Book Reviews: Starvation Lake Mysteries by Bryan Gruley

Starvation Lake
Touchstone
370 Pages
Copyright 2009

In Starvation Lake, Gus Carpenter, has returned home in disgrace. His high profile job with the Detroit Times has blown up over questionable ethics involving confidential sources.

Home is a small town in northern lower Michigan where people are more concerned about Gus's past than his present. You see, Gus was once the hot-shot goalie of the local traveling hockey team, the team that was destined for glory and the state championship. A mistake by Gus ruined the dream and the town has blamed him for every thing that has gone wrong since that time.

He's now the editor of the local newspaper and he's playing hockey with a old-timers team. Things aren't good but they're as good as they're going to get for Gus.

Then, a snowmobile washes ashore, bringing with it a mystery that will rock Starvation Lake even more than Gus's missed goal. The machine once belonged to his former coach who died when he broke through the ice and drowned... on a lake five miles away.

Gus begins an investigation that will reopen the painful past and force Gus to deal with questions about that time, the people involved, and himself.

The Hanging Tree
Touchstone
314 Pages
Copyright 2010

Life, after the happenings in Gruley's first book, for Gus Carpenter hasn't been all that bad. He's still playing hockey, now executive editor of the local newspaper, and best of all, he's reconnected with his childhood sweetheart, Deputy Darlene Esper.

Then, Gracie McBride, Gus's troubled cousin, hangs herself from a tree outside of town. The circumstances are questionable to say the least. Gus begins to investigate while he also tries to deal with a lawsuit stemming from the mess he left behind at the Detroit Times, the return of Darlene's husband, and the questionable intentions of a wealthy man who arrived in Starvation Lake with promises to return the town's former hockey glory with a brand new arena - one that Gus makes the mistake of questioning in his paper. The result of his trying to protect the community from a possible scam? The owners seem to be trying to force him out.

Through it all, however, Gus is determined to do right by Grace, by Darlene, and by his small, quirky hometown.

Recommendations: Gruley does an admirable job capturing the quirks and oddities of truly small towns. His characters are real and they deal with real life problems. The mysteries, while decently told, don't hold many surprises but that doesn't diminish the enjoyment whatsoever.