Patricia Skalka's Latest Now Out - Death Rides The Ferry - A 2018 Personal Favorite!

ABOUT DOOR COUNTY

Door County Peninsula juts out between the pristine waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan in northern Wisconsin. With 300 miles of scenic shoreline, five wooded state parks and a collection of quaint, waterfront villages, the area is a mecca for artists, musicians, outdoor enthusiasts and tourists. Every year, some two million visitors come to Door County, the “Cape Cod of the Midwest.”

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries pit a former troubled Chicago cop against a roster of clever killers on the Door County Peninsula in the heart of the Midwest. Set against a backdrop of stunning natural beauty, the series kicks off with Death Stalks Door County and continues with Death at Gills Rock and Death In Cold Water. (Click on each title to see reviews of series thus far...)

The Yellow Viol

...After meeting with the ladies, the sheriff drove to the festival. The next series of concerns started in ten minutes and the grounds were filled with people hurrying to reach their seats. As he pushed through the cheerful throngs, he pictured Jane Doe sitting on the ferry and wondered what went through her mind before she died. Had she been crying because of something that had happened at the festival? Or because she had taken the poison, as Pardy suggested, and then had a change of heart and realized too late that she wanted to live?

...The program listed nightly concerts in the hall, but the afternoons were given over to smaller performances by groups of three, four, and six musicians. The sheriff knew little about classical music beyond what his friend Evelyn Bathard had taught him about opera while they worked on the coroner's dilapidated wooden sailboat. From the bits and pieces that he overheard as he wandered the grounds, he knew the musicians were playing stringed instruments, but the music was different from anything he had ever heard. It seemed to have a simpler, cleaner sound than the more familiar music of Mozart and Beethoven. He wished he ould sit in on a performance, but he had little time for music that day.

Wow this gave me chills! "Joyful, Joyful"...Was Never So Joyful!

...Cubiak knocked. "Sorry to interrupt," he said.

The three looked up startled.

"I hope this is important, Sheriff. We have a busy schedule," Frost said after introductions were made. He was short and stout and patted his forehead with a white handkerchief as he spoke.

"I'm sure you do," There wasn't an empty chair, so Cubiak stood and told them about the woman who was found dead on the ferry...

"Sheriff, you have to realize that we can't have a dead woman associated with Dixan V. It would ruin everything. Not just this year's event, which so many people have worked for so hard, but"...Winslow gestured toward the ground outside the center..."everything."

"Why? Because four decades ago, a woman died after the first Dixan festival?"

The three stirred uneasily.

"It's more than that. You don't understand because you're not from here," Frost said, his tone harsh. "Sorry, no offense meant..."

"I don't mean to sound insensitive to the poor woman on the ferry, but it's just that we are trying to live down our own sorry history with the public and the Dixan sponsors. This years festival is our chance to salvage the island's reputation. If we don't succeed, as Veronica just said, then it's over for us. Finito. Poof." Frost blew a puff of air at his empty palm like a child would at the fuzzy head of a dandelion.

Winslow pushed a small brochure across the table. Her nails were neatly manicured, and it was clear from her posture and manner that she was the kind of person who took appearances seriously. "This is from the first--the only--Dixan Festival ever held on Washington Island before now."

Cubiak skimmed the headline. "I've heard a little about it. But that was forty years ago."

"That is correct."

"During which a rare violin disappeared."

Winslow sighed and exchanged frustrated looks with her colleagues.

Mitchell Stone stretched his elongated neck and spoke for the first time. "Not a violin, Sheriff. A viola da gamba." he said as he adjusted his striped tie. "Shall I assume you don't know the difference?"

~~~

Classical music is one of my favorite genres so I was pleasantly surprised to learn about an instrument that I had never heard of in Patricia Skalka's latest Cubiak mystery. Obviously the size and method of playing is similar to a cello, so I don't think I would have noticed during orchestra presentations whether one of these had been used...It looks like a guitar, doesn't it? Anyway...the musical component of a novel, which is an incentive for me, added a bonus that made this a personal favorite.

Cubiak, on the other hand, is one of my favorite male leads as sheriff and I had already decided I'd love to see Tom Selleck play the role similar to his Jesse Stone role in Robert B. Parker books. Cubiak gained our sympathy when his wife and child was killed...Now he has fallen in love again, but, she, too, faces danger in this story. Cubiak couldn't stop the deaths of his family, but, this time, he will die trying if necessary...

The book starts during the planning and actual musical festival known as the Dixan Festival--this is the fifth one and has not been back to Door County since the first which was held forty years ago. Getting the Festival back is really a second chance, because at the first festival, a famous instrument, a viola da gamba, was stolen! It had been loaned by a private family and the man who had brought it to the festival was not only publicly disgraced, but his wife, who was pregnant at the time, was delayed in getting to the hospital and died that night...

Everything was going fine at the festival until a woman was found dead on the ferry that carried local residents as well as those attending the festival back and forth... For some reason, Cubiak had noticed the woman while he had roamed the festival. However, when he started his investigation, nobody knew her and nobody else had even noticed her...

During his investigation, he did learn that the stolen viola da gamba taken during the first festival had never been discovered. This link would have to be at least explored before clarifying that there was no connection. And, in fact, it soon seemed that solving the theft may be the only way to discover who was now leaving dead bodies during the second festival!

Given the interplay between the murders and the theft, I'm not going to go any further into the storyline other than to say that my intuition was working, but I still wasn't sure who and how the crimes were done...Great mystery! Skalka has given the University of Wisconsin a winning and local series that is bound to continue to retain and continue fan appreciation for this fantastic series... Highly recommended.


GABixlerReviews

Patricia Skalka is the author of the Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries which premiered with "Death Stalks Door County" (2014) and quickly followed up with "Death At Gills Rock" (2015). "Death in Cold Water" (2016) received the Edna Ferber Fiction Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers.
“A first-rate series” says Kirkus Reviews.
“The intricate plot and well-developed characters will appeal to fans of William Kent Krueger,” says Booklist.A Chicago native, Skalka is a former Reader’s Digest Staff Writer and freelancer with human interest and medical articles in national print and online publications and nonfiction books published by Random House, St. Martin’s and Rodale. She is a member of The Authors Guild of America, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Society of Midland Authors and the Chicago Writers Association.

Second in Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery Series by Patricia Skalka Another Winner! Out June 23, 2015!

For the second time in three days, Cubiak made the drive north. Nature had not wasted time extending spring's verdant hue up the peninsula. Grass and trees were kissed with a rich halo of green. In Ephraim, golden forsythia bloomed alongside the crocuses and daffodils. Even the landscape past Sister Bay had shed its gloomy mantle.  Only the farthest tip of the land retained winter's somber tones.

The last mile to Huntsman's home was almost a repeat of Saturday: the statue-like gulls perched on the rocks, the barking dog still tethered to the willow. The only difference was the clothesline behind the Smitz house. Before, empty; now, laden with laundry: yellow checked sheets and pillowcases, two faded pink towels, several blouses, and a pair of men's long underwear, dingy from overuse and stiff with frost.  Cubiak started the turn into Huntsman's driveway when he braked and stopped. Something was different. On the other side of the road, three of the plumbing vans had been moved from the lot and parked bumper-to-bumper along the front of the building, obscuring the company logo. That's odd, Cubiak thought. As he walked over for a closer look, a woodpecker started hammering into the trunk of a nearby tree. Although the sheriff couldn't see the bird through the foliage, he sensed that his every move was being telegraphed through the forest. Leaning around the hood of the first van he discovered what was hidden behind the lineup of vehicles--a white wall defaced with angry strokes of red paint that spelled out a nasty farewell: Good Riddance.
Cubiak whistled quietly. The bird's staccato concert paused but began again when he picked up a stick and poked at the crimson streak that underlined the message. The paint was fresh. He looked around but the hard group yielded no footprints.
The vandals hadn't stopped with defacing the shed. At the Rec Room, they'd dislodged the cardboard from the broken window, smashed several other panes of glass, and made deep scratches in the picture window. The woodpecker transmitted a flurry of reports.
Two for two. Had the house been vandalized, as well? Had Ida been harmed? Cubiak was sure Walter would have said something if his mother had been injured. The sheriff passed the area where the bodies had been laid out the previous Saturday. The gazebo was unscathed but splotches of red paint bloomed like algae on the pier and the side of the power boat. The most spiteful damage was to the cabin cruiser in the sling where large red x's crossed over the name Ida Mae. Again the paint was still wet. And again there were no tracks in the damp grass. Had the vandals been so bold they'd used the brick walkway rather than cut across the lawn?
Walter waited at the back door...he blocked the sheriff's way.
"This was in the mail," he said, jabbing a white envelope at Cubiak. The envelope, a standard number ten, was unstamped, the address typed: Ida Nils Huntsman...Cubiak pulled a sheet of pale blue paper through the slit in the top of the envelope. 

THEY GOT WHAT THEY DESERVED...

~~~

Death at Gills Rock:

A Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery

By Patricia Skalka

There are two major things that attract me to Skalka's writing: She writes a great mystery... and she's chosen a wonderful setting which she uses to complement that mystery with almost a poetic prose that is so descriptive of the surrounding nature that readers are captured first by entering into place in the book, and only secondary on to what brings in the mystery... I think the above excerpt illustrates exactly what I mean!

It is obvious, for instance, that Dave Cubiak loves where he is now living and while he may be traveling to a crime scene, he cannot help noticing the surrounding beauty and sounds capture his interest and attention. For those who are lovers of God's natural beauty, Skalka helps us visualize her home first, and then moves on to carve out a mystery within the parameters of that setting. I have already become enchanted with Door County!

Check out my review of Death Stalks Door County for many more pictures than I have here, including a Fish Boil! Enjoy or refresh your memory of her first book!

Everybody had thought it had been a tragic accident...Three prominent businessmen had died of carbon monoxide poisoning during a card game in what they had called the Rec Room. What made it even sadder was that planning was already underway to honor the men for their military heroics as WWII veterans. It would be a loss to the whole town...

Or would it?

Cubiak had gotten there as soon as possible after they were found and he immediately began to notice things--like the door being locked from the inside, so that a window had to be broken to get in...

Like the initial inspection of the heater not showing any major problems, even though they did find a lot of leaves and debris in the bottom part of the outside pipe...

But what really was confusing was that in beginning the routine interviews with family and neighbors, he began to discover evidence of lies, deceit and possible criminal activities. How had these three men become so wealthy in comparison to those in the same type of town businesses?

The funeral was performed for all three at the same time--the men had been good friends since they were young, had been in the service together and it seemed appropriate to have just one, especially since it would be a full military honor service.

By then the messages that had been written had been discovered. But nobody could have planned for what happened as the after-service luncheon began!

Seconds later, there was a crash in the church basement, followed by a scream. Cubiak hurtled through the open doorway and down the stairs. In the cramped foyer, he collided with the woman in brown, who stood facing the three widows. The trio's black dresses dripped with red wormy strands and blood-like splotches. Pieces of crockery lay in a pool of red at their feet. 
Cubiak grabbed the woman in brown by the shoulders and spun her around. Her hands were smeared red as well. An ugly yellow bruise spread above her right eye.
"Who are you?" he said.
She blinked and said nothing.
Several men rushed from the dining hall but Rowe and Bathard elbowed past them into the entryway.
"Keep everyone inside. And close the doors," the sheriff told the deputy. 
While the doctor tended to the three stunned women, Cubiak propelled the assailant up the stairs into the church. The aroma of incense lingered in the air. Sunlight filtered through the stained-glass windows and lit the funeral flowers on the altar, creating an air of softness and peace.
"Who are you?"
"God's servant." The woman's voice was hard and defiant.
"What's this all about?"
"Justice. I killed the son-of-a-bitch."
"What do you mean? Who did you kill?"
"My husband. The man who ruined my life." The woman held her hands out as if expecting him to cuff her. "He got what he deserved. They all did.
"Who?" Cubiak said.
The woman spat on the floor. "All of them--four of a kind."

~~~

This is the type of mystery where you slowly pick up potential clues and possible suspects. But this story is so tightly woven, with so many different surprises that mystery fans will begin to despair of even grabbing at options that seem to make sense.

What was so intriguing to me, most of all, was the heartbreaking lies that had been told to family members and that's really all I can say without giving anything away...

While murder is the prime topic, with a total of five by the time they are all counted, there is some light romantic moments as Cubiak is dating while still missing one special young woman...and his best friend, the coroner, has decided to remarry, but still has some wavering discussions with Dave as the time grows near. There are some tender scenes between the two men as they work to restore an old boat, with Dave putting up with the mandated music that his friend supplies...

It was late afternoon when he got to Bathard's. The door to the boat barn was rolled back, and once again Bathard was on the scaffolding alongside the Parlando. A mallet in one hand and a black chisel-like tool in the other, he stared at the skylights and listened to Pavarotti...

Inside the barn, Bathard's phone vibrated on the counter, raising a small cloud of dust. He checked the screen. "Time for tea. Sonja and her granddaughters have been fussing in the kitchen all afternoon."

"I can't..."

"You must. You're the guest of honor."

~~~

These allowed for a comfortable closing for readers, while I have to say that I was completely satisfied with the ending of the murder investigations...

Cubiak is a formidable character--he is tenacious and driven as he investigates crime, but is endearing as his thoughts often flashes back to his wife and daughter who were killed, while he's trying to make some way for himself for the future--a lonely man who readers will all be looking forward to becoming a much happier man in future books!

This second novel stepped up the quality of the mystery--will Skalka be able to continue to satisfy the fans with such top quality, for those who are already reading her? Somehow I have no doubt that her writing and stories will continue to get better and better. Watch this relatively new fiction author and get caught up with this fantastic series! You won't be sorry!

GABixlerReviews

Couldn't pass this up when I saw the two - Stevie Wonder and Pavarotti! Wow!

ABOUT THE SERIES

The Dave Cubiak Door County Mysteries pit a former troubled Chicago cop against a roster of clever killers on the Door County Peninsula in the heart of the Midwest. Set against a backdrop of stunning natural beauty, the series kicks off with Death Stalks Door County and continues with Death at Gills Rock.

ABOUT DOOR COUNTY

Door County Peninsula juts out between the pristine waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan in northern Wisconsin. With 300 miles of scenic shoreline, five wooded state parks and a collection of quaint, waterfront villages, the area is a mecca for artists, musicians, outdoor enthusiasts and tourists. Every year, some two million visitors come to Door County, the “Cape Cod of the Midwest.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Patricia Skalka is the author of Death Stalks Door County and Death at Gills Rock, the first two books in the popular Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery series.

Skalka, a Chicago writer, turned to fiction following a successful career in nonfiction. Her many credits include: Staff Writer for Reader’s Digest, freelancer, ghost writer, writing instructor and book reviewer.