Due North

Butterscotch Jones Mystery #1

by Melanie Jackson

Welcome to the Gulch... funny things happen in the middle of nowhere.Butterscotch Jones thought that living in the far north provided enough peril to contend with until a private plane crashed outside her hometown of McIntyre's Gulch, Manitoba, Canada. The treasure inside the plane soon attracted both the RCMP and the Russian Mafia. For a town built upon isolation and secrecy, the citizens faced very public exposure."A light, fun read with an eccentric cast of characters who bring the village of MacIntyre's Gulch to delightful life."—Lisa Cach, author of "Wake Unto Me"McIntyre’s Gulch has long provided refuge to those needing to disappear off the face of the planet. Most donning red hair, the residents of the Gulch prefer to say to one another what little they have to say in a mish-mash of English and Gaelic. Unless conversing with Whiskey Jack in which the conversation is likely to just be a mish-mash. There’s comfort in the form of warmth, food and drink to be had at the Lonesome Moose, the downtown saloon and community meeting place that constitutes the bulk of downtown. There’s comfort in the knowledge that Big John will be opining vociferously from behind the bar on the latest news flown into town by the Wings with the night’s delivery.Due North is the first book in Melanie Jackson's bestselling Butterscotch Jones Mystery Series.Praise for the Author"A wickedly sexy tale!"—Christine Feehan, New York Times Bestselling Author (on The Selkie)"... delivers sizzling romance and ghoulish thrills at a breathtaking clip."—Publishers Weekly (on Traveler)"Readers of Laurel K. Hamilton will enjoy this complex tale..."—Booklist (on Still Life)Three times nominated for RT's Reviewers' Choice Award. Twice nominated for RT's Lifetime Achievement Award.***If you're looking for mysteries in other series by the same author, simply search for "Chloe Boston", "Butterscotch Jones", "Miss Henry", "Wendover House", "Kenneth Mayhew" or "Jane Blackthorn".

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Canada, Mystery Thriller, Cozy

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2011

About the author

Melanie, an award-winning author of more than fifty novels, stories and poems lives with her writer husband in the California Gold Country with their cat (also a writer who has a page on myspace) and their dog (who is hoping to get a page on facebook as soon as she masters typing). Melanie likes gardening but hates the deer who also like her garden, and she volunteers at a local animal shelter.

Reviews

[Denise Zendel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butterscotch Jones is a young woman with secrets who moves to the back of beyond in Canada, to a town where almost everyone has red hair and lot of secrets of their own. Butterscotch and her wolf-dog find a plane filled with cash, jewels, bonds, and a dead pilot. A Mountie who has pissed of his boss gets sent to investigate.

This was a surprisingly good read. The characters are interesting and mostly likeable, the settings well-described (I felt like I was trying to navigate next to Butterscotch during a white out), and the plot interesting. I also enjoyed the relationship between Butterscotch and the Mountie, Chuck Goodhead. It was interesting to watch such a button-down, law-and-order kind of guy figure out how to navigate the less than sterling, close-knit community. Also, there was a nice spark of romance between Butterscotch and Chuck that could be promising for the series.

I read one review where the reviewer took offense at some incorrect geographical references. I get that, because I find it irritating when details about something I know are wrong, but since I am not that familiar with Canadian geography, I didn’t really care. And the settings were described with enough detail that I could envision what was going on. Also, I thought the author had a good grasp of office politics, and small-town living. I liked this book and will read more in the series.

[Mascanlon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another series by the prolific Melanie Jackson. This one is set in McIntyre's Gulch, Manitoba, Canada. Everyone in the timy town is named McIntyre or Jones and has red hair. A plane crashes on a frozen lake in winter and the treasure inside the plane soon attracts both the RCMP and the Russian Mafia. For a town built upon isolation and secrecy, no one is welcome. Quirky and a fun casual read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an original idea for a mystery--a town in the far north of Canada full of quirky characters, some of whom have a murky past. This first entry in the series was short (only 105 pages in my nook edition), but packed in a lot of action and character development. I have definitely found a new author to read.

[Paula · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! In fact I was shocked that an American had written it, given it takes place in Canada. Except for a couple of things, she wrote "Canadian" very well and it was quirky and fun to read about a remote locale.........I will be reading all the others.......such fun!

[Rebecca Gregory-Chifos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few days ago I decided to re-read this book. (I'd read it a couple of years ago and reviewed it on Amazon at the time, but I rarely put reviews on Amazon anymore; too much hassle!) Anyway, the setting in far northern Canada in the winter seemed like a good choice in the middle of a Midwestern heat wave! I was surprised to find that I enjoyed the re-read at least as much, if not more, than reading it originally. The writing is good, and the oddball cast of characters delightful; the setting is well-described, and the plot both suspenseful and entertaining. The whole book was, in fact, just plain good fun. I own some of the subsequent book in the series, and plan now to re-read those, as well, and to purchase some of the series that I'm missing.

[jimtown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Due North is a quick to read, interesting mystery set in Canada. Occasionally it's nice to read something that's short, with chapters that don't drag on. This is it. Butterscotch is a smart, tough cookie. She's got some loyal friends in the small town she lives in. They don't have much choice other than to work together. This was fun in that Butterscotch came across a snow covered downed plane and inside, besides the pilot, were three big duffle bags of money and jewels. It reminded me a little bit of A Simple Plan. The snow storm scenes were good.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lawless West....er, umm, North

Though this story is set in northern Canada it reads like an old time western. Instead of cops and robbers there are Russians a town full of red headed misfits with one Mountie thrown in for good measure. There is treasure to be had and everyone wants it. Somehow, through all this, there's lighthearted humour and the characters are rather delightful. I will be looking for more books by this author when I want to relax and just enjoy a good story.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Butterscotch Jones lives in McIntyre's Gulch, Canada, where no one is really who they seem but since they all have secrets, they just let everyone be...until Jones and her wolf-dog come across a plane crash site, complete with duffel bags of loot and a dead body. The town considers not even reporting the crash to the next biggest town just so they can a)keep the treasure, and b) avoid the authorities...but the report it, and when the RCMP show up, the Russian mafia isn't far behind.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute enough that I enjoyed reading and would actually look out for other novels in this series. It wasn't such a high mystery read that I was on the edge of my seat though. I enjoyed the characters, love the idea of a small town in Manitoba being the base for these interesting characters and thought it was fun over all.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Utterly insane...

...but a heck of a lot of fun. Shenanigans abound when the Russian Mafia arrive in town to regain their loot, dropped from the heavens into . White out notwithstanding, the gingers save the day and life can return to their kind of normal. Fun read.

[Ellen White · Rating 4 out of 5]

Butterscotch out walking with her dog Max, comes across a private plane buried in the heavy winter snow. Finding a dead pilot and the treasures in the cargo that was on board. Mountie who was in bad graces with his boss is sent to this tiny town of Gulch. Another good book in this series.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite settings for a story is a winter storm and this is the setting for this book. Therefore, I was immediately captivated by it. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a wintery mystery tale.

[Denota · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a natural story teller.

I was vested in this book on page one. It's one of those books that when you have to put it down ,you worry about missing something. The story flows smoothly while staying the course. Go read and enjoy! So good!

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was one extremely irritating element to this story. Ms. Jackson apparently couldn't decide whether the Russian Mafia leader's first name was Grigori or Gregori. Sometimes both names were used in the same paragraph.

Shouldn't the proofreader or copy editor have noticed that?

[Terry Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging story, and a great “voice”.

I ran across this short story several years ago, and just saw it again in Kindle. Loved it then, and now I see there are several additional books in the series. Can’t wait to read them all!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read

It's a fast read. Enjoyable, pleasant. I read it in 1 day. Would be willing to read another in the series

[Sheila Dugan · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, so

This gerna was just not my "cup of tea". I kept reading it but could never quite get into it and was very board.

[Wayne D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Absolutely wonderful fun. Enough suspense to hold me, laughed out loud a few times, smiled often. Hope there's a sequel!

[Siesta · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Carrie Allen]

This is a fun book.

[MargeGordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable quickie. New series, I think I'll add this series to my reading list. Lots if interesting characters.

[Carolee DeWitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite what I expected!

[Ej Essic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short fun read.

Love finding new authors and this one does not disappoint. Short book but I loved the characters and the outcome. Looking forward to her next in the series.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this story, quirky setting, eccentric characters, big mystery surrounding the dead body and a cop/love interest for the main character who is hiding big secrets.

I wanted to love it, but sadly I didn't. I'm not sure if I liked it enough to give the series another shot with the next book or not. It all felt a little too much oddity thrown in with not even substance behind it. 2 1/2 stars.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book and great book series. I bought the first book on a Kindle deal and have since purchased the rest of the series. I'm now on book #5. Re: the cover - the Canadian flag should not be planted in northern Alberta as the series takes place in northern Manitoba ... 2 provinces to the east.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mild crime story placed in a freezing town out in the wild frontier

Purchased from Kindle Unlimited.
Butterscotch and her hybrid wolf stumble across a plane with a dead pilot and lots of loot. Enter a Canadian Mounty and of course Russian hoodlums aka mob.
The reader gets a good description of wild and dangerous Manitoba, Canada. The little town and her quirky inhabitants are going interesting enough for me to read the sequel. However, I doubt I would pay good money for them.
EDIT: However, since I have Kindle Unlimited and they are very fast reads, I am currently reading the entire series.

[Deb Randolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Butterscotch makes mysteries fun!

A great new series! I was so excited to have found this series about a girl named Butterscotch living in a very isolated, very cold town. I love books that involve lots of snow and mysteries. This series also makes the mysteries come alive with bits of humor, which I also love. I look forward to reading more of this series so I hope the books keep coming.

[Gail Gauthier · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best self-published book I've read to date and an excellent example of the importance of world-building in a realistic, nonfantasy/scifi story.

"Due North is set in the remote Canadian town of McIntyre's Gulch. We're talking remote in a not- everybody-has-a-phone-or-even-a-radio-connection-to-the-outside-world remote. In a you-might-not- see-your-neighbors-for-a-few-days-during-a-snowstorm remote. In a there-are-only-two-church- services-a-month-when-a-person-of-the-cloth-comes-by remote. The red-headed residents of McIntyre's Gulch come in two varieties--McIntyres, who are related to one another, and "self-selected Joneses...transplants from the outside: refugees, outcasts, and sometimes actual outlaws." The McIntyres come by their red hair naturally. Some of the Joneses "owe a debt to L'Oreal and Clairol." Which I assume they must have to have flown in. I can't recall why the outsiders choose to go red, unless they're trying to blend in with the natives and thus not draw attention to themselves.Which they all have reasons to want to do.

This is a rough crowd choosing to live in a rough climate, because they need to get away from it all. A disturbance comes their very well-drawn world when a plane falls out of the sky. It's not so much the plane that's disturbing as what's in it. The McIntyres and the Joneses respond about the way you'd expect them to. And the owner of the plane's contents responds about the way you'd expect him to."

Excerpt from Original Content

[Ewabernathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting characters

I love the main character's name and found the supporting characters and the town of McIntyre's Gulch to be intriguing. This has the potential for becoming a great series, however the beginning leaves me somewhat dissatisfied and is rather predictable. There are several significant errors that a good proofreader should have caught, but that aside, I'll be interested to see what the author does with these characters.

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute

I enjoyed reading this book, my first by this author. Good command of the English language, clever plotting and characterization, great on atmosphere and sense of place, and some cute bits such as some of the Russian mafia having endearing qualities. Loved Max, the wolfdog. The ending seemed somewhat contrived, abrupt and too convenient. But all in all, a happy ending.