THE GHOST

In this installment of Lund’s Lake Superior Mystery series, a detective’s investigation uncovers a complex tapestry of secrets and lies.

Det. Lincoln Barnes has moved to Lake County after leaving the Minneapolis Police Department following a murder investigation that irrevocably changed her life. She’s now been assigned to find the murderer of Oscar Fawcett, who was run off the road in a collision that resulted in his decapitation. Oscar had previously donated a kidney to his mother Rebecca’s then-fiance, Paul Barton. Following the operation, Paul ended the engagement with Rebecca and married his mistress, which had clearly been his plan all along. Oscar and Rebecca sued Paul, who settled but was greatly angered by them taking legal action against him. In what initially appears to be an unrelated incident, Larry Osgood, the CEO of a mining company, is kidnapped and later found murdered in a remote cabin. Matters are further complicated when Paul Barton and his wife are poisoned. Meanwhile, Paul’s friend Jack Whitman grows close to his paralegal and begins an affair with her, but she may not be who she seems. If all that wasn’t enough, Lincoln can’t let go of her memories of Judge Robin Gildemeister as she questions whether he was the monster his journal made him out to be (“The contents of the diary were proof that the former judge had murdered the president of the Minneapolis City Council or proof that he was deeply disturbed, or maybe both”). Lund returns to his Lake Superior Mystery series with a stunning sequel that raises the bar already set high by the first installment, Who Are You? (2022).Lincoln continues to tackle cases with her grounded approach and admirable personality, bringing a human element to the overall analytical tone. Including chapters from Whitman’s point of view adds an intriguing element to the story, allowing the reader to see clues Lincoln is not aware of and illustrating the complexity of characters whose actions are less favorable than the honorable detective’s.

A fast-paced, twisted mystery with a thoroughly enjoyable solution.