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Mike Martin's Blog, page 19
April 11, 2015
A Twist of Fortune is Now Live in the USA and UK
We’re very excited to announce that A Twist of Fortune, the 4th installment in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series is now live and available for order from Amazon. com and Amazon UK
Here are the links
Amazon.com
Amazon UK
And of course in Canada at Chapters/indigo in Canada:
Stay tuned here for buy links and store locations as they become available. Reviews, events and more are coming soon for A Twist of Fortune.
Thank you for your support of Sgt. Windflower Mysteries
http://www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com
Twitter @mike54martin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl
April 9, 2015
New Sgt. Windflower Mystery: A Twist of Fortune is Now Live
We’re very excited to announce that A Twist of Fortune, the 4th installment in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series is now live and available for order from Chapters/indigo in Canada. Below are a few pics from the Book Launch in Ottawa on April 8.
Here is the site to order A Twist of Fortune:
Over the next few days the book will be released in the United States through Booklocker.com and all over the world through Amazon.
Stay tuned here for buy links and store locations as they become available. Reviews, events and more are coming soon for A Twist of Fortune.
Thank you for your support of Sgt. Windflower Mysteries
http://www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com
Twitter @mike54martin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl
March 31, 2015
Welcome to the New Sgt. Windflower Mysteries Website
Welcome to the New Sgt. Windflower Mysteries Website. We now have one home for all Sgt. Windflower Mysteries books including our new book: A Twist of Fortune
This week A Twist of Fortune is featured in the Southern Gazette newspaper which of course covers Sgt. Windflower’s territory on the southeast coast of Newfoundland.
Here is the link to the newspaper article
http://southerngazette.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
We will be posting news and reviews and all sorts of goodies and giveaways so stay tuned. And if you’re in Ottawa on April 8 come on down to Grounded Kitchen and Coffeehouse for a grand time and to help launch A Twist of Fortune
Here is the Facebook link to the April 8 event
https://www.facebook.com/events/1072359596114922/
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Twitter @mike54martin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl
March 26, 2015
First Excerpt from A Twist of Fortune: “The Ode to Newfoundland”
We’re very excited to share the first excerpt from the new Sgt. Windflower Mystery, A Twist of Fortune. It’s called “The Ode to Newfoundland.” Hope you enjoy it.
The Ode to Newfoundland
The scene at the fish plant wharf resembled a full-out carnival. The media had arrived and were setting up as close as they could to the water. Two giant speakers had been set up in the back of one of the pick-ups. It seemed like most of the town was already there, so Evanchuk had her hands full. She had given up trying to keep people from parking on the side of the road and was focused on keeping the drive-by gawkers moving along. She looked very relieved to see Windflower and Tizzard, the latter of whom came to help her direct traffic, while Windflower walked closer to the scene of the action.
He greeted two men setting up a microphone near the speakers and waved to the people from the media. Since everyone was fully engaged in their tasks they basically ignored him, so he wandered around looking for a friendly face. He found Herb Stoodley in a gaggle of people and motioned him aside.
“Morning, Herb. What’s going on?”
“They’re closing up the protest. With the wind picking up it’s not safe out there for most of the smaller boats. They’re going to come into the harbour to get out of the storm. This is their welcoming party,” he said, pointing to the crowd on the wharf.
“Thanks, Herb.”
Windflower walked back up to the road to check in with Tizzard and Evanchuk.
“They’re stopping the protest and I guess there will be some form of ceremony to officially end it,” said Windflower.
“That makes sense,” said Tizzard. “The forecast is calling for high winds growing throughout the day and some snow as well. Not enough to cause big problems, but enough with the wind to make it pretty dangerous on the water.”
“Let’s just keep traffic moving and wait for whatever happens next,” said Windflower.
They didn’t have to wait long for that next development.
One by one the boats that were lined up across the harbour started breaking away and headed for shore. Each of them was flying a Newfoundland flag and blowing their horns, which was responded to by the cars and trucks lining the waterfront. The sounds echoed back and forth in the shelter of the harbour. Windflower and his fellow officers stopped to watch in amazement.
When all of the boats were within the confines of the Grand Bank Harbour, someone played a taped version of ‘The Ode to Newfoundland’ and every person on land and shore joined in the singing. There were speeches by politicians, including the federal MP who blamed the provincial government, and one by the local provincial MHA who blamed the federal government. The final speech was by a local fisherman who Windflower recognized as Fonse Tessier from Grand Bank.
Tessier didn’t speak long but he spoke of the history surrounding the fishery in this part of the world and how many times they had been told it was a thing of the past, only to see it reclaim its place as part of the town’s on-going economy. “Ya can knock us down, b’ys, but ya can’t keep us down.” With Tessier’s speech the protest was over, and while the smaller boats found a place to tie up along the wharfside, the long liners and larger vessels left port to return home. Windflower thought it was a sad moment, but at the same time he felt the pride the people of Grand Bank had in their little community.
Coming soon : A Twist of Fortune, A Sgt. Windflower Mystery.
Twitter @mike54martin
You can follow Sgt. Windflower on Facebook at
https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore?ref=hl
Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s: Excerpt from A Twist of Fortune, New Sgt. Windflower Mystery
Let me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s is one of the most beloved ballads of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is a hauntingly beautiful song that was written by Otto P. Kelland of Flatrock, Newfoundland in 1947, just before the province decided by referendum to join Canada. See below for the lyrics and a version of the song as recorded by the band Ryan’s Fancy.
Here is an excerpt from the new Sgt. Windflower Mystery, A Twist of Fortune.
Let me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s
Windflower and Tizzard took up their position at the bottom of the steps of the Grand Bank United Church. It was nearly half-full and it was only 9:30. The Grand Bank United Church had actually been formed in the early 1800’s when it was named headquarters for the Fortune Bay Methodist Mission. Since those days it had gone through many changes just like the United Church itself, which gathered together many of the diverse elements of Christian Protestants into its fold.
The current building was relatively new, but in need of some upkeep and a paint job. Windflower also wished they fix the beautiful, large clock near the steeple. It was permanently stuck at 10 minutes to 1 o’clock, and since Windflower drove by it every day, he’d love to see the correct time.
The funeral was about to begin because the dignitaries started arriving. Included, of course, were all the sitting Council members, including Francis Tibbo, who was shaking hands and trolling for votes. Some of the last arrivals were government officials and the local Members of the Newfoundland House of Assembly who came with the Federal Members of Parliament, in a rare show of community spirit for the two opposing political forces in town. Windflower didn’t see Sheila but assumed she was already inside.
Soon afterward, the funeral procession arrived led by Constable Evanchuk with her sirens muted and her red lights flashing. The casket was in the long black hearse and behind it was another black limousine with the six pallbearers: two of his sons, two of his fellow lodge members from the Masons, and two of his neighbours.
Behind the two official funeral cars was a long procession of family and close friends, led by the widow, and his three daughters. The family got out of their cars and stood and watched as the casket was carried into the church, saluted on its way by Windflower and Tizzard. They stood at attention as the procession passed and the snow flew around them. When Windflower looked over at Tizzard, he thought he saw a silent tear roll down his cheek.
In the words of the presiding minister, the funeral was to be a celebration. Holding true to the family’s wishes, the only tears to be shed this morning should be tears of joy. So even as family members and community leaders and politicians eulogized the departed, they all had a funny story to tell as well. There was music and singing including a choir singing the deceased’s favourite Newfoundland song, Let Me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s. They may have been tears of joy, but there were very few dry eyes in the church after that.
The funeral drew to a close and the casket was led out by the pallbearers and loaded back into the hearse for the interment ceremony at the United Cemetery.
Tizzard and Windflower were once again waiting at attention when the family passed, but this time Windflower reached over to shake the widow’s hand and to express his and the RCMP’s condolences on the loss of her husband. Afterwards, Evanchuk led the procession to the cemetery while most of the mourners went over to the Masons Hall for the post-funeral reception. By now the snow had picked up steam and was partnered with a stiff breeze. This was going to be a storm, alright. It was not even a question of when; it was a question of how much snow they were going to get.
Let me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s
Take me back to my Western boat,
Let me fish off Cape St Mary’s,
Where the hogdowns sail and the foghorns wail,
With my friends the Browns and the Clearys,
Let me fish off Cape St Mary’s.
Let me feel my dory lift,
To the broad Atlantic combers,
Where the tide rips swirl and the wild ducks whirl,
Where Old Neptune calls the number,
‘Neath the broad Atlantic combers.
Let me sail up Golden Bay,
With my oilskins all a-streamin’,
From the thunder squall when I hauled me trawl,
And my old Cape Ann a gleamin’,
With my oil skins all a-streamin’.
Let me view that rugged shore,
Where the beach is all a-glisten,
With the caplin spawn where from dusk to dawn,
You bait your trawl and listen,
To the undertow a-hissin’.
When I reach that last big shoal,
Where the ground swells break asunder,
Where the wild sands roll to the surge’s toll,
Let me be a man and take it,
When my dory fails to make it.
Take me back to that snug green cove,
Where the seas roll up their thunder,
There let me rest in the earth’s cool breast,
Where the stars shine out their wonder,
And the seas roll up their thunder.
Ryan’s Fancy version of Let me Fish Off Cape St. Mary’s
http://www.wtv-zone.com/phyrst/audio/nfld/24/mary.htm
March 22, 2015
Author Mike Martin signs an option agreement to bring character to the small screen
That’s the headline in the Southern Gazette and all across the Newfoundland News network. People in Newfoundland and Labrador and readers all over the world are excited to hear that Sgt. Windflower will be coming to television. Many thanks to all of you who have reached out to share in this great news and stay tuned for more news as it develops.
Here are the links to the Southern Gazette and Newfoundland News network articles.
The Southern Gazette
The Telegram
A Twist of Fortune
There is no better feeling than the one a writer feels when they have delivered a final document to their publisher. So I am feeling blessed and relieved to have sent A Twist of Fortune, the latest book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series, to my publisher of choice, Baico Publishing and sit back and relax, right?
Wrong. This is actually when the hard work begins. Writing is fun and still an adventure to me. I love the creative process and the burrowing into the minds of my characters so that I can write down and share what they think and believe. When I begin a book I never know where it will end, and sometimes I don’t ever want it to end. But that’s what a series is for. I get to write in short frantic bursts until I reach a point in the road where all the signs point to taking a break. So I do.
But now is not the time for that break. Now is the time to tell the world about A Twist of Fortune, and to bring you and me back to the little world of Sgt. Windflower and his friends. I hope you will join me on this journey. It’s been a blast so far. Stay tuned to this space for excerpts, giveaways and more.
Here’s a taste of what A Twist of Fortune is about.
The small town of Grand Bank in southeast Newfoundland, at the very eastern tip of Canada is in crisis. Their largest employer and a link to the glorious past, the fish plant is closing. Sgt. Winston Windflower’s personal life is also in crisis since his longtime girlfriend, Sheila Hillier is leading a community protest to try and stop the closure. It may be too late for the fish plant, but is it too late for Windflower and Sheila?
If that wasn’t enough, they are being buried in snow and an epidemic of prescription drug abuse that is creating major problems for people and the police who patrol the area. An accidental death on a snow-covered highway leads only to more questions and more problems for Sgt. Windflower and the RCMP to resolve.
A Twist of Fortune is the fourth book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series and it continues the adventures of Sgt. Windflower as he tries to solve crime and experience the joy and the sadness of life in a small Newfoundland community. Follow along as he feels the sometimes bitter taste of an east coast winter and the unique culinary delights of this part of the world. This story is like the weather in Newfoundland. It can twist and turn at any time.
Oh, and Sgt. Windflower has a new Lady friend. What??? You’ll just have to read A Twist of Fortune to find out more.
March 20, 2015
The Walker on the Cape
The Walker on the Cape follows Winston Windflower as he investigates a mysterious death in the small community of Grand Bank, Newfoundland. Windflower is a Cree from Alberta who is an RCMP Sergeant and really a fish out of water in Grand Bank.
But he learns to like and even love the community and a special woman who lives there. Along the way he discovers that under the surface things are not what the seem in this sleepy little town.
Reviews
New Book Review by Mary Fan, author of Artificial Absolutes
http://zigzagtl.blogspot.ca/2013/01/review-walker-on-cape-mike-martin.html
Recommended for fans of murder mysteries and stories featuring local color.
GENRE
Mystery—Cozy Mystery/Whodunit
The Walker on the Cape follows the form of a classic whodunit. It opens with a dead body and follows Sergeant Winston Windflower as he investigates the murder. The story is set in a small fishing community on the East Coast and contains a lot of local color.
PACE
The Walker on the Cape is a moderately-paced murder mystery. The questions of “what happened” and “who’s the killer” keep the plot moving forward while Windflower’s interactions with the locals allow the reader to enjoy the setting.
PERSPECTIVE
The majority of this book is written from the third person perspective of Windflower and rotates to other characters’ points of view. At times, it takes on a more omniscient narrative distance.
CONTENT REVIEW
The Walker on the Cape opens as every good murder mystery should: with a dead body. The body is that of Elias Martin, an elderly man known for taking long strolls along the cape. Investigating the death is Sergeant Winston Windflower, who recently moved into town. When Windflower discovers that Elias was poisoned, he begins an investigation into the old man’s past to find the killer. Elias led a seemingly quiet life, but as Windflower learns more, he soon realizes that perhaps the old man’s life wasn’t so peaceful after all.
Windflower is an amiable and easily likable detective figure. He’s a classic good guy—determined, kind-hearted, and tough when he needs to be. Having been born and raised on a remote Indian reservation, he finds living in the small fishing community of Grand Bank to be quite a change from what he’s used to. His interactions with the locals, including a winsome café owner, bring the setting to life. In fact, it is this local color that makes The Walker on the Cape memorable.
Martin writes with a charming lilt reminiscent of classic cozy mysteries. The characters are a quirky bunch, such as the over-enthusiastic young policeman, Constable Eddie Tizzard, and the blustering Inspector MacIntosh. Between the investigation scenes, Windflower discovers his affections for the aforementioned café owner, a delightful woman name Sheila who introduces Windflower to the local comforts.
For a taste of Martin’s writing style, here’s the opening paragraph of the first chapter: “Even in an ordinary life the most extraordinary things can happen. Every morning for the past eleven years Elias Martin has had his breakfast of hot porridge and thick molasses bread smothered in partridgeberry jam. Then, rain or shine, he began his solitary walk from his small blue house on Elizabeth Avenue in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, down through the Cove, and until the winter snow made it impassable, up over the hills to the Cape.”
Such descriptions and charm are carried out throughout the novel, which retains a cheery atmosphere despite the bleakness of Windflower’s job. Like all cozy mysteries, the detective figure in The Walker on the Cape is removed from the danger and spends the majority of the investigation interviewing suspects and witnesses or stewing in his own thoughts. Things take an interesting turn about halfway through the book when corruption is unveiled and an arrest is made.
In terms of the plot, Martin has constructed a well laid-out web of suspects and motives, and he certainly seems to know his way around a police procedural. From the forensic reports to the ins and outs of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he depicts a believable world of crime scenes and investigators.
All in all, I found The Walker in the Cape to be a fun and lighthearted read. It’s the kind of mystery that lets one delve into the various possible scenarios, revealing various backgrounds and stories along the way. The reader gets to explore the little town of Grand Bank along with Windflower, experiencing all its delights and hospitality.
THE NITPICKY STUFF
I found a number of small errors such as typos. Also, and this is really nitpicky, Martin tends to write in long sentences, often unbroken by commas.
This book is fairly G-rated in terms of sex, violence, language, etc.
AUTHOR INFO
Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland and now lives in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a longtime freelance writer and a member of Ottawa Independent Writers, Capital Crime Writers, the Crime Writers of Canada, and the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild. The Walker on the Cape is his first full fiction book.
From the Online Book Club
Review of The Walker on the Cape by:
M. Corley
OnlineBookClub
The Walker on the Cape overall was a good book. It is a murder mystery about a man who walks on the cape every day and suddenly dies. It is up to the local sergeant in the small town to take over the investigation and find out who killed this man. Of course, he runs into some problems and there is a plot twist towards the end of the book.
Mike Martin is the author of The Walker on the Cape and he does a marvelous job of writing this fiction novel.
Sergeant Winston Windflower is put in charge of Elias Martin’s death. Elias Martin walked up and down the cape every day until one day he does not come back. He is found dead along the trail later that day. Sergeant Windflower takes over the investigation with his side-kick constable, Eddie Tizzard. Together, and with the help of the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) they find out who the murderer is, along with some other interesting things. There is of course a lighter side of the novel… Sergeant Windflower’s love life with local coffee shop owner, Sheila.
I thought this novel was well written, and overall a good book. Typically I do not like murder mystery books, but this one kept me interested and involved. The writing sometimes was very “cheesy” or “corny” at some parts of the book. Other than that, I thought that the book was good. I gave it a 3 out 4 stars because I did not think it was an excellent book, but I did like it. I would recommend to other people as well.
Mike Martin did a wonderful job putting together and writing this novel and he developed the characters very well. The Walker on the Cape was a good book that many people would enjoy.
http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=223&t=12235
Toronto Star
Mini-Review of The Walker on the Cape
Baico Publishing, 252 pages, $20
By Batten, Jack Whodunit Columnist July 28, 2012
The murder takes place in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. The victim is a retired fisherman. The sleuth is RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower, a Cree from an Alberta reserve. And everybody loves a Jiggs dinner of salted meat, cabbage and pease pudding. Can a crime novel get more Canadian?
The murder steers Windflower into deeper Newfoundland mysteries and into some foxily constructed plotting. Mike Martin, a first-time Ottawa author, won’t be mistaken for a literary stylist, but his book offers a winning sleuth figure and an air of charming cheerfulness.
From the St. John’s, NL Telegram
Elias Martin seemed like a regular old gentlemen to his fellow citizens of Grand Bank, if somewhat cantankerous and reclusive since the death of
his wife. His simple daily rituals were familiar to all, especially his
morning walk along the cape.
So, when he¹s seen setting out one morning, but not coming back, it is
obvious something is wrong. Sure enough, his body is soon found by some
hikers.
The investigation into Martin¹s death is assigned to RCMP Sgt. Winston
Windflower. Windflower grew up on a Northern Albertan reserve and has been stationed in Grand Bank for less than a year. His assisting officer,
Const. Eddie Tizzard, is from Grand Bank, and able to fill out gaps in
local knowledge. At the same time, Windflower¹s outsider perspective can
discern valuable information.
Because things soon get complicated. Martin did not die of natural
causes. And neither had he lived a blameless life. His past includes a
devastating car accident, and a possible affair.
Soon Windflower has his suspects, including the bad-tempered but
influential Harvey Brenton, a drunken Roger Buffet, and whoever the woman who lost her scarf near Martin¹s body might prove to be.
All the same, pursuing the case doesn¹t keep Windflower so busy that he
neglects his personal life. His affection for Sheila, owner of the local
Mug Up café, is an open secret. But Windflower¹s career has already cost
him the affections of one good woman.
It¹s fun to read a mystery like this. The setting is nicely realized, the
characters have some weight, and the details are telling, like the fog
with a mind of its own, the cuisine in St-Pierre, and the Tim Hortens
bagels.
Joan Sullivan
The Telegram
From The Clarenville Packet
The Walker on the Cape
Silly me, when I first heard of The Walker on the Cape [Baico Publishing Inc.] I assumed it was a spooky story of sorts, you know, with some mysterious creepy guy, or ghost, or something, wandering around in the fog and scaring the bejabbers out of folks on the cape.
Of course, that isn’t the case. Mike Martin’s novel [www.walkeronthecape.com] is a straight forward murder story. Elias Martin who habitually takes his morning constitutional on the Cape hiking trail is found dead. First off, peopled figure Elias has been felled by a heart attack.
But you know better, eh b’ys?
Walker is a murder story so, at best [!], a heart attack would have to be induced by something nasty. As it turns out, the nasty is…well, I’m not saying.
Back to page one, Chapter One.
Writers try like Dickens to open their stories with a hook, some tasty bait to catch and hold the reader’s attention.
Martin hooked me in the first paragraph with a description of Elias’ breakfast of, along with porridge, “thick molasses bread smothered in partridge berry jam.”
I knew I wouldn’t be able to fault a book that commenced with patch-a-berry jam bread; although rather than molasses I’d prefer inch-thick gobs of butter.
And another thing…
Readers bring their past lives to whatever they read, which explains—I s’pose—why there is no accounting for the memories a story stirs up even when it has no idea it’s doing so.
Knowing I’d be scribbling about this book in the morning, last night before nodding off I reflected on its contents and eventually fell asleep to dream prodigious dreams about Mounties.
Why Mounties?
The main character in Walker is Sergeant Winston Windflower, a Mountie from Pink Lake Alberta now stationed in Grand Bank, Newfoundland.
That’s not the Mountie I dreamed about though. I dreamed about a different Alberta—I think—Mountie whose misfortune it was to track down and kill his own brother, way up in the Canadian Rockies, near a place called Arroyo.
When I was a wee bay-boy my Pappy used to sing a song called “The Young Mountie’s Prayer,” a popular radio tune at the time sung by—maybe—Wilf Carter or, more likely, Yodeling Slim Clark.
You remember Yodelling Slim, eh?
This morning, haunted—kinda—by lines from the song, I went YouTubing and, sure enough, found a feller strumming his guitar and crooning just like Wilf, or Yodeling Slim, whoever.
Mike, bet a loonie you didn’t foresee your book cranking up my noggin and blowing the carbon off long-idle synapses containing embedded scraps of ancient cowboy ballads.
Back to the book.
Sergeant Windflower learns that old Elias didn’t die of a heart attack. He died because…well, I’m not saying.
Elias’ death is deemed a homicide; therefore, Windflower is required to open an investigation, always the first step in solving a crime.
Windflower knows what truly killed Elias but he is unfamiliar with the nature of the…well, of the weapon. Feeling it’s necessary that he know all that he can about the deadly characteristics of the…weapon…, Windflower decides to delve into some detailed research. The first place he checks—bless his young Mountie heart—is Wikipedia!
Hey, Walker is a “modern” murder yarn.
The circumstances leading up to Elias’ murder are as shrouded in mystery [!] as Grand Bank is shrouded in fog, but Windflower perseveres in his investigation and eventually—as when fog dissipates—all is revealed.
And—Ohhh!—the stuff that’s revealed about the goings-on in Grand Bank. There’s illicit this-and-that all over the place. Enough to keep kitchen peepers almost permanently peeking through their cotton curtains.
Windflower is not alone in his investigation of Elias’ murder. He is assisted by Constable Eddie Tizzard, a young Mountie whose prayers [!] of being involved in and solving a heinous crime are answered by his role as Windflower’s right-hand man. Young Tizzard is painfully eager—kinda like Odie the dog of comic strip fame.
Mind how your Literature teachers used to insist that stories should send a message, should be—p’raps—cautionary tales with sage advice to heed and morals to absorb?
Well, Walker is a cautionary tale—sorta.
Throughout the story it’s occasionally necessary for Windflower to drive the highway between Grand Bank and Marystown. En route he is ever conscious of the possibility of encountering humongous wildlife on the highway, so…
…so, the message of this book is—Mind the moose!
Harold N. Walters
From The Mystery Site
http://www.themysterysite.com/showreview.php?r_id=615.
First the bad – the first two chapters are a bit of a slog. The first sentence of Chapter Two almost saw the book sail across the room into the circular file. In the end though it was wise not to file the book and continue on with it. Mike Martin’s The Walker on the Cape is set in Grand Bank, Newfoundland and Martin is adept at giving the reader a feel for what small town life in Newfoundland might be like.
The story starts with a death, of course, in this case the death of Elias Martin an old widower with a reputation as a curmudgeon and a loner. The Walker on the Cape is a police procedural headed by Sergeant Winston Windflower a relocated Albertan serving in the RCMP detachment on the Atlantic coast of Newfoundland. Windflower’s right hand man is a constable with the unlikely name of Eddie Tizzard (one cannot help but wonder if Mike Martin is a fan of British comedy in general or just Izzard in particular or perhaps completely unaware of the name similarity between his fictional creation and the British comedian).
The Walker on the Cape is smart but not overly so and it isn’t a whodunnit per se. This isn’t a case of a writer trying to flood the reader with so much information that they cannot figure things out but there is just enough information to draw an erroneous conclusion if you fancy yourself a sleuth. Everything the reader needs to understand and figure out the crime is discovered by the reader at the exact same time as Sergeant Windflower.
Food has a minor but interesting supporting role in The Walker on the Cape in much the same way as architecture plays a role in every P.D. James novel. It isn’t a character and doesn’t influence the plot but the Windflower’s appreciation of food and the Newfoundland culture of food and breaking bread with one’s neighbour add flavour to the novel. Sergeant Windflower is a single man so naturally there is a minor subplot involving his interest in a local lady. We also get a sense of Windflower’s own attachment to his spiritual roots.
The long and the short of it is that The Walker on the Cape is worth picking up. It is a good read once you make it past page four which is not a lot to ask of any reader. It is an easy and short read as well. Sergeant Windflower and Constable Eddie Tizzard are well drawn characters and it will be interesting to see how they and other characters develop in the next book.
Denis Bernicky
From Mystery Maven.com
http://mysterymavencdn.blogspot.ca/2012/09/mystery-review_8.html
Look at the cover of The Walker on the Cape. An exquisite site, isn’t it? That’s Grand Bank, Newfoundland, the setting of this tale of RCMP, power and corruption. But it’s mostly the story of life on the rock. Because it’s the setting, the people, and the way of life in a small Newfoundland community that makes a difference in this first mystery by Ottawa writer Mike Martin. He writes about what he knows and that’s his home province.
The discovery of the body of an old man on the trail overlooking Grand Bank shakes the community when it’s found he was poisoned. Therein lies the tale of old secrets, power that corrupts, and lies that lead to ruined lives. At the heart of it all is RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower, a First Nation officer who finds himself posted in far away Newfoundland. He’s a really nice guy who’s facing what sounds like his first major investigative challenge, which he handles with intelligence and understanding.
Along the way we meet Sheila Hillier who owns a local cafe, the officers and civilian staff at the small detachment, and many of the locals who form the fabric of the community. Sheila’s a nice woman and seems a natural pairing for the bachelor sergeant, and this provides a peak into his private life. It’s to be hoped that any future instalments give us a deeper understanding of what it means to be an aboriginal in the RCMP. We get a glimpse with his morning ritual of smudge bowl and medicine bag but knowing more about his past and his beliefs would help give depth to the man.
Martin has thought through his plot and provided a mixture of motives and suspects to keep it moving forward. And, he’s done his homework when it comes to RCMP procedure. He has a lot of room to grow his characters which should make the second book (I’m assuming and hoping it’s a series) well worth looking for.
Enjoy an armchair visit to Newfoundland!
From Downhome Magazine
“The Walker on the Cape is a quiet mystery that uses the atmosphere of a small town and the people who inhabit it to god effect as Windflower and his eager assistant Constable Eddie Tizzard dig deeper and deeper into the lives of individuals who may or may not be responsible. It’s easy to visualize the story as a TV movie along the lines of many of the excellent British series.”
From Robert U Doyle author of The Tangerine Murders
As someone of Irish descent, I often wondered why my ancestors never made it to Newfoundland instead of stopping in the neighbouring province of Nova Scotia. After all, Nova Scotia too has its charms but its name means ‘New Scotland.’ Having mixed with Newfoundlanders on many occasions through work as a senior public servant for New Brunswick and visited Newfoundland several times I am even familiar with the area that fellow first-time author Mike Martin uses as a backdrop for his crime fiction book, ‘The Walker on the Cape.’ Communities such as Fortune, Marystown and Grand Bank are at the ‘foot’ part of the ‘boot’ of the Burin Peninsula on ‘The Rock, the affectionate name for Newfoundland. These are places that can be misty and look mysterious enough to be part of the province’s current excellent tourism ads for Newfoundland and Labrador that have excited the imaginations of many outsiders.
Having said this, Mike Martin has done an admirable job at bringing these communities to life in his first published book of crime fiction. In my own experience, The Rock is a place where word-smiths (not all of them seasoned politicians) and people who love puns and a good story live and thrive. Mike Martin, a native of The Rock and someone who makes an annual pilgrimage there, follows in their footsteps through his writing. His highly-entertaining and admirable first book is a pleasant addition to crime fiction and to writing using the Atlantic Provinces as a locale.
His book is companionable in the sense that it captures the uniqueness, mystery and down-home spirit of Newfoundlanders and their lives that infuse many small-town communities on The Rock. It’s also a good read, introducing his protagonist-outsider RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower, of First-Nations background into his chosen locale. How quickly the Sergeant is adopted and accepted in the communities is something that seems to defy logic as such closed communities are not prone to offer such acceptance – in part because of traditions and perceived and inflated differences – for generations (if ever). However, Martin deftly portrays Windflower’s ability to win over many of the people in the community through his own personality, his professional talent as an investigator and his budding romance with a local woman. That relationship seems suspended in mid-air as the book ends – calling for a sequel one imagines.
Of course, anticipating a second book means that another person in one of these small communities will need to be killed and surely tongues will be wagging over someone or another who has the capacity to be a killer. That sounds intriguing. It also reminds me of any episode of the TV series, ‘Midsomer Murders’ where this sleepy little area in England has so many secrets inside that the cops are as apt to discover three corpses as they’d be to find one.
From Anthony Lund ……Allbooks Reviews
Police procedural novels come from two stables; plodding or pacey. Mike Martin’s debut fiction novel The Walker on The Cape falls mostly into the latter category.
The Walker on The Cape introduces yet another policeman into the world in the form of Winston Windflower, a sergeant of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, along with his sidekick Constable Eddie Tizzard, and we have to ask do we really need one?
While not breaking any moulds, Windflower is a decent enough addition to the ever growing list of policemen out there in the world of crime fiction. His character develops quickly enough to grab the reader’s attention, giving a little insight into the man behind the officer and Martin doesn’t fall into the trap of many others in bogging readers down with a host of slow-moving introductions. All in all, after the first few dozen pages, the story already had me hooked and I was not feeling an urge to just skim read a few pages to get beyond weighty descriptions.
Possibly the one gripe with the characters – who are well-crafted and, while not entirely unique, are ordinary people, which is what ordinary readers can connect with in this genre – is the choice of names. The mouthful of Winston Windflower, combined with something far too close to Eddie Izzard is something that will either help ingrain the characters on minds, or simply make people laugh at the wrong moment.
The Newfoundland setting of the novel is described just enough to, along with the glum coastline image of the book’s cover, create a sense of setting, and the small community with its secrets is one similar to those that work to such great effect in the work of Stephen King in the likes of Needful Things and Storm of The Century.
As with any crime novel that doesn’t rely on gimmicks or spectacular set-pieces, the story is key to the success of the book, and it doesn’t disappoint. Again, police procedurals fall into two types; one giving an entire law seminar and boring readers to tears, the other supplying just the right amount of detail to keep story-lovers entertained and nit-pickers from accusing the author of blagging their way through. Again, Martin manages to keep to the latter of these throughout, and doesn’t stray from his focus on the evolving storyline.
The Walker on the Cape is a promising debut for Windflower and co, and with a constantly moving plot, some clever twists and a pleasant writing style it will not be the last we see of them either. For anyone who enjoys the R D Wingfield’s Frost novels will find plenty to get their teeth into here.
From Ottawa Author and Blogger John Baglow
Crime writer Mike Martin imports a Cree RCMP officer into Grand Bank, a Newfoundland outport: how could the ensuing story not hold our interest?
Sergeant Winston Wildflower is called to investigate the death of an old man, Elias Martin, found dead on the path from the village to the Cape, where he liked to go for daily walks. Wildflower has a hunch that it wasn’t a heart attack, and the story flows from there.
The characters tend to be sketched, not drawn, but they aren’t caricatures. There is McIntosh, his hostile superior; the eager Constable Tizzard; his flame Sheila, who serves him cheesecake with coffee or tea at the Mug-Up diner; the wealthy and unaccountably furious Harvey Brenton and his abused wife; Dr. Vijay Sanjay, doing his best to pick up the Newfoundland language; the officious mayor of Grand Bank—and a host of others.
The story is deftly plotted, and bounces along in fifty short punchy chapters plus an epilogue. Martin, from Newfoundland himself, gives us a good feel of the place where the drama plays out. The writing is not particularly stylish, and Martin could have used a copy-editor to weed out the typos and the occasional solecism, but the atmosphere and the pace keep the tale lively and engaging.
What is striking about the text, however, is that it almost seems to be the wrong medium for the story Martin has to tell. The main characters and the dialogue suggest a more serious version of Corner Gas, one in which murders and assaults are committed and serious police business is to be attended to, but, at the same time, where lesser intrigues and daily interactions have their own considerable comic potential.
Thanks to Martin, one has the sense that several of his characters have more stories to tell, and the setting—a Newfoundland outport in the present day—offers countless possibilities in itself. Whether Martin chooses to press on with more novels, as he hints in this one, or turn his hand to the discipline of drama (he has a good ear for dialogue), he has opened the door to some interesting folks, and they seem bent on staying a while.
John Baglow
From John James Ford….. Author of Bonk on the Head
I started reading _The Walker on the Cape_ during a weekend at the cottage this past summer, and I finished it before I found the time to jump in the lake. This slim-ish volume packs a lot in-between its covers, and for a first novel I was impressed by the transitions and the subtle hooks Mr. Martin leaves his readers along the way. Ultimately, and enjoyable and quick read with a sympathetic protagonist in Winston Windflower. I really enjoyed this murder mystery and look forward to what Mike Martin offers up in the future.
From Ruth Latta….Author of The Old Love and the New Love
Who would have believed that the picturesque village of Grand Bank, NL, could harbour a murderer? RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower’ could, because it’s his job to investigate suspicious deaths like that of Elias Martin.
The Alberta native has learned that the small Newfoundland community “guards its secrets and its own very closely.” Windflower’s conscientious investigation of the old man’s death uncovers not only a large scale illegal enterprise but also a domestic tragedy.
A strong, well-paced plot, characters with distinctive personalities, and the unique Newfoundland setting combine to make The Walker on the Cape a good Canadian read.
Ruth Latta
author of The Old Love and the New Love
http://ruthlattabooks.blogspot.com
From Michael P. MacDonald…. Author of Poolroom and Politics
Mike Martin has produced a very compelling police procedural set in Grand Bank on the coast of Newfoundland. From main character Winston Windflower on down, he has created a group of people that you want to get to know better; hopefully in future stories and other circumstances.
The Walker on the Cape contains a well executed plot and an ending you are not expecting; vital elements in this genre of fiction. The visual of the lighthouse on the front cover does a lot to establish the setting and Martin’s description of the locale makes it integral to the feel of the story.
I look forward to the next adventure of Windflower and company.
Michael MacDonald
Aylmer, Quebec
The Body on the T
Sgt. Winston Windflower, an RCMP officer and a Cree from northern Alberta, is enjoying an idyllic life in the small town of Grand Bank, Newfoundland when a mysterious and very dead body washes up on a nearby beach. Windflower feels right at home with the rich culture, food and history of this part of the world. But his world is shaken by a series of events that threaten his new-found happiness. And it all starts with the discovery of The Body on the T.
Reviews
From the Charlottetown Guardian
The Body on the T is set in the small town of Grand Bank on Newfoundland’s southeast shore. The T refers to the shape of the formation of the jutting neck of land on which a body has just been found.
An unknown man has $20,000 sewn into his jacket and was hit hard enough to break the back of his skull before he went into the water. The plot thickens and becomes more complicated from there. However, after a large drug bust, all ends well.
Nevertheless, there is more than the plot that make this book a good read. The characters are lifelike, especially Sgt. Windflower, a northern Cree and a Mountie by profession who practises the religion of his ancestors. Other memorable characters are Sheila, his girlfriend who runs a restaurant called the Mug Up, Cpl. Tizzard, and two East Indian doctors.
Other aspects of the book include descriptions of delicious meals, vivid scenery and short accounts of episodes in Newfoundland history. Although the book needs proofreading and the writing is no more than decent, it’s to be recommended.
As the second in a proposed series, we very much look forward to the third.
Elizabeth Cran
The Charlottetown Guardian
From The Toronto Star
July 12, 2013
The Body on the T
By Mike Martin
Baico, 277 pages, $22.99
With the lousy publicity the RCMP has been attracting in recent years, it might consider an ad campaign built around Sergeant Winston Windflower of the Grand Bank, Newfoundland, detachment. Windflower is the most conscientious Mountie since Dudley Do-Right and quite a bit more alert. He’s diligent, loyal, diplomatic and a Cree by birth. In Martin’s second Windflower novel, the principal police business puts our hero up against a gang of drug smugglers. But the book draws its most tense and poignant passages from a crisis in Windflower’s personal life that tests his Mountie mettle.
Jack Batten’s Whodunit column appears every second week.
From the Hamilton Spectator
The Body on the T: ” Life on ‘The Rock’ a good summer read”
Hamilton Spectator June 28
Joyriding in a red Challenger, playing chicken with a moose on a back road outside Grand Banks, Newfoundland. That sets the tone. Everyone and everything are minutes away. All the faces you meet, you know. The Body on the T captures life’s moments of joys and seconds of crisis.
RCMP Sergeant Winston Windflower contends with a body washed ashore, with feeling his way into a new culture, with love and death, with a rogue officer on the lam and a secret mission.
The Body on the T is a story of life’s teeter-totter, hard landings and gentle recoveries, all told with passion and the absence of language so often deemed essential to stories of crime and resolution.
Don Graves lives in Burlington and has won an award for his Spectator reviews of Canadian mystery novels.
From New Perspectives on Canadian Literature
The Body on the T by Mike Martin
Reviewed by Ian Thomas Shaw
If crime and cod tongues, down-home romance and East Coast hospitality are your thing, well Mike Martin’s second novel The Body on the T is for you. Martin, a native Newfoundlander, has a real flair for bringing out the charms of The Rock in the sea. The novel is also a good guide to what is happening in contemporary Newfoundland society since the collapse of the cod fishery and the advent of offshore oil.
The Body on the T is a sequel to Martin’s first novel, Walker on the Cape. In both novels, his main character is Sergeant Winston Windflower of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But Martin’s novel are much more that the Mountie always get his man story. Windflower, a Cree from Northern Alberta, sees Newfoundland’s society from quite a unique perspective and falls in love with the small town of Grand Bank, as well as with the stunning owner of the Mug-Up café, Sheila Hillier. His idyllic existence in running the small RCMP detachment is disturbed by two drug-related homicides. Windflower is soon pulled into the intrigue of the bigger picture by Inspector Arsenault, who recruits Windflower to put an end to the largest drug-running operation on the Eastern seaboard.
Don’t expect though a fast-paced Body mystery thriller in Body on the T. That is definitely not Martin’s style. Instead, just sit back and enjoy the author’s ability to endear his main characters to his readers and teach them just a smidgeon more about Canada’s most colourful province. With two books to his credit, Mike Martin is well on his way to establishing himself firmly in the company of Louise Penny and other Canadian crime writing heavyweights. Oh by the way, if you are wondering what the “T” is, you will just have to buy a copy of the novel and turn to page three to figure out that bit of Newfoundland trivia.
From The Mystery Site
Mystery Books – Mike Martin – The Body on the T
The Body on the T A Sgt. Windflower Mystery Mike Martin Baico Publishing 2013
The Body on the T is the second Sgt. Windflower Mystery by Mike Martin. This is an easy to read and entertaining novel. This is a police procedural about an RCMP officer in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. This mystery proved a very welcome change of pace from heavier thrillers with nefarious villains, complicated plots, numerous characters,and a larger-than-life hero. The Body on the T is the perfect mystery if all you want to do is kick back and enjoy a good read. Available at author’s website
Sgt Winston Windflower is enjoying his posting in Grand Bank. He has a growing relationship with the owner of a local diner, a few good friends in the community, and very much enjoys the Newfoundland community where he has been posted. Things become a little less idealistic when a body is found on the beach, there is a second murder, and Windflower is asked by his boss to help bring down a drug smuggling operation. When tragedy hits close to home, Windflower has to carefully balance his personal and professional life.
The Body on the T is an excellent, lightweight mystery. This may sound pejorative to some but it is certainly not. The story is told in a straightforward, economical way that allows the reader to just enjoy the experience. Sergeant Windflower is an original and interesting character and Martin has surrounded him with a supporting cast that is just as interesting. The many little moments of local colour and history not only add to the flavor but also make a reader want to go and visit Newfoundland or buy the first book in the series.
Richard Lanoie
Other Mike Martin Reviews
The Walker On The Cape: When Elias Martin drops dead on his favourite walking route it looks like a heart attack but a closer looks puts Sergeant Winston Windflower and his Constable with the unlikely name of Eddie Tizzard into full investigation mode
http://www.themysterysite.com/showreview.php?r_id=636
Beneath the Surface
Sgt. Windflower is back and as usual he’s loving life on the east coast. He may be a long way from his home in Northern Alberta but he has been adopted by the locals as almost one of their own. He has a good life, good work with the RCMP, and a good woman that he has grown closer to in his years on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. But trouble is brewing just beneath the surface of this calm and charm-filled existence.
It begins with the discovery of a dead girl’s body in St. John’s, the capital city of Newfoundland and Labrador. The girl is from Grand Bank where Windflower has been stationed for the last few years. Sgt. Windflower and his associate Corporal Eddie Tizzard are pulled further and further into the case. The situation also grows to include a whole array of criminal activities from human trafficking and even the Russian Mafia.
Reviews
Review of Beneath the Surface by Something Wordy Blog
“A fitting title for a great enjoyable read”
http://something-wordy-reviews.blogspot.ca/2014/07/beneath-surface-by-mike-martin-sgt.html
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Southern Gazette
“This third installment of Mike Martin’s Sgt. Winston Windflower series shows that the author has honed his pen, so to speak. His regular characters — Winston, Tizzard, Sheila — continue to evolve. New, and we hope, permanent characters have come to town.”
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Compass
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Aurora
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Labradorian
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Gander Beacon
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Grand Falls Advertiser
Review of Beneath the Surface in The Packet
Review of Beneath the Surface by Shari’s Book Notes
“This was an easy and entertaining read and I recommend it especially if you like Canadian stories set in Canadian places.”
http://sharisbooknotes.blogspot.ca/2014/06/beneath-surface-by-mike-martin.html
Review of Beneath the Surface by Madhouse Family Reviews
Star Rating : 4/5
“The books are a lovely breath of (foggy, cold) air and a great introduction to the Newfoundland area”
http://madhousefamilyreviews.blogspot.ca/2014/06/book-review-beneath-surface-mike-martin.html
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