Dead White

Dakota Mystery #1

by M.K. Coker

This isn't your mother's Little House on the Prairie...Detective Marek Okerlund unknowingly passes by a dying man in a Dakota blizzard—and gets what he changed jobs to a homicide. Acting Sheriff Karen Mehaffey asks for a part-time detective to teach her the ropes and loses what she changed jobs to peace in her family.Together, estranged detective and sheriff stand uneasily over the frozen body of Dale Hansen, operations manager at the local meat-packing plant. The intriguing words "White Out" are carved into one bare arm, the raw wrist chained to a barbed-wire fence. What does the message mean? Is it racial—as Dale wasn't popular with his Hispanic workers—or merely a weather report, done in understated Dakota style?Both Karen and Marek doubt their ability to give the victim justice. Karen is a former police dispatcher without a shred of investigative experience. Marek has enough experience for both of them, but he'd rather dust off his carpenter’s license to save the last takeout restaurant in town from hooligans. Besides, saving his half-Hispanic, motherless daughter from starvation is a higher priority for him than arguing with a hard-headed sheriff. They'll both be out in the cold, though, if they can't put aside their differences to find a killer.Neither cozy nor hardboiled, DEAD WHITE is a character-driven police procedural of a rural bent. Word 115,000. Occasional profanity. Minimal gore.REVIEWDEAD WHITE's characters seemed to walk right out of a familiar Dakota town, bickering with every step. I couldn't stop reading! —Linda M. Hasselstrom, Author of No Place Like Home

Genres: Mystery, Crime

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 26, 2011

About the author

M.K. Coker grew up on a river bluff in southeastern South Dakota. Part of the Dakota diaspora, the author has lived in half a dozen states, including New Mexico, but returns to the prairie at every opportunity.

Reviews

[BLT · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Great Winter Read

Total enjoyment. I don't like comparing authors but this is the exception- Lee Child's Jack Reacher and Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire all rolled up into a new character I can fall in love with reading. The story takes place e in a small town during a blizzard, new guy comes into town with his own history which he must come to terms with, solves a murder, drugs and human trafficking and like my two other favorite characters doesn't like bullies. This is a well written book, good story (including a back story) excellent character development and what I consider a brilliant page turner. Worthy of more than a 5 stars.

[Katherine Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I almost missed out on a great book. Generally, I’m not a fan of getting thrown into the deep end in Chapter 1. I like a bit more explanation, a bit more clarity as I begin a book. Personal preference, sure. If you are the same, I urge you not to be put off by the first chapter of Dead White. I kept going because it was clear that the writing itself was top-notch. I’m so glad I did.
This book is superbly written, plotted, and paced. The characters are distinct and real, with their backgrounds and secrets slowly emerging as the story moves forward. I read this in pieces only because my day job forced me to keep putting it down. This is one of those books I could have lost myself in and finished in one marathon read.
The author weaves a complicated plot filled with unique individuals who never run together in the reader’s mind, and touches on more than a few social and political issues facing small-town America today in a reasoned and thoughtful way. The mystery keeps growing broader, pulling in character after character, until it seems no one is untouched by the troubles facing this town.
No one is a superhero, no one is a saint. They are all regular folks with their own troubles taking a back seat to the need to go on in life. Some of them travel down the wrong path. Yeah, it’s gotta be hard to be the sheriff in a town where so many folks are related to you, but you have to put that aside and do your job. The author shows this conflict of emotions without ever going overboard, as well as giving us Marek Okerlund, a man with a tragic past whose only reason for not giving up is his young daughter.
Each time I thought I had the mystery figured out, some new twist would come along to keep me guessing. And even though I fingered one suspect before the cops did, turns out there was much more to the whole thing than that.
The wrap-up was satisfying without being pat or sugar-coated. Just what this town—and this book—needed.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two observations on what detracted from the flow.

First, occasional sections of dialogue between characters who should have spoken with much more familiarity based on their relationships - if you grow up knowing someone well, you ask about a wife or twin boys by name. Second, assigning decisions and comments to the female sheriff probably meant to show her inexperience or tendency to make snap judgements, but just made her seem less intelligent. Creating a flawed or multi-dimensional MC is easier said than done.

The final criticism is how the backstory of the the Okerlund child's trauma was introduced. It felt a bit contrived - convenient moments to generate a reader's sympathy, rather than woven into a more natural flow of 2 characters' interaction where one decides to be vulnerable and reveal personal details.

I'll move onto Book 2, but am not ready to buy the full set. I may not be ready to buckle in for the full ride.

[cloudyskye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I jumped at the "Dakota" part but no, this is not about the original inhabitants of the Great Plains. It's Dakotans, not Dakota, Skandis and Germans and Hispanics, not Indians. There was one little scene where the new-but-Dakotan-by-birth detective asks one of the deputies (the cool one!): "Lakota?" - and he (Two Fingers) answers: "Dakota and Nakota." I rejoiced. Alas, that was it. Oh yes, that deputy once mentions a return of the Black Hills to his people.
Other than that, the story is not bad at all. I loved the cold and the snow. Well developed characters whose back stories are revealed little by little. The number of side characters was perhaps a tad overwhelming for me who had longish breaks between reading it. I had it with me on an unforgettable trip to Israel (Sukkot 2025, hostages released at last, baruch Ha-Shem!!!) so my attention was not undivided ...
I think I will continue with the series.

[Ryan Hoffman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book and its premise is similar to Craig Johnson's Longmire novels. Except this one is set in Southeastern South Dakota, there are two primary main detectives in the book, Marek Okerlund and Karen Mehaffey.. both of them are completely flawed butt Marek really sticks out in this book. He's lost his wife but still trying to balance life is a detective and a father for his daughter Rebecca, or Becca for short. I like that the setting is during a South Dakota blizzard, and the way they come across the victim. It's a very good story and well developed and the pacing is incredible. The mystery is interesting and the characters are worth investing in.

[BKnees · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second reading says something

I love this book. This is my second reading and I have enjoyed it even more now having the hindsight of having read the subsequent books of the series so far. The characters have depths and stories of their own that are tangential to the series as a whole. Like real people. I am amazed at how well the author weaves the books together resolving earlier issues which weren't even neon-highlighted as issues. I guess you could call it Easter-egging.
I recommend this series wholeheartedly.
I also admit to stalking this author's website during COVID to see if she had a new book coming out and to make sure she was okay.

[Karla Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's set in my home state of SD. The author refers to some locations and family names that truly exist and some locations or names that are fictional. That adds a fun, little twist. There's a nice mix of true-to-life details to convince me this story really could have happened in southeast South Dakota. The plot has lots of twists and turns. Just when you think you know "who done it" or what might happen next, Coker hits you with a curve ball. I loved this so much I bought the rest of her books!

[J.J. Rusz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s been a while since I’ve read anything as bleak as “Dead White," first book in M.K. Coker’s Dakota Mystery series. (Chambers of Commerce in the region might want to sue.) The tale's portraits of corporate greed and migrant exploitation are grim enough, but the institutions, people, even the South Dakota climate pile horror upon horror. Why four stars then? Coker's writing is exceptionally good and two key characters in the book are worth watching. I’m guessing, too, that readers are getting a lot of backstory for what’s to come. Hope so.

[Linda Pobanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

White

It was definitely intriguing and interesting. This is the second time I've read this book, and it was just as exciting. I didn't remember everything, but remembered enough to know what was coming. Yet it was just as diversified as the first time I read it. I'm glad I reread it and can't wait for the next one.

[Marianne Long · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a carefully constructed mystery intended to be the first in a series. Atmospheric and shows good thoughtful development of the few main characters. However, I thought the large number of secondary characters could have used a little more differentiation. There's very little physical description given of most of the characters. Well done in spite of this. Recommended with 4 stars.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! I felt like I was in a SD winter from the writing and the characters were really well developed. It was a book I couldn't put down. It definitely didn't end on a cheerful note, but I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who wants a book that is atmospheric with a good mystery.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed This Read

I found a new series. Well plotted—kept me analyzing ‘til the end. Good characterization and sense of place. Solid, really enjoyable read. I like the author’s perspective and voice. I look forward to volume two.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

just started he series and an loving it.

[Louise Pass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family ties

Would you go back? Small town life, failing town, family farms, everyone related to everyone else. Change both good and bad comes to town.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read.

I was back to reading ever night much to my families dismay!! I look forward to more from this authgor

[Stefanie Stannard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little slow to start as the characters are introduced, but worth getting past the first few chapters. I could not put the book down! A lot of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end.

[Manola Dobbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dead White

I enjoyed this book. It doesn't have the flash of book today, but it is a solid read. It has good characters and a steady plot. Good book.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me longer to read than intended so lost track of some adjacent characters and how they fit into mystery. But enjoyed setting, main characters and writing so plan to continue series.

[Gary Dewolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just enjoyed this book. I like the family issues, as most have issues; all unique. I like the small town novels. Looking forward to reading this series.

[Rosemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

On the harsh plains of South Dakota, where snowfall is measured in yards and grudges in generations, Detective Marek Okerlund returns to his home town of Reunion with his five year old daughter in the midst of a swirling blizzard. He had been half of an elite and much-decorated pair of homicide detectives in Albuquerque; but gave up his career to care for Rebecca, traumatically mute since the death of her mother and unborn brother. He hopes that the lower stress job of part-time county detective that he has accepted will allow him time to rebuild Rebecca's shattered sense of security.

To his surprise and dismay, Acting Sheriff Karen Okerlund-Mehaffey turns out to be his niece, daughter of the much older half-brother whose implacable hatred of his father's second family had helped to drive Marek away immediately after his mother's funeral. Karen had also returned home from her position as city police dispatcher to nurse her father after a stroke. As he recovered, she cautiously agreed to finish out his term as Sheriff (an Okerlund had been sheriff as long as the county existed), and soon discovered that she liked it. Painfully aware of her inexperience, she had begged the county supervisors to hire a detective to help train her in police work. Which explains why this disparate and mutually mistrustful pair stood side by side the morning after the blizzard staring in disbelief at the frozen body of Dale Hansen, a local executive, chained to a fence by the highway with the straggling words "White Out" carved into his forearm.

The author offers remarkable character studies of the independent residents of this harsh insular farming community on the wide plains. Marek has no scene-of-crime team or police laboratory to help him; even the coroner isn't a doctor, but a mortician (yikes!) And his new boss is furious when he dares to interview her lifelong neighbors, many of whom are her relatives - and his. The conflicted relationships and harsh environment from which secrets emerge slowly like bodies from snowbanks make Dead White a very unusual and literary procedural. The author plans to release a sequel, tentatively entitled Dead Dreams, later this year. I can't wait.

[Debs · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75 stars

In the interest of full disclosure, this is not my kind of novel at all. I don't read mysteries, mostly because I don't enjoy them. The only exceptions to this personal rule are John Connolly's Charlie Parker novels, an exception due almost entirely to their intricate characters and rich language. I read this one because a member of my bookclub chose it as our monthly read for May. It took me three months to get up the ambition to actually sit down and finish it.

I had some technical problems with the writing of DEAD WHITE, stemming from occasional and jarring tense shifting, as well as from the fact that I often felt I had missed scenes--that there were things the author expected me to know that I didn't know because they hadn't been presented. I often grew frustrated with this book as a result of this "missing" information. I feel that I would've done better if I had made a character map while reading so I could keep everyone straight; there were a number of characters that floated through and didn't make much of an impression so I couldn't recall them when they cropped up in conversation later in the novel. The three characters in which I took the most interest--Two Fingers, and The Seasons--appeared only briefly.

One thing I thought Coker did well was in the way she presented the landscape and the bleakness of the setting. I got a very clear picture of Reunion and the surrounding area, which is surprising as there isn't too much description in the novel. I didn't figure out the central mystery either, which I figure is the point of a "good" mystery novel, so in that aspect, this was successful.

Honestly, it's just not my bag. If you like mysteries, you'll probably like this fine.

[Margaret Millmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: this review will be posted for all five books in this series – I purchased each in order over the course of 10 days or so, I could not put them down!

Marek Okerlund and his young daughter need a fresh start. His wife and unborn son were recently killed by a drunk driver, his daughter is badly traumatized by their deaths and his job as a detective in Albuquerque is too much to handle. He decides to return to his home town, hoping its small rural community will be less violent than the big city and allow him and his daughter to heal. But this small town has its own problems, primarily, the stigma of Marek’s past and the past of his family.

Each of the books start with murder, and the mysteries are complicated and well done, but it’s the dynamics of this rural world, its people, its landscape and everything else that has me hooked on this series. As the series develops, Marek overcomes a great deal, but is still forced to overcome more. His half-brother hates him, his boss is his niece and his grandfather was a murderer, and no one has forgotten that. On top of everything else, Marek’s childhood dyslexia left the residents of his hometown thinking he was a bumbling idiot, something he is far from, but can’t seem to outlive.

Typically I receive books for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review, however this is a verified purchase. See all our reviews at http://www.bookexplosions.com/ or on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[Mary]

Recently, Linda Hasselstrom of Windbreak House featured a writer on her blog. M K Coker who writes a series set in South Dakota. KnowIng Linda has good taste in many things but that she especially knows god writing, I decided to jump into this series. It did not disappoint. The location and the characters ring true. Like most of us Karen and Marek ( who are uncle and niece) are damaged but who are living with their pasts as they deal with the present. They make mistakes, misread each other but the reader comes to care about them and their progress. Like Longmire, Marek is a widower with the daughter though Marek’s is much younger; like Pickett Karen struggles with the rules of her position which cause her to question what is truly right– strict adherence to the law or humane compassion.

Characters ,however, need an intriguing plot or no matter how they live on the page, the book will falter. DEAD WHITE has twists and turns which tease the reader to think I know what is next. But the reader finds a turn he has not expected and he turns pages to see how that developed. As the story winds down and answers are given, the satisfaction of a tale well spun fills the reader and leaves them looking for the next book.

Thank M K Coker for a good read, and thank you Linda for pointing me the direction of a series well worth the effort of reading all the books.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I think of South Dakota, I think of Little Town on the Prairie. I loved the “Little House” books growing up. I think of the rolling prairie grasses with vast tracts of farmland and small towns dotting the landscape here and there. The modern-day economics of a place like that, though, is something quite different.

Marek Okerlund left Eda County for brighter pastures and found it as a homicide detective in New Mexico. After losing his wife and unborn son to a drunk driver, he’s bringing his surviving child, Becca, back to where he grew up. The county can’t afford a full-time homicide detective, so Marek is supposed to just work part-time.

Karen Mehaffey is the acting county sheriff. Her father, Arne, was the sheriff until a stroke got him. He’s still pretty sharp, but spends most of his days in the house he shares with Karen. She seems to be a shoo-in for the sheriff position until Marek comes to town. Is he coming to take the job from her? To top it off, Marek is Arne’s half-brother and there’s bad blood in the family. No one in town expected Marek to make anything of himself, given who his father was and his past.

To read my full review, please go to: https://thoughtsfromthemountaintop.co...

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Melodramatic and silly ("Their job was education. His was murder"). Plot and characters aren't bad--it just could have used extensive editing, and it looks self-published? Also I was never convinced that the drug boss would bother with small-time South Dakota (where I live), but what do I know?

[Patrizia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo libro mi è piaciuto molto, non solo per la parte gialla, ma soprattutto per i rapporti fra i due protagonisti, che, nonstante siano praticamente coetanei, sono zio e nipote. Leggerò sicuramente gli altri della serie.

[Mary Stenvall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good mystery, filled with interesting characters and rendered excellent by the fine threads of family. Approached from a variety of angles, it held my attention to the very end, which was four in the morning. I really hope to see these characters return.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mystery

Marek Okerlund, a native the town of Reunion, South Dakota is returning to his hometown to accept a part time detective position with the small sheriffs department. It's a fresh start for him and his young daughter from his job as a police detective in Albuquerque. He never expected that his first day of the job would be a murder case, and an abrupt reunion with his niece, Karen Okerlund Maheffy, now sheriff of Eda County.

His first murder is the frozen body of Dale Hanson, who works at a local plant on the edge of town, which leads Marek into using his city slicker detective skills to the small town sheriffs office.

Reading like some gritty detective story, but also having less grit and Gore them any other detective novels. I like the characters and the small rural community in South Dakota.