone running with a gun, and the victim was shot twice. One death might have been an accident, but two of them seems unlikely. Why would someone target pickleball players? VERDICT The mystery is slight in this follow-up to Hidden in the Pines. However, fans will appreciate the emphasis on the Northwoods and the peace and tranquility of fly-fishing.—Lesa Holstine

Kirkus Reviews

2024-02-03
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.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940160401591
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	04/23/2024
Series:	A Lew Ferris Mystery , #3
Edition description:	Unabridged

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