When the Wasp Stings: A Cooper North Mystery

by Richard Wolkomir

Cooper North retired as prosecutor, but she’s called back—a wave of bizarre crimes has everyone on edge. This town’s in the Green Mountains, a thousand miles north of the subtropics—yet, an alligator walks along Main Street. Simultaneously, for no obvious reason, inept thieves steal sugar-maple logs. Then it gets serious. Sadists attack the town’s pets. A maple-syrup entrepreneur dies of allergies—his murderer slips yellow-jacket wasps into his sleeves.Knife-wielding psychopaths, dressed as Ninjas, go on a killing rampage. Cooper suspects they target people she visits, who matter to her.She is it all connected? She’s graying, tall, almost gaunt. She walks with a cane. She’s a recovering scotch addict. Yet, her penetrating gray eyes see deep. On the hunt, she’s relentless.As she and her police colleagues follow the killers’ zigzagging trails, this story twists, then keeps twisting.Finally, it twists hard.You won’t guess the ending.

451 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2023

About the author

I write stories, often speculative fiction, sometimes mysteries. It started when a Pembroke Welsh corgi came to live with us, and I realized I could read his mind.

It's not hard--eye glints and brow furrowings tell you just what's going on in that doggy head.

I wondered, though: how would it be to actually speak with animals, back and forth, hearing their thoughts and concerns? A story came to me. It was about a place where certain people do speak with animals, not with tongues, animals being unequipped for that, but mind to mind.

It became a novel, "Wil Deft," complete with a fantasy world Pembroke Welsh corgi. Another novel, "Sinnabar," followed, with some of the same characters reappearing, including that talkative corgi.

I'd always made my living writing articles and essays for magazines. Now--because of that corgi--instead of reporting stories, I make them up.

I greatly enjoy writing stories, and I hope some people will enjoy reading them.

Reviews

[Marilyn Colon Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m conflicted about this book. It took me 108 pages before I really got into it, and I almost quit countless times. However, after spending $20 on it, I decided to stick with it. The story eventually improved, everything started to click, and I found it hard to put down. On the downside, the printing was subpar—paragraphs were split between pages in odd places, and whoever handled the printing should have done a better job checking the layout. Overall, while the narrative turned out well, this author just isn’t for me.