Tradition of Deceit

This book is so well written that I forget it's set in the 80's until the pay phone and adding more money comes into to play. I love how Roelke and Chloe's realtionship doesn't take center stage but is in the backdrop of this storyline and how they both had to comes to terms as to where they stand with each other. The history in this book is amazing and how the author weaves the present with the past and how those things both had relevance to Chloe and Roelke cases and how she brought the topic of abuse to the story but even then did a complete red herring with who the abuser actually had me going what did I miss and I had to read some of it and then you were still like oh. I enjoyed this book and so did our committee so that's why we will be ordering at least 6 to 8 copies and the previous books has well. Thank you for letting me review your book.

I practically inhaled this book which continues the saga of Chloe and Roelke by having them solve two different murders in two cities, Minneapolis and Milwaukee, at the same time. The actual distance between the two is mirrored by a crisis in their relationship. You learn a lot more about Roelke in this book and, boy, does he have a lot of baggage.

The mysteries are smart and have intriguing connections despite the distance and the very different situations (one, the murder of Roelke's old friend and former partner, Rick, in Milwaukee; the other, the murder of an esteemed professor of public history who was supervising the dissertation of Chloe's friend, Ariel). Of course, there are fascinating historical tidbits thrown in there, particularly involving the historic culture of Minneapolis's grain mills and Milwaukee's immigrant cultures. Chloe's own rural museum gets a bit of play in here along with some mouthwatering food mentions. (I want kuchen now!)

The book kept me riveted. I winced when Chloe worried if her heart was going to break but cheered as both Chloe and Roelke worked towards solving the murder cases while making smart choices for themselves.

The period setting of the 1980s might throw some readers - no smartphones and sushi in Chloe's world - but Ernst makes it a painless read as you focus on the riveting mysteries she weaves together. Eagerly awaiting her next book!