Northwoods offers an interesting storyline. It is a debut novel dealing with a murder, kidnapping and high opioid use/ possibly distribution in a small rural town.
Pluses:
Interesting storyline
Good pacing
Complex mystery

Deltas:
Stilted dialogue
Poor transitioning - confusing
Editing errors
Motive for murder is unclear
Criminal activity is not fleshed out or explained
Lack of Character development except for MC

The main character, Eli North is very well developed. Other characters are one dimensional. However, Eli is intriguing and I hope he will be featured in future writings. I would like to continue reading his story! There is unfinished business in this town concerning criminal elements that perhaps will be resolved in a sequel.

My thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinion expressed are my own.

Northwoods by Amy Pease

288 Pages
Publisher: Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Release Date: January. 9, 2024

General Fiction (Adult), Mystery, Thriller, Alcoholism, PTSD

Eli used to be an office for Fish and Wildlife department, but he changed after his tour in Afghanistan. Now he is a deputy for Shaky Lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. His mother, Marge, is the chief of police, and the only. Reason Eli still has a job. His drinking has gotten worse and he has trouble just maintaining his life. The body. Of a teenage boy is discovered in the lake. Now everyone is looking for the teenage girl that was supposed to be with him. The FBI become involved and sent Agent Alyssa Mason to assist in the investigation. The death and disappearance seem to be wrapped up in a prescription drug ring that is operating in the Northwoods. Can Eli hold it together long enough to work out this case?

The book has a fast pace, the characters are well developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. Eli is broken and the author does an excellent job describing the internal fight he has every day. His mother feels helpless but acts like a mother protecting her son. This is a good drug related murder mystery.

This is a great new series that will keep you wanting more. There’s lots of mystery and intriguing details that keep the reader want more. Look for to what the author has next.

An intriguing mystery set in the North woods of Wisconsin. Eli clearly is suffering from PTSD from a tour in Afghanistan. He is drinking way too much and it's cost him his job and his wife. The only employment he can find is in his small hometown as a sheriff's deputy -- his mother is the Sheriff. When he discovers the body of a teenage boy and a teen girl is missing, he's drawn into the middle of the investigation and is forced to face his own demons.

I was sucked in from the beginning, but about 10% in, I became a bit bored and even lost in following the narrative. There was so much going on -- the murder, the missing girl, the drug addicted mother, Eli's PTSD, the animosity among Eli's co-workers, sexual tension between Eli & a young FBI agent, something about a FDA drug trial, social conflicts around wealth and middle class, marital issues, and on and on. It was sometimes difficult to get the characters straight and just who had what issues with who. Fortunately about 1/2 way in, it all became clearer and the mystery became the focus. There were lots of clues and misdirections, but it was all resolved in the end. Although I admit that I figured out the culprit long before the big reveal, I finished the book with a good feeling about Pease and her writing. It's not the best I've read, but it's a solid mystery that just could have done without a couple of the extra characters and issues.

One real saving grace -- Pease is a master at descriptive writing. Her writing pulled me solidly into the setting in rural Wisconsin. The town, resort, country club, and bar were very vivid and really added to the atmosphere. Well done!

This is a book all older students and parent should read. In fact everyone should read it. A mother and son pair of law enforcement in a small town take on narcotics in the case of the death of a teenager and another missing teenager. In case that is about this and so much more. A powerful story of the trauma people carry and the ways they attempt to cope

This is an outstanding debut novel, well written with heart, complex characters and depth. The relationships feel true and complicated as the main characters wrestle with the hard things in their life as well as the mystery of a teenage boy's death and a missing girl. Addiction, PTSD from the war, abuse, divorce, parenthood and the pharmecutical industry are all explored. But it is also a story of healing and hope after despair

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me intrigued and invested from start to finish! Hard to believe this is someone’s DEBUT!

Northwoods is a debut mystery that takes readers to a small Wisconsin tourist town. The setting is perfect for a police procedural - there is the small county sheriff's department, the outside help they must bring to help solve the crime, plus the locals and tourists who provide plenty of who-done-it options. Some of the themes show up reasonably often in modern crime novels. For example - the drunk, PTSD-suffering veteran turned detective. Readers may find this trope overused, but I liked Eli, and his back story leaves a lot of options for future character development. I will watch for the next addition - I hope there will be one.

If you want an engaging crime novel and enjoy remote, small-town settings, consider picking up Northwoods - it will fit the bill.

Thanks to NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for a review.

Thanks to the publishers & Netgalley for my review copy! I'm not a huge fan of police procedurals anymore, so this wasn't a great read for me. However, I am going to assess it based on the content, rather than my own reading preferences, because it is a good book.. This book is not an easy read; it explores some dark areas of depression, PTSD, addiction and the opioid crisis. If those areas are triggering to you, I would not recommend this book. I loved that the author did include trigger warnings in this ARC, and I hope that it stays in for the final version. I love the location of Northern Wisconsin as that isn't an area you read too much about. I've spent a good chunk of my life in the Northwoods, so I could really imagine myself in the setting as I was reading. I would recommend this book to fans of police procedurals, character studies, exploring addiction & the opioid crisis.

This was a compelling read, that I found I did not want to put down! Great, multi-faceted characters. Very interesting plot. Vivid descriptions. Suspenseful and thrilling. I felt every emotion. Kept me intrigued from the first page to the last. Simply a GREAT read!

*I received a complimentary ARC of this book in order to read and provide a voluntary, unbiased and honest review, should I choose to do so.

Set in the wake of the opioid epidemic in a backwoods Wisconsin tourist town, NORTHWOODS follows officer Eli North, an Afghanistan veteran as he investigates a murder of a local teenage boy and the disappearance of a tourist teenage girl.

Amy Pease handles PTSD and addiction so thoughtfully. My heart broke for Eli as he desperately tried to hold on to his broken relationships and fledgling career. With timely themes and an immersive setting, NORTHWOODS is a solid mystery debut.

READ THIS IF:
-You enjoy storylines that realistically portray aspects of addiction
-Northern Minnesota settings appeal to you (think William Kent Kreuger)
-Mother-Son relationships draw you in

RATING: 4/5 stars
PUB DATE: January 9, 2024

Many thanks to Atria for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Always a sucker for an atmospheric literary procedural with a down-and-out protagonist who has a well-developed backstory to make you really get behind him despite some iffy choices - and this one delivered for me in the character of Eli - part of a small-town sheriff's department in a Wisconsin who is coping with PTSD from his time in Afghanistan and the struggles of re-entry into life with his (now estranged) wife and kid - and with the idyllic woodsy and lake setting of this resort town. When a teenager is found murdered, this understaffed department is sent reeling in trying to figure out what happened, and how it connects to a larger picture of opioid addictions and corruption. Generally I thought the pacing was great, on par with the types of atmospheric literary mysteries I like (think Jane Harper, Tana French), though I thought it was a bit off at times, partly in relation to how slowly it felt like the characters were reacting to the fact of a missing teenage girl revealed soon after the boy's body was found. And while I liked Eli's character and smarts and backstory, his mental state (and substance abuse) was pretty dark at times, more so than some of the protagonists of similar books, which made it feel a bit like there was never going to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

What made this one stand out in comparison to some of my other favorite literary mysteries: I loved the Midwest setting as something close-to-home and familiar (also deserves the comparisons to work of William Kent Kreuger in this regard), how the parent/child law enforcement work relationship came into, but this time with a mother/son relationship rather than the usual father/son you might expect to see, which really gave it a different emotional angle (and to be honest, I might have rooted for Marge even more than for Eli - she was great); and the way it investigated not just the opioid epidemic in terms of drug addition but also in terms of the corruption of pharmaceutical companies and CEOs.

Beyond the Jane Harper/Tana French mentions, I'd also recommend it for fans of Long Bright River given the opioid crisis angle to the mystery.

I liked the plot and storyline of this one. It had a good pace and enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. It had some creep factor and suspense. The part that lost stars for me was that I had a really hard time relating to or even liking the characters. I didn’t feel I got a good sense of them and didn’t really feel for them.
Aside from that it was a good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Emily Bestler Books/Atria Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this stellar debut police procedural by Amy Pease.

I was actually blown away by the fact that this book was a debut effort by Amy Pease It was so assuredly written that I was immediately drawn in and had a hard time pulling myself away when life interrupted.

This book had it all A flawed Afghanistan vet with severe PTSD that on occasion renders him incapable of doing his job and yes, he drinks to self-medicate. He's a sheriff's deputy and his mom is the sheriff, who is compassionate but frank. His coworkers not so much, along with one that is corrupted - have fun figuring out who that is. The town has literally no budget for the department, an opioid problem and a murdered teenager and his friend that's missing and you are off. The Wisconsin setting is perfect and add in a great FBI agent and you have the makings of a page turner.

I sincerely hope that this is the beginning of a series, and this book has definitely added Amy Pease to my list of "must buy" authors.

Eli North is not okay.

And so we begin. Eli has a drinking problem. He is self-medicating the damage done in Afghanistan. Career and Wife are gone. And in a surprising turn, the only job he is qualified for is with the Sheriff’s Department. His qualification is his mother, who is the sheriff.

The northern part of Wisconsin is no stranger to the opiod epidemic.And with a paltry budget, things are difficult.

Drugs have turned to murder.As a teenager is found dead, the investigation will lead him to a real mess.

Will he redeem himself? Well, this was a good story, with good characters, such as his mom! Very well done!
NetGalley/ Atria/Emily Bestler Books, January 09, 2024

This was a great book. A good mix of character development alongside the development of the mystery. Probably 4.5 stars, I feel like the ending didn’t fully wrap things up.

Eli was an intriguing character and my heart went out to him. He has ptsd from his time in the military and uses alcohol to self medicate. He would have trouble getting a job but since his mother is the local sheriff, he works for her. When a murder takes place this just might be the motivation he needs.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Eli North is on the police force at Shaky Lake, a resort town in the north woods of Wisconsin that was suffering from the ravages of America’s opioid epidemic. Eli worked for his mother Marge, who was the sheriff with a very small budget and only two other employees, Jake and Phil.

Eli used to be an elite investigator with the prestigious US Fish and Wildlife Service, but since a stint in Afghanistan, followed by crippling PTSD and subsequent alcoholism, he lost his job, his family - which included his wife and an 11-year-old son Andy - his bearings, and his reason to live. Marge had given him the only job he could hold, but he had only just barely been doing so (mostly while drunk) for the past six months.

Breaking up bar fights and rescuing the addicted from overdoses formed the usual scope of their duties, until Eli discovered the body of a 16-year-old teen, Ben Sharpe, in a boat in front of one of the cabins. Moreover, the girl Ben had been fishing with, Caitlin Wallace, was missing. Caitlin was the daughter of Calvin Wallace, a drug rep for Orion Pharmaceuticals, and it soon unfolded that Calvin was missing as well. It seemed that something bigger was going on than just Ben’s death.

Because a child was missing, the FBI agreed to help out, and sent an agent from Chicago, Alyssa Mason.

Eli desperately needed help for his PTSD and drinking, and he desperately needed redemption. The community at large desperately needed rescuing from the greed and rapaciousness of those involved in the “industry” of addiction.

Evaluation: I was very impressed with this atmospheric crime novel. It definitely will appeal to fans of the writing of John Hart, Wiley Cash, and William Kent Krueger. The ending left room for the possibility of another installment about the lives of those surviving the tense denouement of the story.

A very accomplished debut. Really enjoyed this police procedural set in small town Wisconsin. One of the leads is a damaged, alcoholic cop (Eli) but Pease manages to bring a fresh perspective to the trope, documenting his trauma from military service, the impact on his marriage and fatherhood, and, most interestingly, the strain on his relationship with the Sheriff of his small town. A sheriff, Marge, who also happens to be Eli's mother. The dynamic between the two is one of the highlights of the book. As are the tertiary characters like Alyssa, an FBI agent brought in to assist when a young boy is found murdered at a local resort and the young girl last seen with him is missing. I did guess one of the culprits, but that did not take away from my enjoyment. I look forward to what Pease has to offer in the future.

A procedural taking place in a summer resort in Wisconsin. I especially loved the voice of Eli, the police investigator, who is also fighting alcoholism and PTSD. The book is well written, and as more secrets are revealed it only becomes more interesting. The opioid epidemic features heavily into this and makes what should be a wholesome summer getaway turn into a nightmare.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher.