Victoria Houston – författare

It''s late January in Loon Lake and bodies abound: a woman on snowshoes has been discovered wedged under a wooden bridge on a cross-country ski trail. A day later, Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris interviews a couple who alleges that the wife, a former nun, is being stalked. Meanwhile, Loon Lake is hosting an International Ice Fishing Festival with problems.

Whoever thought small-town retirement could be this dangerous?Retired dentist Paul Osborne hasn''t fly-fished since his wife died. He hasn''t had a woman tell him what to do since then either. But in the company of Lewellyn Ferris, he''s relearning both. And when he and his lady instructor find a well-dressed body floating in the moonlight, Paul adds "deputy" to his list of experiences...Whether the death is accidental—or accidentally on purpose—Lewellyn is determined to reel in the truth. She enlists Paul and his walleye-expert buddy, Ray, to help her get to the bottom of the murky mystery.

When Doc Osborne up in the middle of a murder mystery, only Chief of Police Lew Ferris can get him out of it.Fishing aside, there''s nothing Doc likes better than helping Chief of Police Lew Ferris, a world-class fly fisherman in her own right, delve into Loon Lake''s criminal underworld. He''s looking for any excuse to spend time with the only woman he knows who likes to fish as much as he does. So bloodthirsty killers and backwoods bandits be damned, Doc will take the quiet risk.

Police Chief Lew Ferris hits a snag while investigating a double murder—and pursuing a killer more slippery than any muskie she''s had her hands on.While out kayaking, Paul Osborne discovers the grisly remains of a woman—whose shoulders bear mysterious bite marks. And just as Lew begins her investigation, another body turns up... The second victim was a successful businesswoman from Kansas City, and the evidence indicates she was in Loon Lake for a rendezvous with an ex-lover—a con man who had tried to get his hands on her money. Now, Lew''s got two confusing cases—and a killer who may be more elusive than any fish...

Between a fishing tournament and a biker convention, Doc Osborne and Police Chief Ferris are spending less time catching bass and more time catching crooks...For fishing pals (or are they more than just pals?) Doc Osborne and Police Chief Lew Ferris, Loon Lake, Wisconsin, is usually a great place to seek out some mutual solitude in the trout stream. But lately, the town has been teeming with competitive bass fisherman and bikers, too many less-than-savory characters. Meanwhile, there''s an old murder case Doc''s bent on solving even as he himself is stalked by a mysterious visitor.

It may be winter, but things heat up when Police Chief Lew Ferris discovers a mystery buried under the icy waters of a local lake.It''s ice-fishing season in Loon Lake and Doc Osborne is trying to convince Police Chief and fishing pal Lew Ferris to give it a chance. But fish aren''t the only things lurking below the surface. The bodies of two snowmobilers have just been pulled out of nearby Two Sisters Lake. And a beautiful woman''s corpse turns up in a snowdrift. Is it payback for a drug deal gone bad? Or is it something more sinister? Osborne and Ferris once again team up to get to the bottom of a very murky mystery.

With the murder of a well-known advice columnist, Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris has her hands full with all the potential suspects.Everyone knows the name Hope McDonald--and not just the couple thousand folks in Loon Lake. Her advice column is syndicated worldwide to about eighty million readers. When the wise old woman is found murdered in her home, Chief Lew Ferris can think of more than a few suspects--and calls on Doc Osborne for help. Since Hope was dealing with some desperate souls, Doc and Lew will have to think of the perfect bait to net a cold-blooded killer...

Doc Osborne knows there are plenty of fish in the sea, but only police chief Lew Ferris qualifies as his catch of the day.Just as the summer is heating up, the town gets turned upside down by the bizarre triple homicide discovered on a backcountry road... Peg Garmin was not Loon Lake''s most beloved citizen. Considering her "calling" in life, no one was completely surprised when she was found murdered in the company of two exotic dancers...no one, that is, except for Ray Pradt, Peg''s dearest friend.As the team digs into the mystery of her past, they discover some startling connections to one of the wealthiest families in Chicago and to the buried secret that could destroy them. Now Lew, Osborne, and Ray must root the skeletons out of the Garmin family closet before Peg''s killer becomes the one who got away...

Whoever thought life in the Northwoods could be this dangerous?When the body of a lovely young woman is found floating beneath a party pontoon on a popular lake in northern Wisconsin on the same morning that a prominent widow is found bludgeoned in her gracious home, Loon Lake Police Chief Lew Ferris is caught short-handed.This is not a problem for Doc Osborne, whom she deputizes to act as coroner and to assist with the investigation. Fishing aside, there''s nothing Osborne likes better than helping Lew--a world-class fly fisherman in her own right--delve into Loon Lake''s criminal underworld. They''re joined in their efforts to untangle two seemingly unrelated murders by walleye-expert, talented tracker, and teller of really bad jokes, Ray Pradt.A charming resort town on the surface, life in Loon Lake turns murky as bank officials soon discover that both victims'' accounts have been looted--along with a dozen others. One grisly development after another further links the two murders even though the victims did not know each other. Wealthy Chicagoans, visiting entrepreneurs, and the young denizens of "Party Cove" complicate the scene.

Murder never takes a holiday...or so Loon Lake learns one wintry Thanksgiving Day.Chief of Police Lew Ferris, short-handed thanks to an AWOL coroner, never even gets the turkey stuffed before the bodies start to surface. By the end of the day, credit card theft and dysfunctional families have so muddied the waters that not even expert tracker and dedicated fishing guide Ray Pradt can hope to fish the final day of muskie season. And while retired dentist Doc Osborne had counted on sitting by the fire with Lew (out of uniform) and planning a fly-fishing trip to Wyoming, the unexpected arrival of Gina Palmer, former investigative reporter turned forensics database expert, ramps up the action with her pursuit of a Canadian link to the theft of merchandise from stores across the upper Midwest. Dead Hot Shot, ninth in the Loon Lake Mystery series, is a heady mix of murder, mayhem, and fishing in the northwoods of Wisconsin.

As Lew investigates, uncanny coincidences accumulate like snow on the frozen, deadly surface of Loon Lake...It''s late January and Loon Lake is hosting an International Ice Fishing Festival. Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris and her limited team are busy with the usual headaches and then some, and Doc Osborne is busy studying fly-casting videos in an effort to impress Lew come spring.But a panicked call from Rob Beltner leads to a sad discovery: his wife, Kathy, is dead of a gunshot wound. Lew barely begins to investigate the shooting before she''s sidetracked by the imposing figure of Patience Schumacher, president of Wheedon Technical College--and she''s certain she''s being stalked.

A hot August afternoon and Midwest Clinic CEO John McNeil has been working late. Working on his latest conquest, that is. Jen Williams is twenty-six, in charge of graphics for the hospital''s PR division—and quite attractive in a healthy, athletic kind of way. She is quick to laugh and a little too quick to fall for guys. She is no virgin. And she is one of three women—including his wife—intimately familiar with McNeil.When Jen''s youthful body is found with a single stab wound through the heart, suspicion falls on both McNeil''s wife, who insists she is being stalked, and the striking hospital physician with whom he had just ended an affair. Pressure to find the killer falls on Loon Lake Police Chief Lewellyn "Lew" Ferris and Dr. Paul "Doc" Osborne, the retired dentist and forensic dental expert whom she has deputized to help with the investigation—when they are not taking a break for fishing and other personal pursuits. When the mayor demands Lew take early retirement—and Doc has to babysit his teenage granddaughter who won''t stop texting—the frustrations mount.Desperate for a few hours off—and persuaded by Ray Pradt (a fishing guide who wears a stuffed trout on his head, so they should have known better)—to try fly fishing from kayaks, Doc and Lew find themselves in life-and-death straits on the river. This leads to an unexpected and macabre discovery that just may break the case.

In the midst of a catastrophic August rainstorm, a grisly discovery shatters the serenity of a summer evening in northern Wisconsin. Moving quickly to prevent a panic among tourists, Loon Lake Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris enlists the forensic and interrogation skills of her close friend and fellow fly fisherman, the retired dentist "Doc" Osborne. Within hours of launching their investigation, they find themselves faced with a national media circus as Loon Lake becomes the focus of a murderous scenario that links the murder to the race for the U.S. Senate by a woman who is heir to a Northwoods fortune and other, less savory, family traditions.In the meantime, Doc Osborne''s eldest daughter, Mallory, enters into a relationship that may put her life at risk--unless her father and Chief Ferris can find the killer stalking the residents of Loon Lake.

Doc Osborne knows there are plenty of fish in the sea, but only police chief Lew Ferris qualifies as his catch of the day.Just as the summer is heating up, the town gets turned upside down by the bizarre triple homicide discovered on a backcountry road... Peg Garmin was not Loon Lake's most beloved citizen. Considering her "calling" in life, no one was completely surprised when she was found murdered in the company of two exotic dancers...no one, that is, except for Ray Pradt, Peg's dearest friend.As the team digs into the mystery of her past, they discover some startling connections to one of the wealthiest families in Chicago and to the buried secret that could destroy them. Now Lew, Osborne, and Ray must root the skeletons out of the Garmin family closet before Peg's killer becomes the one who got away...

Between a fishing tournament and a biker convention, Doc Osborne and Police Chief Ferris are spending less time catching bass and more time catching crooks...For fishing pals (or are they more than just pals?) Doc Osborne and Police Chief Lew Ferris, Loon Lake, Wisconsin, is usually a great place to seek out some mutual solitude in the trout stream. But lately, the town has been teeming with competitive bass fisherman and bikers, too many less-than-savory characters. Meanwhile, there's an old murder case Doc's bent on solving even as he himself is stalked by a mysterious visitor.

Murder never takes a holiday...or so Loon Lake learns one wintry Thanksgiving Day.Chief of Police Lew Ferris, short-handed thanks to an AWOL coroner, never even gets the turkey stuffed before the bodies start to surface. By the end of the day, credit card theft and dysfunctional families have so muddied the waters that not even expert tracker and dedicated fishing guide Ray Pradt can hope to fish the final day of muskie season. And while retired dentist Doc Osborne had counted on sitting by the fire with Lew (out of uniform) and planning a fly-fishing trip to Wyoming, the unexpected arrival of Gina Palmer, former investigative reporter turned forensics database expert, ramps up the action with her pursuit of a Canadian link to the theft of merchandise from stores across the upper Midwest. Dead Hot Shot, ninth in the Loon Lake Mystery series, is a heady mix of murder, mayhem, and fishing in the northwoods of Wisconsin.

As Lew investigates, uncanny coincidences accumulate like snow on the frozen, deadly surface of Loon Lake...It's late January and Loon Lake is hosting an International Ice Fishing Festival. Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris and her limited team are busy with the usual headaches and then some, and Doc Osborne is busy studying fly-casting videos in an effort to impress Lew come spring.But a panicked call from Rob Beltner leads to a sad discovery: his wife, Kathy, is dead of a gunshot wound. Lew barely begins to investigate the shooting before she's sidetracked by the imposing figure of Patience Schumacher, president of Wheedon Technical College--and she's certain she's being stalked.