Death Stalks Door County

by Patricia Skalka

Overview

Six deaths mar the holiday mood as summer vacationers enjoy Wisconsin’s beautiful Door County peninsula. Murders, or bizarre accidents? Newly hired park ranger Dave Cubiak, a former Chicago homicide detective, assumes the worst but refuses to get involved. Grief-stricken and guilt-ridden over the loss of his wife and daughter, he’s had enough of death.
            Forced to confront the past, the morose Cubiak moves beyond his own heartache and starts investigating, even as a popular festival draws more people into possible danger. In a desperate search for clues, Cubiak uncovers a tangled web of greed, betrayal, bitter rivalries, and lost love beneath the peninsula’s travel-brochure veneer. Befriended by several locals but unsure whom to trust or to suspect of murder, the one-time cop tracks a clever killer.
            In a setting of stunning natural beauty and picturesque waterfront villages, Death Stalks Door County introduces a new detective series, “The Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries.”

Finalist, Traditional Fiction 2014 Book of the Year Award, Chicago Writers Association

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780299299408
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	05/19/2014
Series:	A Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery
Edition description:	1
Pages:	248
Sales rank:	624,171
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Patricia Skalka is the author of Death at Gills Rock, the second book in the Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery series. A former writer for Reader’s Digest, she presents writing workshops throughout the United States. She divides her time between her native Chicago and her cottage in Door County, Wisconsin.

Editorial Reviews

03/17/2014
The wilderness of Door County, Wis., “the Midwest’s magnificent answer to Cape Cod,” provides the backdrop for Skalka’s tight, lyrical first novel. Homicide detective Dave Cubiak, in drunken despair after the accidental deaths of his wife and daughter, flees Chicago for Door County, where he becomes a park ranger. Just before the Fourth of July Festival, six people die in quick succession. J. Dugan Beck, head of the Peninsula State Park citizens advisory board, is bent on keeping things quiet so as not to jeopardize the summer tourist trade; he pressures the reluctant Cubiak to dig into the deep-seated personal enmities that seethe beneath the surface of the long-standing debate between those who favor conservation and those who prefer development. To the author’s credit, Skalka matches the untamed nature of the peninsula to the roughness of its inhabitants rather than contrasting its natural beauty to human violence. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Lean, eloquent prose . . . an intricate web of deceit and revenge.”—John Smolens, author of Cold and Quarantine



“A mesmerizing mystery, bucolic setting, bodies dropping everywhere, plenty of prime suspects, and in Dave Cubiak, a man with a tragic past, the right guy to solve it.”—Charles Salzberg, author of Shamus Award–nominated Swann's Last Song and Devil in the Hole


“A terrific mystery that captures both the beauty and wildness of this wonderful peninsula.”—Mary Logue, author of the Claire Watkins mystery series



“Can a big-city cop solve a series of murders whose only witnesses may be the hemlocks? An atmospheric debut.”—Kirkus Reviews



“Murder seems unseemly in Door County, a peninsula covered in forests, lined by beaches, and filled with summer cabins and tourist resorts. That’s the hook for murder-thriller Death Stalks Door County, the first in a series involving ranger Dave Cubiak, a former Chicago homicide detective.”—Milwaukee Shepherd Express



“A satisfyingly complex plot . . . showcasing one of the main characters, Wisconsin’s beautiful Door County. A great match for Nevada Barr fans.”—Library Journal



“Skalka’s descriptions of the atmosphere of the villages and spectacular scenery will resonate with readers who have spent time on the Door Peninsula. . . . [She] plans to continue disturbing the peace in Door County for quite a while, which should be a good thing for readers.”—Chicago Book Review



“The puzzle is a difficult one to solve, with suspicion continually shifting as more evidence is uncovered. . . . An impressive first novel.”—Mystery Scene

From the Publisher

2014-03-18
A Chicago ex-cop seeks solace in a Wisconsin forest. Even after the thug who mowed down his wife and daughter has been tried and convicted, Dave Cubiak can't shake the sadness of his loss. So his partner, Malcolm, jawbones him into a yearlong stint as a ranger in Peninsula State Park, a finger of land jutting into Green Bay. With only surly Otto Johnson and aging housekeeper Ruta Lapkritis for company in Jensen Station, Dave is on his own much of the time. He still broods, and he still drinks too much, but he starts to enjoy the routine and the beauty of the woods. Then a series of deaths shatters the landscape. A young man is found dead at the foot of the park's observation tower. A teenager is hacked to death with an ax. A local fisherman is blown up on his boat. Two cyclists are slashed by piano wire strung between trees. Otto wants to cancel the annual spring festival that brings waves of tourists into the park. But local businessmen, led by J. Dugan Beck, whose family made a fortune in beer, browbeat Sheriff Halverson into letting the festivities continue. Beck also hires Dave privately to investigate. His sleuthing brings him into close contact with Door County's leading citizens: coroner Evelyn Bathard and his frail wife, Cornelia; baker Martha Smithson; fiber artist Ruby Schumacher; and her photographer niece, Cate, who might be inclined to offer Dave her own brand of consolation. Can a big-city cop solve a series of murders whose only witnesses may be the hemlocks? An atmospheric debut with enough twists to tempt puzzle aficionados.

Kirkus Reviews