Things haven't gone well for Eli North since his return from service in Afghanistan. He's lost his job as an investigator for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service due to budget cuts. His marriage has failed due to emotional problems that came back from Afghanistan with him. He's drinking too much and suffering from PTSD. The only job he can hold, just barely, is as a deputy in the local sheriff's department and that only because his mother is the sheriff.

When he stumbles upon the body of a dead teenager, his first response is to have a flashback to his days in the military and pass out. His fall also leaves him with a concussion which he tries to hide from his mother because he's stuck in the rut of telling her that he's fine. Even though he knows that he is far from fine.

The investigation of the death leads to a reclusive "resort" and to investigation into the opioid epidemic which has found its way to Wisconsin's vacation paradise. A teenage girl who was with the murdered boy is also missing and trying to find her and find out why she was kidnapped also adds more stress to Eli's already very difficult life.

The story was gripping and intense. Watching Eli try to manage PTSD on his own was heart-wrenching. And his mother's helpless feelings also come through in the story as she doesn't know how she can help her son. I was totally engaged and recommend the book.

A solid murder mystery with a compelling, realistic, flawed but endearing protagonist. I hope to read more stories with Eli at the helm.

I realize that Northwoods is being marketed as a mystery/thriller and while I do see why they are doing that, I don't feel like that is the main focus of the book. It's essentially a story about how Eli working through his PTSD as a combat veteran. Most of the detective work is done by others while Eli is dealing with panic attacks and hangovers. I felt like I was right alongside him throughout the book, feeling what he was feeling. I hope that this is the first of a series!

Northwoods by Amy Pease is a police procedural/thriller based in northern Wisconsin where Elio North’s mother, Marge, was sheriff and had been for years. There was not much crime and so there was not much budget for the sheriff’s office. She had three deputies, one of them, Eli. Eli had been and premiere investigator for Fish and Wildlife, which he had rejoined six months after returning from Afghanistan. Then he got laid off: budget cuts. The return from deployment and the lay off had sent him spiraling and now he drank more every day. A month earlier his wife had had enough and asked him to leave her and their son. Everyone knew he was in trouble. No one knew how to help. The night he found the dead boy in a boat on the lake made it all worse. He passed out and knocked his head on the pier. He called his wife in the middle of the night to be sure their sone was OK. He wanted to be better, but he didn’t know how. This murder might well be what pushed him over the edge.

This is a disturbing story, mostly because of its accuracy in depicting returning military suffering from PTSD. Thankfully Eli had people who loved him. This crime was difficult to get a grasp on. Until it suddenly came together. No one was telling the whole truth, even Eli, in his semi-conscious state could tell that. The FBI person from Chicago was very young, but very good. They couldn’t figure out why she was there. It was a complicated story of corporate greed and the drug trade run amok. Eli was a fabulous character, so well-written that it made one want to cry over h is struggles. The small sheriff’s force worked hard to solve this crime, uncovering buried secrets that finally led to a conclusion. What a powerful, yet simple story.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Northwoods by Atria Books, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #AtriaBooks #AmyPease #Northwoods

Coming January 9!

This was a very powerful story that shined a spotlight on both mental health issues of veterans and the opioid epidemic in our country. It’s a slow-burn and character-driven, both of which I enjoy, and told in a unique way that added an extra level of suspense to the story.

I very much enjoyed this debut and will be reading whatever Pease writes next!

Thank you Atria for the arc via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

What an incredibly tight literally ride!

This book was exactly what I needed. I didn't get as much reading done in November as I would have liked, so Northwoods kicking off December was such a treat.

It's a heavy character driven novel, an atmospheric slow burn that excels in delivering a complex mystery without giving in to genre tropes or cliche.

We are thrust into a story filled with trauma, mental health, PTSD and substance abuse. Amy Pease does a spectacular job of evoking a visceral discomfort and empathy for the characters but it never crosses into hyperbolic territory.

The final act deliveres a payoff with an action packed climax that benefits even more from the relationships and subtle chemistry everyone has developed over the course of its few hundred pages.

I can't believe this was a debut novel, I want go deeper with Eli and Alyssa, I want to see them on screen someday and I certainly want to read everything Amy Pease ever writes.

I received a digital advance copy of Northwoods by Amy Pease via NetGalley. Northwoods is scheduled for release on January 9, 2024.

Northwoods follows Eli, a man working in a rural sheriff’s office after his return from Afghanistan. Eli has been using alcohol to deal with memories he can’t rid of, and the damage it has done to his marriage. In this novel, he is called out on a noise complaint, which leads to the discovery of the body of a teenage boy. The sheriff calls in the FBI, as their small town isn’t equipped for a murder investigation that seems to be tied to the opioid epidemic. Eli is forced to work with the young agent not only on the case, but in the battle against his own demons.

Eli is a vet who has brought things home with him. The impacts this has on both him and his relationships is hauntingly believable. I found myself begging with him to make better choices while still understanding why he didn’t. Around him are characters with varied responses to his issues. Some are supportive, others are full of judgment, few of them have any idea how to help. Overall, the cast felt like a group of people you might encounter in real life.

The story itself brings in many threads including PTSD, drug abuse, alcoholism, and self-harm. Combined, this is a heavy load for a novel, but Pease manages to keep a thread of hope woven throughout. What starts as a small-town murder grows to nation-wide and world-wide issues. There were a few spots where I did not follow Pease in the connections a character made or the explanations given for events. Some of this may have been deliberate, as this feels like a novel that is the start of a series. While I had the answers for some of the questions raised at the start of the novel (Who killed this boy?), there were questions related to the bigger picture that went unanswered.

Overall, Northwoods is a solid debut mystery/thriller. I would absolutely read more if this continues as a series, or any other works by Pease.

Amy Pease’s debut novel is a propulsive murder mystery that will keep you glued to the page. I don’t usually enjoy dark contemporary mysteries like this one, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to what she publishes next.

The story grabs you right from the start. You feel for Eli and can’t look away from the trainwreck his life has turned into. The secondary characters also grab you, each family dealing with difficulties. You discover not all is as it seems. The “bad entity” was relatively easy to figure out, but there are still twists that you don’t see coming. I also really liked the FBI agent, Alyssa. I would be interested to see if this turns into a series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and Amy Pease for the eARC.

3.5 stars, rounded up.
There was a lot I really liked about this book beginning with it being placed in Northern Wisconsin, a place I vacationed when I lived in Wisconsin. Eli North is a deputy in a small town, when he is called to check out a noise complaint, he comes across the body of a young man. We learn quickly that all is not well with Eli, a veteran who suffers from PTSD and is self medicating with alcohol and drugs.

Pease does a wonderful job of describing the panic attacks that Eli suffers from, although I found them disturbing....the point, I'm sure. She also does a great job of showing how an understaffed small town sheriff's department can be overwhelmed with a major crime even with the help of the FBI. I was also impressed with the secondary characters; Eli's mom, the Sheriff; the FBI agent; and the mothers involved.

My negative was how tidily everything was wrapped up quickly in the end, even Eli's shortcomings. Also, I had a hard time picturing this upper crust golf club in the middle of nowhere where everyone else was struggling financially.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was a very good debut mystery from Amy Pease. It was well written and had strong, interesting characters. I did figure out one twist about halfway through the book but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book and its conclusion. It seems like it has the potential to be a series. I would definitely read more by Amy Pease. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC.

A lot is going on in this small lakeside resort town which has a woman sheriff and only two other police officers - one being her son Eli who has PTSD from his time in Afghanistan.

Eli only has the job because of his mother, and he tries to medicate himself with alcohol.

When Eli is asked to check on a cabin that has a radio blaring, he finds no one inside, but finds something worse - a dead child in a boat.

The autopsy indicates that the child was hit over the head and also injected with drugs.

Another interesting part about finding the child is that he was with another resident of the campgrounds during the day, but now she is missing.

We follow the investigation and hope Eli can help solve the murder and redeem himself and get some help with his problems.

NORTHWOODS was a bit confusing at first, but once the investigation got going, my interest picked up.

There were a few people I had in mind as the murderer and kidnapper and a few surprises, but I never suspected the real murderer.

Also addressed was PTSD and how it affects those suffering from it. Also addressed was alcohol abuse.

Enjoy if you read this well-written debut. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Eli North has all your sympathy as he tries to do his job as a deputy in the sheriff's department in a small resort town in Wisconsin. The descriptions of his ongoing fight with PTSD while he tries to solve the murder of a teenager in town are vivid and heart breaking. I rooted for him all the way, as his mental health after two years in Afghanistan continues to erode.

The murder mystery, and the police procedures with Eli helping when and as he can, is well written and plotted. The woodsy setting of the resort town adds to the interest in the novel, and the character portrayal is excellent.

Well worth reading.

4 stars / This review will be posted on goodreads.com today.


The perfect summer story for the middle of winter.

Shaky Lake is a tiny town, looked over by Paul Bunyan. Up in the Wisconsin woods, it is home to a summer resort population and a tiny group of local law enforcement. Like any place in America, it is not immune to drugs and crime.

Eli is a deputy sheriff. His mother Marge is the high sheriff. Alongside them are two other deputies - Phil and Jake. Not quite enough people to care for this little place in the woods. Eli grew up here. Was once a national investigator for Fish and Wildlife. Served in the military. And has fallen hard since. Eli has PTSD and a drinking problem.

When a teen is found murdered and another missing, the small town sheriff’s department is tasked with solving a mystery. The FBI is brought in. What will be uncovered and what truths will be found in this idyllic summer paradise?

Really enjoyed this one and hope that Pease continues to write about Eli. While there are some truly difficult themes in this book, I found the inner psyche of Eli fascinating. The relationship between him and his mother. The small town vibe. What lengths a community is willing to go to protect one of their own.

It’s a good crime story that is worth a read.

Northwoods. The cover of this debut novel by Amy Pease is beautifully calm and inviting, but even in the serenity of Wisconsin’s rustic vacationland, Eli North cannot escape his demons. Eli suffers from PTSD due to his combat experiences in Afghanistan. In his attempts to mute the damage, he’s turned to alcohol, which in turn has destroyed his marriage, threatens his precious relationship with his son, and has his co-workers at the sheriff’s office questioning his mother – the sheriff – about why he is still on the payroll.

Marge North has her reasons beyond the fact that he’s her boy and she loves him. The budget for law enforcement does not allow for extra help, and when Eli comes upon the dead body of a young boy, she needs all hands-on deck to handle the investigation on top of the other needs of county law enforcement. Is Eli up to the task? When a teenage girl who’s been spending time with the victim goes missing, the FBI is called in. Alyssa Mason is an attractive, 30-something-year-old woman from Chicago. Pairing her with Eli in this small, mosquito-ridden town makes for some interesting judgments on both sides. Can they work together?

This case turns out to be beyond the scope of a local killer and has more dangerous implications. I was impressed by the complexity of the plot, and I liked the character development as well. There are some heartwarming scenes toward the end that seemed a bit too pat, but I found those easy to overlook because it’s easy to root for Eli and this band of good guys.

I received a digital version of Northwoods in exchange for my unbiased review. Thanks to NetGalley, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and the author. Opinions and thoughts are my own.

4 stars

I can hear you rolling your eyes after you read the book's description. Another alcoholic soldier drama that tears at your heart but all ends beautifully, right? No. This novel goes so much deeper than that, but in a manner that sneaks up on you.
Yes, Eli North is an alcoholic who’s employed because his mama hired him. It takes a bit to even care about him; he’s so worthless at his meal ticket job. But read on. He doesn’t want our pity, and his mama would knock you on your keester if you pitied her. She’s tough enough to do it. And she refuses to give up on her son when everyone around her thinks she’s a fool.
Eli ever so slowly responds to a radio call late one night, assuming it’s another noise complaint on the lake. He finds, in the hull of a boat floating off the dock, the body of a young man who had the entire world ahead of him. Unable to turn a drunk eye on this young man’s life, Eli digs deep into his former military police days in an effort to solve the murder. It’s not all smooth sailing; Eli is fighting a demon who has his claws sunk deep into him. You’re going to feel anger towards Eli, then probably his mother, because he seems like such a waste of skin. And that’s what makes this book so worthwhile.
The eloquent writing, the subtle glimpses of light, then dark, cause an emotional reaction to the reader. The tug and push of Eli’s internal war while fighting a new kind of war on his homeland won’t cause you to pull for the good guy. He’s still not a good guy in your eyes. But you will be feeling a whirlwind of varying emotions as you turn the pages. So worth your time to read.
Thanks so much to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is January 9, 2024.

This debut by Amy Pease takes on a lot. Her flawed hero, Eli North, is a vet with PTSD and a drinking problem. He’s lost the job he loved, and his wife has left him – plus he works on sufferance for his mother, the sheriff, at the understaffed sheriff’s department in tiny Shaky Lake, Wisconsin. His co-workers don’t think much of him but his mother is doing her very best to pull him forward. He defeats her efforts at almost every turn as addicts tend to do.

As the book opens, Eli ignores a call from work and when he does get to it, it’s a noise complaint. He finds an empty resort cabin with the music playing full blast. He turns it off, and, checking out the nearby dock, finds a boat tied up with a dead body inside. His first panicked thought is that it’s the body of his boy, Andy, but he sees the boy in the boat is too old – he’s a teen. It also becomes clear that the girl he was with is missing.

As Eli and his mother investigate the case one way and another, the fact that the dead boy seems to have been a good kid, trying to care for his addict mother (he even knows how to administer Narcan), is something confirmed by everyone they talk to. The sheriff tried to check in on him as she was able to, and she’s devastated by his death. The missing girl, however, takes precedence.

This book is interesting as it’s told from the point of view of an addict, the ultimate unreliable narrator. Eli is struggling and the reader sees and feels his struggles, most heartbreakingly, I think the struggles he has trying to maintain a relationship with his 8-year-old son, Andy. There’s obviously a good, intelligent investigator under cover of the alcohol. I think the true triumph of this novel is in creating a character who, despite obvious flaws, is still someone the reader can relate to, root for, and even like. I wanted him to succeed.

The mystery revolves around the missing girl and the drug her pharmacist rep father is about to help launch that’s supposed to stop opioid addiction. Obviously, any company that could manufacture that kind of drug would make billions of dollars. The stakes are both high, and personal, with the various addicts Pease writes about giving the reader an emotional investment in the outcome.

That said I still felt the resolution was somewhat predictable. I rarely try and figure out an ending, preferring to be surprised, but this ending was pretty apparent even to me. I did like the writing, the setting, and the characters. The Wisconsin Northwoods felt very much like Northern Michigan where I spent my childhood summers. That layer of nostalgia along with the poignancy of the main character’s struggles made this a worthy read.

Northwoods, Amy Pease’s debut novel, should appeal to most mystery lovers although it may be a stretch for hard-core cozy mystery readers. Set in small-town Northern Wisconsin, it revolves around the opioid crisis.

As the story opens, a Sherman County Sheriff’s Department Deputy, Eli North, is investigating loud music coming from one of the resort’s cabins when he stumbles upon the body of a teenage boy at the bottom of a boat tied to the dock. An Afghan War veteran, now a habitual heavy drinker, Deputy North holds down his job only because Marge North, his mother, is local sheriff.

Marge identifies the dead boy as 16-year-old Ben Sharpe of Minneapolis, son of Rachel Sharpe, a drug addict, and stepson of Dr. Charles Sharpe, a Veteran’s Administration surgeon. The following day, vacationer Beth Wallace, reports her daughter Caitlin missing after having spent the previous day boating with Ben.

Moving between Beran’s resort, a drug rehab hospital, Green Lake Country Club, and several locations around town including the underfunded sheriff’s office staffed by only four people, most of the novel focuses on the investigation of Ben’s death and Caitlin’s disappearance. Agent Alyssa Mason, Chicago FBI, arrives to aid in the search for the missing girl. The backgrounds of each of the characters add depth to the story, and readers gradually come to realize that all is more complex than it first appears.

Pease divides the narrative into forty-two chapters and seven interspersed sections labelled “Cal,“ Cal being Calvin Wallace, wealthy Orion Pharmaceuticals sales representative and Caitlin’s father. What starts as a mystery gradually becomes a thriller deserving praise from well-known Minnesota mystery/thriller writer William Kent Krueger. Despite a few weak similes in her debut novel, Amy Pease, nurse practitioner by profession, is also a writer to watch.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advance reader copy. I look forward to her next book.

Northwoods, releasing January 9, is a debut novel by Amy Pease. Northwoods of Wisconsin is a vacation area near the small town of Shaky Lake with its sheriff’s department working within a too small budget. When a teenage boy is found dead in a boat, Eli North begins the investigation as he is a deputy there working under the supervision of his mother the sheriff.

Eli was once a strong, thriving young man with a job he loved and a wife and son. After deployment to Afghanistan, his powers of investigation are still sharp but his emotional wounds run deep and cloud his judgment. He copes by drinking, which is to say he is not coping well.

When it is determined the deceased was injected with opioids and suffered two head injuries, the entire sheriff’s department—all three deputies and the sheriff herself—has its hands full. Worse, during the investigation, they find that a teenage girl is missing.

Before the cases are solved, a pharmaceutical company trying to push its new drug that promises to save opioid addicts becomes entangled in the case. Eli determines that there is more going on than a dead boy and a missing girl. This case is his chance to redeem himself as the man he once was, but if he fails, he could lose everything.

Amy Pease, a nurse practitioner, is a nationally recognized HIV specialist. She lives in Wisconsin with her family.
My review will be posted on Goodreads starting November 21, 2023.

I would like to thank Atria Books/Emily Bestler Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for an objective review.

Northwoods opens with a disclaimer. This one with trigger warnings concerning the usual, helpful, suspects. Northwoods runs rampant with PTSD, teenage murder, suicide, and (hold my drink) substance abuse. The book also contains other, non-listed trigger warnings, albeit those of a more personal nature: first-time author; first-time woman author; first-time woman author with a male protagonist who comes with a menu-listing of faults.

But can I say it now? With my fortitude in place and an undying respect for Chandler and Cain and Leonard intact, I am glad I read Northwoods. Amy Pease has a terrific style and the book was entertaining as hell.

Set at a resort lake somewhere to the left of Milwaukee, Sheriff’s Deputy Eli North finds the dead body of a vacationing teen. A death that does not make sense, especially after it was confirmed as murder. Then a teen girl goes missing. Then the FBI turns up. And during it all? Eli is on a bender trying to forget his tours in Afghanistan. Unreliable narrator? You betcha.

Northwoods might be set in a tight-yet-tranquil environment but has a larger scope, mainlining hard into the opioid crisis. Pease throws in a helping of under-funded law enforcement, too. Eli’s mother, Marge - Sheriff Marge, mind you - tries to deal with it all. She is gruff enough to be in a Taylor Sheridan show yet is compassionate with Coen Brothers ideals. Murder in the Northwoods of Shaky Lake is bad enough. Her son’s suicidal tendencies are a whole other jam. Through it all, Pease has created a fun crime tale.

Her style is straightforward and honest. She does tend to add her pose with a few too many adjectives but such color will no doubt drain if her work continues in the cold gutter of crime fiction. Pease rightfully deviates from the clipped LA noir heaviness. But even better? She thankfully ignores those shameless Chick Lit trappings. Eli North might be far from perfect but Pease makes him human, respectable, and gosh-almighty(!) likable.

Within Northwoods, Pease builds exciting suspense and properly moves that in between character development. The murder mystery keeps you guessing and delivers a satisfying ending.

Northwoods has a publication date of January 2024. Go buy a copy once it’s available.

Thank you to Atria and Emily Bestler Books for contacting me with the advance read - and convincing me with the pitch.