Mike Martin's Blog, page 37
September 6, 2012
Update Sept 6
I have great friends. Not just fake FB friends but real friends who support me and have always supported me. You know who you are. Thank you for your help, advice, guidance and unwavering support. I owe you big time. For now thank you very much.
More Readers Comments
The Walker on the Cape is a good book and I really enjoyed it. It was an easy read and it made me think about the people I met on my visits to “the Rock”.
Barb Stewart
Ottawa, Ontario
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I really enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next one. Thanks for a great read.
Robert Arnold
Victoria, B.C.
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I really enjoyed the simple approach to the story, the routine-ness of the lives portrayed, the superb development of the Windflower character, and the story line twists. Thank you for this book and the opportunity to identify a bit more with the lifestyle of Newfoundland, or at least of Grand Bank! I hope we will read more on Sargeant Windflower and his adventures, particularly if he earns his promotion after such a great resolution of the murder of the Walker on the Cape!
Robert Way
Ottawa, Ontario
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New Ottawa Location
You can now buy The Walker on the Cape at Brittons in the Glebe. They have a cool mystery section now that is called the Prime Crime Shelf. Usually it is staffed on the weekends by the Mystery Maven, Linda Wiken. But I will be your host and book signer this week.
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Up Coming Events
Saturday September 8
Book Signing
Brittons in the Glebe
846 Bank Street, Ottawa, Ont
1:00 to 3:00 pm
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Saturday September 22
Book Signing
Books on Beechwood
35 Beechwood Ave, Ottawa, Ont
1:00 to 3:00 pm
September 4, 2012
St, John’s Telegram Review of The Walker on the Cape
The Walker on the Cape
By Mike Martin
Baico Publishing Inc., 2012
252 pages $20.00
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
September 3, 2012
Mystery Maven article
My article is on the front page today of Mystery Maven Canada, blog home to one of the main mystery movers in the National Capital, Linda Wiken. For 15 years she owned Prime Crime Mystery Books, an independent specialty bookstore in Ottawa, Ont. but is now “transitioning” to the life of a mystery writer, with the help of my two Siamese cats. Her Berkley Prime Crime series will be appearing under the name Erika Chase. Her latest book is “A Killer Read”
http://mysterymavencdn.blogspot.ca/2012/09/mayhem-on-mondays.html
August 31, 2012
Walker on the Cape News Update August 31, 2012
Finally back home after 3 weeks on the Rock and various beautiful days spent in Sydney, N.S. and Fredericton New Brunswick. If you ever get to NB then you have to check out The Owls Nest, used bookstore, right on the main street. It has everything!! But watch out for the cats, they’re getting old and grumpy.
Book Signing September 22 Books on Beechwood, Ottawa
You are invited to meet Mike Martin, author of The Walker on the Cape and get your own signed copy of the book:
Saturday September 22, 2012
1 to 3 pm
Books on Beechwood
35 Beechwood Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
More Readers Comments
I really enjoyed the simple approach to the story, the routine-ness of the lives portrayed, the superb development of the Windflower character, and the story line twists. Thank you for this book and the opportunity to identify a bit more with the lifestyle of Newfoundland, or at least of Grand Bank! I hope we will read more on Sergeant Windflower and his adventures, particularly if he earns his promotion after such a great resolution of the murder of the Walker on the Cape!
Robert Way
Ottawa, Ontario
Upcoming
Am expecting a number of reviews next week, including two new ones from the Rock and one from Ottawa, plus a guest post on a major mystery blog. Stay tuned!!
August 28, 2012
The Mystery Site Review of The Walker on the Cape
Mystery Books – Mike Martin – The Walker On The Cape
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.
Mike Martin Baico Publishing August 2012 252 pages
August 24, 2012
New Places in Newfoundland to Buy The Walker on the Cape
New retail locations in Newfoundland and Labrador thanks to my friends at the Downhomer:
BLAZING HORIZON COTTAGES & BROWN’S RESTAURANT & TAKEOUT
WHITEWAY
CABOT PHARMACHOICE
CLARENVILLE
CAPE RACE PCS HERITAGE INC
TREPASSEY
CATALINA PHARMACY
CATALINA
CHAYTOR’S PHARMACY LIMITED
CARBONEAR
CIRE PHARMACEUTICALS
MOUNT PEARL
COLONY OF AVALON
FERRYLAND
CONSUMERS PHARMACHOICE
ST ANTHONY
Circle K
GANDER
DAVE’S PHARMACY LIMITED
LEWISPORTE
EARLES VIDEO
ROCKY HARBOUR
FISHERMAN’S LANDING LIMITED
ROCKY HARBOUR
GROS MORNE CABINS LTD
ROCKY HARBOUR
HDS NORTH AMERICA
ST JOHNS
ISLAND TREASURES LTD
CORNER BROOK
KENNEDY’S PHARMACHOICE
BAY BULLS
KOUNTRY KRAVINGS & KRAFTS
DILDO
LEWISPORTE PHARMACHOICE
LEWISPORTE
PIPER’S DEPT STORES
KELLIGREWS
PORT AUX CHOIX PHARMACHOICE#138263
PORT AUX CHOIX
SHOPPERS DRUG MART
BISHOPS FALLS
SUMMERSIDE GARAGE INC
SUMMERSIDE
TWILLINGATE MUSEUM GIFT SHOP
TWILLINGATE
WARR’S PHARMACY
HAPPY VALLEY GOOSE BAY
And a new location on the strangely sunny South Coast
Burin Pharmacy
Burin, NL
August 22, 2012
More Readers Comments about The Walker on the Cape
More Readers Comments about The Walker on the Cape……
I took your book with me to England and enjoyed reading it while on vacation. It brought to mind the books by Alexander McCall Smith who relates mysteries in the setting of Botswana, introducing the reader to the subtleties’ of life in an exotic setting -not that Newfoundland is ‘exotic’, but it is unique to Canada in its own way.
Ruth Dacosta
Ottawa, Ontario
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I just finished reading the book, and I loved it. I thought the plot was well put together and it kept the suspense well. I also thought the Newfoundland atmosphere of Grand Bank was well described and it made me want to go back there. So now I am waiting for your next book!
Vagabonde, Blogger extradordinaire
Georgia, USA
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We both really enjoyed “The Walker on the Cape”. We enjoyed the tour of Grand Bank and all the names we have heard about from the past. We’re looking forward to your next instalment .
Herb & Judy Rogers
Pickering, Ontario
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I quite enjoyed “The Walker on the Cape”. It had good plot development and for me the silent character throughout the book was the food. Jeez…I got fat just reading it…peanut butter cheesecake, partridge berry jam….even the greasy Chinese food sounded good. I will be very interested to see how the characters evolve…if you keep the same cast in your next book. For me the one who came across with the most personality was Tizzard – made me dizzy (is that the intended pun in his name?)…the way he kept bouncing and racing everywhere. Good job.
Cindy Moriarity
Ottawa, Ontario
August 20, 2012
Review by Robert U Doyle author of The Tangerine Murders
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.
‘The TANGERINE MURDERS:Dancing with Death,‘ Robert U. Doyle’s first crime fiction novel in the ‘DS Tara Street’ Series’ was published in May 2012
August 19, 2012
Pictures from the Rock
I am certainly no photographer but it so beautiful on this little island that even I can take a few good pictures.
Rocky Harbour Sunset
Grand Bank …. First Joan’s house. It’s her grandfather’s original home, built by hand and being restored by Joan. then more shots around Grand Bank
August 16, 2012
Update from the Rock
Book Signings are over and now it’s time to relax. Both book signing events went well and special thanks to:
Sharon at Sharon’s Nook and Tea Room in Grand Bank
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sharons-Nook/149482591771989
Marlene and the gang at the Downhome Shoppe and Gallery in St. John’s
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Downhome-Shoppe-and-Gallery/318229770781
Pictures are coming but delayed due to technical difficulties. Arghhhhhhhh!!
Book Reviews coming soon from St. John’s Telegram, Downhomer Magazine and a couple of surprise mystery sites plus hopefully the Hamilton Spectator.
Now a few days break in Grand Bank and then off to spectacular Gros Morne National Park!!
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