Years in pursuit of his gold shield, enigmatic Detective Second Class Adolph Anderson relies on his uncanny insight into the workings of the criminal mind to solve cases. He’s on a multi-faceted journey within a Midwest town surrounded by miles of countryside, farm houses, bed and breakfasts, and river captains who ply the Mississippi River. He discovers the truth of a crime by ferreting out the passions, dark secrets, and hidden desires of those he meets.
With his long-time partner out on disability, he creates his own deadline to solve the case of a skeleton uncovered in the Police Chief’s home garden at a Labor Day party. Contrary to others, Adolph believes the buried skeleton is not an isolated murder.
An array of memorable characters joins Adolph. They include: Luann, a competitive partner forced upon him by the Chief, where they battle for the department’s one gold shield; “Ant” Carpenter, bar owner and local underground poker king; and, Silas, a river pilot who harbors intense bitterness toward life after losing his son to a barge accident and being cheated out of his pension when the local barge employer goes bankrupt.
In fast-paced action, Author Donan Berg offers a style of mystery and suspense where clues eventually fit together in clever and significant ways. Berg’s tradition is one of portraying the complexity of everyday relationships to include heroic acts, gullibility, sinister designs, and hidden cruelty. With warmth and wry humor, he delivers twists and turns sprung with gusto.
