Northwoods

Description: In this "compelling and heartbreaking debut that marks a new and important voice in the mystery genre" (William Kent Krueger), a murder with ties to America's opioid epidemic reveals the dark underbelly of an idyllic Midwestern resort town.

Eli North is not okay.

His drinking is getting worse by the day, his emotional wounds after a deployment to Afghanistan are as raw as ever, his marriage and career are over, and the only job he can hold down is with the local sheriff's department. And that's only because the sheriff is his mother-and she's overwhelmed with small town Shaky Lake's dwindling budget and the fallout from the opioid epidemic.

The Northwoods of Wisconsin may be a vacationer's paradise, but amidst the fishing trips, campfires, and Paul Bunyan festivals, something sinister is taking shape. When the body of a teenage boy is found in the lake, it sets in motion an investigation that leads Eli to a wealthy enclave with a violent past, a pharmaceutical salesman, and a missing teenage girl. Soon, Eli and his mother, along with a young FBI agent, are on the hunt for more than just a killer in this thriller that is "not to be missed" (Mindy Mejia, USA TODAY bestselling author).

Review: "[An] indelible debut." * The New York Times Book Review *
"A riveting debut by a nurse practitioner with an insider's view of the opioid epidemic." * People *
"In NORTHWOODS, Amy Pease powerfully shatters the myth of tranquility in the beautiful north country of Wisconsin. Murder, drugs, and PTSD are among the demons that populate rural Sherman County, where lake resorts abound and the sheriff's department is underfunded and understaffed. Pease's brilliantly told story of a beleaguered mother-son law enforcement team is a compelling and heartbreaking debut that marks a new and important voice in the mystery genre. This is a novel you absolutely don't want to miss." -- William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of THE RIVER WE REMEMBER
"Get lost in Amy Pease's words, get lost in the gripping personal debut of a complex new series-get lost in NORTHWOODS." -- Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire series
"Outstanding . . . Pease's sharp dialogue and well-rounded characters enrich the core mystery with an authentic representation of the everyday struggles of small-town Americans. Admirers of Eli Cranor will eagerly await more from this gifted writer." * Publishers Weekly (starred review) *
"Through vivid settings and unforgettable characters, Amy Pease shatters the peaceful illusion of upper Midwest resort towns. I couldn't get enough of Sheriff Marge North, a woman whose emotions are a vital asset to her job, and her son, Eli, whose buried trauma makes investigating a murder nearly impossible. NORTHWOODS is much more than a crime novel. It's a story of how the world breaks us and yet sometimes, if we're lucky, offers us a path forward. A debut not to be missed!" -- Mindy Mejia, USA Today bestselling author of TO CATCH A STORM and EVERYTHING YOU WANT ME TO BE
"If you're going to these Northwoods for peace and quiet, think again. Amy Pease's debut novel is a gorgeously rendered character study of a man, a mother, and a place with far too much going on under the surface. The perfect lakeside reading." -- Lori Rader-Day, award-winning author of THE DEATH OF US
"Amy Pease's NORTHWOODS is a novel so skillfully immersive that it is hard to believe it is her first. Her story weaves a gripping murder mystery with compelling character studies; her Northern Wisconsin setting teems with secrets and menace. It all makes for a powerful, poised and propulsive novel that marks the emergence of an exciting new voice on the thriller scene." -- Stephen Amidon, author of LOCUST LANE and HUMAN CAPITAL
"Strong characters, a great plot, fascinating relationships, and excellent pacing . . . . A thought-provoking debut." * Mystery and Suspense Magazine *
"A breathtaking combination of police procedural and personal redemption. . . Written with a taut plot, scintillating dialogue and a sharp eye for detail, NORTHWOODS is the kind of debut that readers dream of: the announcing of an exciting new talent and the promise that more is to come. . . . Pease writes with tremendous compassion, but she is also brave and unflinching in her portrayals of difficult themes and situations, and her control of her pacing, plotting and tension is masterly." * Bookreporter.com *

Author Biography: Amy Pease is an alumnus of the University of Wisconsin and the Madison Writer's Studio, and works as a nurse practitioner, where she is a nationally recognized HIV specialist. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two children. Northwoods is her first novel.