Category: Wisconsin Author

On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.

Figure Eight: A Northern Lakes Mystery
(John Cabrelli Northern Lakes Mysteries)
Traditional Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Wisconsin
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Feet Wet Writing (September 23, 2019)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 246 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1736337300
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1736337301
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 274 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1960681060
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1960681065
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07Y9CC3BM

A shattered career. A crooked lawyer. An unsolved murder. Seeking peace in the Northwoods is fraught with danger.

Every night John Cabrelli relives the tragic events that ended his career. While struggling to find himself again, John inherits his uncle’s cabin and returns to the lake where he spent much of his youth. Little does John know that danger waits for him when he uncovers suspicious circumstances of his uncle’s death. Few people will talk about it as John unravels a mystery that could forever change the landscape.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

John Cabrelli was a “full-fledged crime fighter” for the Madison, Wisconsin Police Department until a split-second decision ruins his career and changes his life. He was a broken man. After being holed up in what had become a “toxic waste dump” of a house for two months his friends broke in for an intervention. They helped bring back some order to his life but his life needed focus.

Then he receives a letter informing him that his uncle had passed away and he was named as the sole heir. He hadn’t seen his uncle for quite some time but he has so many great memories of his summers spent in the Northwoods at his uncle’s cabin and the lake growing up. Maybe it will be the perfect place to find the clarity he seeks.

Upon arrival, he realizes the place has changed, and not for the better. He also learns his uncle’s death may not have been an accident. He needs to find the truth not knowing at first the danger he is putting his own life in and what the truth will mean to everyone around him.

Mr. Nania takes an unusual route to introduce readers to his main character John Cabrelli. The story has John relaying his recent life to a reporter from a hospital bed. At first, this felt awkward but it worked. It was an interesting twist to the entire story.

John was a seasoned by-the-book cop until that one call, one error, one deadly mistake, which shook him to his core. It was easy to get invested in his life. It was also easy to understand him going back into full cop mode to get to the truth about his uncle’s death. It’s just who he is.

Through his recollections, we meet several characters who all seem to be hiding something. They are well crafted and those that I hope will appear in book 2 and beyond have a lot of room for development. There is one character that I unexpectedly enjoyed. Nurse B. Holterman. With my history and hospital stays I know every small town hospital has a Nurse B. Holterman. As John noted, she is tough, sometimes more like a jailer than a caregiver, older and more old-school, but she will do anything to protect her patients and be sure they receive proper care. They are the nurse you want in your corner but you probably don’t appreciate them until you are checking out to go home.

Mr. Nania’s background shows in the tangled-up mystery he has encased his characters in. There are new clues around every turn and John doesn’t know who he can trust. He thinks well on his feet which is important when he finds himself in dicey situations, but he gives as good as he gets most of the time. John does get some information from his friends back in Madison which helps bring all the pieces together. That sets up a dangerous, deadly, and shocking showdown.

I enjoyed how Mr. Nania details the beauty of the Northwoods in Wisconsin. The included current hot-topic environmental issues that face areas like where the story takes place give the story relevance. Trying to protect the land, water, and wildlife is always a concern.

I had purchased the Northern Lakes Mystery Series for my husband who loved them. He told me I had to read them. So now I have read Figure Eight and have Spider Lake moving up on my To-Be-Read stack. I have to give him credit, he was right. I am glad he pushed me to read this book.

Figure Eight is a compelling fast-paced story by a writer who writes about what he knows. His law enforcement background as well as his work as a conservationist gives him the knowledge that makes him a credible source to mix real-life happenings with his intriguing mysteries. I am very interested to see how the series continues.

*The book does contain explicit language.

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

About the Author

Jeff Nania is a former law enforcement officer, writer, conservationist, and biofuel creator. He is the best-selling author of three fiction books, the award-winning Figure Eight (2019), Spider Lake (2020), and Bough Cutter (2021) in his Northern Lakes Mystery series published by Little Creek Press. His narrative non-fiction writing has appeared in Wisconsin Outdoor News, Double Gun Journal, The Outlook, and other publications.

Jeff was born and raised in Wisconsin. His family settled in Madison’s storied Greenbush neighborhood. His father often loaded Jeff, his brothers, and a couple of dogs into an old jeep station wagon and set out for outdoor adventures. These experiences were foundational for developing a sense of community, a passion for outdoor traditions, and a love of our natural resources.

Jeff has been recognized locally, statewide, and nationally. Outdoor Life Magazine named him as one of the nation’s 25 most influential conservationists, and he received the National Wetlands Award for his wetland restoration work. The Wisconsin Senate commended Jeff with a Joint Resolution for his work with wetlands, education, and as a non-partisan advisor on natural resources.

Now a full-time novelist, Jeff spends as much time as possible exploring outdoor Wisconsin with his friends and family.

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*Amazon Purchase