Murder Isn't Usually This Much Fun

The above title is a quote from an Amazon review done on my novel, SOLDIER'S GAP. I imagine most people think this is a western, but Soldier is a fictional town on the Red River in western Minnesota. It flows north, a hint as to the kind of kinky goings on that occur after the high school principal, Jerry Egge, is murdered. The word “gap” applies to the generation gap. You'll see why if you read the book.

So, what's so funny about his murder? Nothing really. Jerry is beaten to death while out jogging before school. But he had some goofy friends. Dave Jenkins, the deputy sheriff, who has a vision when he arrives on the scene, can't believe the dead man is actually trying to help him solve his own murder. Dave can't tell anyone; it would mean the end of his career. Actually, he could tell the night deputy, Mingo Jones, a Mescalero Apache, who does believe in ghosts. He was more of an unbeliever before he attended Johns Hopkins on a LaCrosse scholarship. He majored in criminal justice, but he needed a minor and chose Native American culture, which is where he learned about the circle of life. He is now a passionate believer in the Land of Ever Summer and hopes his friend, Jerry, with whom he played on the town softball team, will eventually make it there. He took the job in Minnesota because of the 10,000 lakes.

Harry Kline, Dave Jenkins's boss, has never had to deal with a murder. He leans heavily on Dave and has called in the state cops. Hildegarde, the town clerk and Dave's former third grade teacher, thinks Harry in incompetent and is campaigning for Dave to get the job. Harry also tells a lot of terrible jokes that never seem to apply to the matter at hand. Oh, yeah, his daughter, Annie, is in love with Dave. Dave loves her back, but doesn't know it. He's more interested in his old high school girlfriend who is back in town after separating from her husband.

Then there's Moe Plesiac, Dave's genius of a next door neighbor. Dave is like a father, actually more of a big brother, to Moe, whose father has died. Moe falls in love with Olive Randall, one of the suspects.

There's an overweight female officer who keeps surprising everybody with her aptitude and common sense.

There's a whole gang of kids involved in the investigation besides Moe and Olive, but they're the kind that have fallen between the cracks. One of the source books I used was HELTER SKELTER.

A Catholic priest is one of the murderer's targets. Harry's son is a suspect for a while. It's his baseball bat that the murderer used to dispatch poor Jerry Egge.

I was raised in a small town like Soldier, and I can guarantee you that they're fascinating places. I recently read an obituary of the gas station owner; I never knew he fought at Normandy. He never mentioned it.