Mineral Spirits

by Heather Sharfeddin

Sheriff Kip Edelson investigates the story behind a woman's skeleton that a young boy stumbles across on a river bank. As he traces Mineral County residents and seeks clues to who might have killed her and why, a story evolves that includes drug dealers, a shootout, an abandoned boy, and the sheriff's own marital strains.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2006

About the author

Heather Sharfeddin is a novelist whose work has earned starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Library Journal, has been honored with an Erick Hoffer award and at the New York and San Francisco Book Festivals, as well as the Pacific Northwest Book Sellers Association. Her first novel, Blackbelly, was named one of the top five novels of 2005 by the Portsmouth Harold. She has taught creative writing at Randolph-Macon College, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and Linfield College (presently). She is also a book reviewer for Colorado Review. Her fifth novel What Keeps You is due out in late 2016.

Sharfeddin holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a PhD in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University (Bath, England).

Reviews:
Flash Fiction International http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...
Boneland, by Nance Van Winckel http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...
Clash of Images by Abdelfattah Kilito http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...
Snow and Shadow by Dorothy Tse http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...
Witch Girl by Tanvi Bush http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...
Passage of Tears by Abdourahmen Waberi http://coloradoreview.colostate.edu/r...

Reviews

[Janell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I settled down with this book like it was an old friend. Kip Edelson, a character in Blackbelly, figures prominently in this novel. I enjoyed learning more about him and the goings on in Mineral County. Kip's character gets fleshed out more by the appearance of the boy Gray Dausman, by his wife Robin, by the bartender-with-secrets McHugh, and the saintly Mrs. Sherwood, not to mention more minor characters such as Crystal O'Shea the town prostitute, the mysterious Kristi Blackhorse, and the skeleton Gray found in the woods.

I can definitely see where a follow up story with these characters would make a satisfying second foray into Mineral County, but if the author decides to not utilize these characters in future novels I'm still satisfied enough with this ending to appreciate the time spent with them in Mineral Spirits.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this mystery set in the wilds of Mineral County, Idaho. The sheriff, Kip Edelson is a complex character going through tough times as he investigates the case of the skeletal remains of a young woman found by a 10 year old in the woods.

[Janet Cripe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book 3 1/2 stars. It's not quite a four but close. I don't want to spoil the plot for other readers,so I'll just say I'm impressed that the author didn't let the protagonist become cliche.

[Judi]

One for the "wild west" detective shelf:

Here is our review on MostlyFiction:
http://mostlyfiction.com/west/sharfed...

[TOTO from Kansas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Average read and characters..