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A Loon Lake Mystery #10
Dead Renegade
As Lew investigates, uncanny coincidences accumulate like snow on the frozen, deadly surface of Loon Lake...It's late January and Loon Lake is hosting an International Ice Fishing Festival. Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris and her limited team are busy with the usual headaches and then some, and Doc Osborne is busy studying fly-casting videos in an effort to impress Lew come spring.But a panicked call from Rob Beltner leads to a sad his wife, Kathy, is dead of a gunshot wound. Lew barely begins to investigate the shooting before she's sidetracked by the imposing figure of Patience Schumacher, president of Wheedon Technical College--and she's certain she's being stalked.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
95 people are currently reading
213 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Houston
36 books272 followersShe is the author of the Loon Lake Mystery Series -- DEAD ANGLER, DEAD CREEK, DEAD WATER, DEAD FRENZY, DEAD HOT MAMA, DEAD JITTERBUG, DEAD BOOGIE, DEAD MADONNA, DEAD HOT SHOT, DEAD RENEGADE. DEAD DECEIVER, DEAD TEASE, DEAD INSIDER, DEAD HUSTLER, DEAD RAPUNZEL, DEAD LOUDMOUTH, DEAD SPIDER, DEAD FIREFLY, DEAD BIG DAWG and WOLF HOLLOW in hardcover, trade paperback and as an eBook from Simon & Schuster. The mysteries are set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin against a background of fishing – fly fishing as well as fishing for muskie, bass, bluegill and walleyes.
Houston’s mystery series was featured in a story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (January 20, 2004) and on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan” (February 2, 2006). Both can be seen/heard on the website: www.victoriahouston.com.
She has also written or co-authored over seven non-fiction books. An award-winning author specializing in family issues, Houston’s non-fiction books include the highly recommended ALONE AFTER SCHOOL: A Self-Care Guide for Latchkey Children and Their Parents (Prentice Hall, 1985); the national bestseller, LOVING A YOUNGER MAN: How Women Are Finding and Enjoying a Better Relationship (Contemporary Books (1987); Pocket Books (1988); MAKING IT WORK: Finding the Time and Energy For Your Career, Marriage, Children and Self (Contemporary Books, 1990) -- which was published by Simon & Schuster's Fireside imprint in August 1991 as a trade paperback titled MAKING IT WORK: Creative Solutions For Balancing Your Career, Marriage, Children And Personal Life. Houston co-authored RESTORE YOURSELF: A Woman’s Guide to Reviving Her Libido and Passion for Life (The Berkley Publishing Group/2001) with Dr. James Simon, a Past President of the North American Menopause Society.
Houston’s mystery series was featured in a story on the front page of The Wall Street Journal (January 20, 2004) and on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation with Neal Conan” (February 2, 2006). Both can be seen/heard on the website: www.victoriahouston.com.
She has also written or co-authored over seven non-fiction books. An award-winning author specializing in family issues, Houston’s non-fiction books include the highly recommended ALONE AFTER SCHOOL: A Self-Care Guide for Latchkey Children and Their Parents (Prentice Hall, 1985); the national bestseller, LOVING A YOUNGER MAN: How Women Are Finding and Enjoying a Better Relationship (Contemporary Books (1987); Pocket Books (1988); MAKING IT WORK: Finding the Time and Energy For Your Career, Marriage, Children and Self (Contemporary Books, 1990) -- which was published by Simon & Schuster's Fireside imprint in August 1991 as a trade paperback titled MAKING IT WORK: Creative Solutions For Balancing Your Career, Marriage, Children And Personal Life. Houston co-authored RESTORE YOURSELF: A Woman’s Guide to Reviving Her Libido and Passion for Life (The Berkley Publishing Group/2001) with Dr. James Simon, a Past President of the North American Menopause Society.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 31, 2022
A skull found in a antiques shop and sexual predators is the base for Dead Renegade by Victoria Houston but this book is so much more. I love smalltown mysteries but the murder rate is a little to high for me to want to visit.
December 1, 2018
This is a wonderful series.
March 26, 2017
I enjoyed the characters, setting & easy-going pace of this cozy mystery. Fun read. (Mild language, no gratuitous descriptions.)
Kindle Unlimited, read & listen
Kindle Unlimited, read & listen
September 6, 2021
A pretty good mystery. Pretty straight forward...no real surprises, some heavy topics but an easy read.
September 21, 2014
For some ten books now in the Loon Lake series, Victoria Houston has crafted murder mysteries that can best be described as “cozies.” The town of Loon Lake and its surrounding water-filled environs are a mecca for fishing enthusiasts as well as for wealthy seasonal residents seeking refuge from their big-city lives. Therefore, great opportunity always exists for robberies, fraud and assorted mayhem to be sorted out by Doc Osborne and his girlfriend, Chief of Police Lew Ferris.
The book starts out in a very promising manner. First Doc finds a skeleton wrapped in an old rug tucked away in the basement of an antique store. The body had been dismembered before being rolled up, and the skull, complete with gold fillings that Doc recognizes, rolls right over to him. Concurrent with the discovery of the skeleton, Houston provides us with a very good idea of who’s going to die next. She even provides a better than usual clue to the identity of the future killer.
And then the shorter-than-her-normal novel begins to fall apart. First, Houston creates a demanding subplot for every character. For instance, Lew has refused to ask Doc to her high school reunion, choosing instead to meet with her old high school boyfriend who is now a divorced millionaire. So Doc has that angst to deal with for most of the book. Then Erin, Doc’s daughter, is working two Legal Aid cases, one of which involves the antique store where the skeleton is found while the other involves finance company fraud allegedly perpetrated by the person we figure is slated to die next.
Add to all this a problem where Mason, Doc’s granddaughter, is being bullied by an older boy, a story which dominates the entry for at least half the book. Ray’s “adopted son,” Nick, has a scenario going, as does the wife of the finance company CEO. Throw in multiple scenes tracing the family situation of the person we are clued into as the next killer and there is not a lot of space in this novel for actually investigating any of the crimes.
The focus on bullying is the next problem with the book. Not that the societal issue of bullying isn’t important, but we actually find ourselves reading a primer on how both parents and the victimized child can deal with the issue psychologically, physically and legally. The advice Houston presents on the topic is excellent, but it uses up so many pages. And it only relates to the mystery portion of the story because Mason is rescued at one point by, coincidentally, the wife of the finance company CEO, who is, coincidentally, moving in just down the street.
The final downturn to the story is Houston’s refusal to believe that “the devil is in the details.” Book after book, she seems to have an insatiable and driving need to bend the fabric of time and space in a setting that is neither paranormal nor sci-fi in genre.
Ten books ago, at the start of the series, Doc had already been retired for over two years. Since then, Nick has finished his last two years of high school and a year of college. Erin has started and finished law school, attending only part time for several years, has passed the bar and has started working for Legal Aid. The books have spanned several winters, several summers and several birthdays since the series started.
But somehow, since the last book, Ray Pradt and Cody, Doc’s grandson, have lost at least two years on their ages. And Doc is back to being retired for barely two years, which doesn’t account for the death of his wife or his time in alcohol rehab, all of which happened before the start of the first book but are referenced in this text. I swear, sometimes a Houston book is worse than a trip in Dr. Who’s Tardis!
Overall, this “cozy” is really more dull and boring than cozy. The second murder and its aftereffects are different from any that Houston has created before. However, the majority of its solution just drops into Doc’s and Lew’s laps. All they have to do, essentially, is pick up the body parts and file a report.
Yes, there is an action scene or two with gunplay and a speedboat attack, but, for the most part, this book is just an essay on the effects of bullying. One bully is just learning the skill and the second is a sociopath with many years of successful manipulation under his belt. And the third is a full-fledged psychopath, honed in his craft by one parent who was physically and psychologically abusive and by the other parent who tacitly allowed it to happen.
Essentially, Houston tries to put too much into too few pages. The result is a book that jumps all over the place and, thus, never does justice to any of the myriad plot lines. Too bad, because Houston has her characterizations fully fleshed out and she has created people who feel like friends. And for that reason only do I continue to read her books.
The book starts out in a very promising manner. First Doc finds a skeleton wrapped in an old rug tucked away in the basement of an antique store. The body had been dismembered before being rolled up, and the skull, complete with gold fillings that Doc recognizes, rolls right over to him. Concurrent with the discovery of the skeleton, Houston provides us with a very good idea of who’s going to die next. She even provides a better than usual clue to the identity of the future killer.
And then the shorter-than-her-normal novel begins to fall apart. First, Houston creates a demanding subplot for every character. For instance, Lew has refused to ask Doc to her high school reunion, choosing instead to meet with her old high school boyfriend who is now a divorced millionaire. So Doc has that angst to deal with for most of the book. Then Erin, Doc’s daughter, is working two Legal Aid cases, one of which involves the antique store where the skeleton is found while the other involves finance company fraud allegedly perpetrated by the person we figure is slated to die next.
Add to all this a problem where Mason, Doc’s granddaughter, is being bullied by an older boy, a story which dominates the entry for at least half the book. Ray’s “adopted son,” Nick, has a scenario going, as does the wife of the finance company CEO. Throw in multiple scenes tracing the family situation of the person we are clued into as the next killer and there is not a lot of space in this novel for actually investigating any of the crimes.
The focus on bullying is the next problem with the book. Not that the societal issue of bullying isn’t important, but we actually find ourselves reading a primer on how both parents and the victimized child can deal with the issue psychologically, physically and legally. The advice Houston presents on the topic is excellent, but it uses up so many pages. And it only relates to the mystery portion of the story because Mason is rescued at one point by, coincidentally, the wife of the finance company CEO, who is, coincidentally, moving in just down the street.
The final downturn to the story is Houston’s refusal to believe that “the devil is in the details.” Book after book, she seems to have an insatiable and driving need to bend the fabric of time and space in a setting that is neither paranormal nor sci-fi in genre.
Ten books ago, at the start of the series, Doc had already been retired for over two years. Since then, Nick has finished his last two years of high school and a year of college. Erin has started and finished law school, attending only part time for several years, has passed the bar and has started working for Legal Aid. The books have spanned several winters, several summers and several birthdays since the series started.
But somehow, since the last book, Ray Pradt and Cody, Doc’s grandson, have lost at least two years on their ages. And Doc is back to being retired for barely two years, which doesn’t account for the death of his wife or his time in alcohol rehab, all of which happened before the start of the first book but are referenced in this text. I swear, sometimes a Houston book is worse than a trip in Dr. Who’s Tardis!
Overall, this “cozy” is really more dull and boring than cozy. The second murder and its aftereffects are different from any that Houston has created before. However, the majority of its solution just drops into Doc’s and Lew’s laps. All they have to do, essentially, is pick up the body parts and file a report.
Yes, there is an action scene or two with gunplay and a speedboat attack, but, for the most part, this book is just an essay on the effects of bullying. One bully is just learning the skill and the second is a sociopath with many years of successful manipulation under his belt. And the third is a full-fledged psychopath, honed in his craft by one parent who was physically and psychologically abusive and by the other parent who tacitly allowed it to happen.
Essentially, Houston tries to put too much into too few pages. The result is a book that jumps all over the place and, thus, never does justice to any of the myriad plot lines. Too bad, because Houston has her characterizations fully fleshed out and she has created people who feel like friends. And for that reason only do I continue to read her books.
March 13, 2018
Wonderful setting (Loon Lake) and characters (Lew, Doc, and Ray). Always fun reads. Short 187 pages, pricey (both new and used), and hard to find locally. I have one more on the self, then I'm done .
April 3, 2025
This series got off to a great start - the characters were likeable, the settings were enjoyable, the circumstances were believable. But as I read more and more of the series, little things started bugging me - time had passed, but characters didn't age... tiny stuff like that - It was almost as if Victoria Houston had contracted other writers to keep the stories going, and they didn't do their homework... or follow the style book... As I was reading these recovering from an illness, I was reading them one right after the other, so those inconsistencies would be more apparent....just my two cents.
October 23, 2018
Family, money, revenge creates this Loon Lake Mystery. The Schradtke brothers are always hustling for jobs, money and their mother's favor. When Bobby Schradtke is paroled, trouble is all that Lewellyn Ferris, chief of police, can foresee. Not to mention the new Chicago guy who seems to be swindling the local elderly ladies out of their money with some fast talking shady deal. As usual Doc Osborne and Ray Pradt join in the crime solving. Dead Renegade is full of murderous intrigue and fly fishing fun.
December 27, 2018
Dr. Osborne, retired dentist, who helps Lew, the Chief of Police, finds a skull buried in an old rug while helping his daughter with something. Meanwhile, he also sees an ex-con back in town that caused lots of problems in earlier years even something that affected one of his daughters. And then...a rich man is found dead.
Always interesting writing and mystery and Loon Lake characters plus a lot about fishing.
Always interesting writing and mystery and Loon Lake characters plus a lot about fishing.
May 9, 2022
3.5
I continue to really enjoy this series. I am not really into cozy mysteries and I I not sure this is one, bit there is something very wholesome about these books. The mysteries are not that hard to figure out as there is usually on one suspect, but I don't care. The characters in this are people who I would like to be friends with, in a town I wouldn't mind spending a summer vacation in. This one was not one of my favorites, but I always enjoy spending time in loon lake.
I continue to really enjoy this series. I am not really into cozy mysteries and I I not sure this is one, bit there is something very wholesome about these books. The mysteries are not that hard to figure out as there is usually on one suspect, but I don't care. The characters in this are people who I would like to be friends with, in a town I wouldn't mind spending a summer vacation in. This one was not one of my favorites, but I always enjoy spending time in loon lake.
July 3, 2018
Doc finds body parts inside an old rolled up carpet in an antique store while helping his daughter Erin reclaim a dental cabinet that her client's deceased husband had left on consignment.
The owner of a financial company is cheating seniors and abusing his wife, C.J. Local businesses are being robbed by thieves who saw holes in the roof.
The owner of a financial company is cheating seniors and abusing his wife, C.J. Local businesses are being robbed by thieves who saw holes in the roof.
December 3, 2019
shorter than other books, lots of story lines that don't get fleshed out that could have been interesting. Getting confused by time line - only retired for two years - again - after daughter finished law school? Decent mystery, deals with bullying
October 31, 2017
A most ezcellent 5 star read! I have "set my hook" for this little town and this little series
January 10, 2018
This is the first book in this series that disappointed me. It seemed as if Ms. Houston wasn't sure which direction to go in, so she didn't go in any. I really hope #11 is better.
May 23, 2021
A pretty tame mystery.
September 5, 2021
Worst one of this series so far. If this was the first I read, I wouldn't have read any more.
August 12, 2022
Too much bad language for me; I don’t remember her earlier books having much in them.
January 3, 2023
Love this series
May 8, 2023
I am”binge reading” this series and found this to be my least favorite book so far. It was the shortest, but had several story lines that were resolved abruptly. Just not as good as her usual.
October 25, 2009
While searching the basement of Bart Nystrom’s antique store with his daughter, Erin and her client Catherine Higgins, Doc Osborne unrolls an old carpet and finds a body. The corpse has evidently been hidden in the old carpet for years. The search is for an item belonging to Catherine Higgins and the last thing the group expected to find was a body. Doc immediately puts in a call to Police Chief Lew Harris and the antique store is temporarily closed.
Doc welcomes the chance to call Lew since he is feeling a little uneasy about their relationship. Lew has a class reunion coming up and she hasn’t invited Doc. The two have been very close since Doc has worked as Lew’s deputy and he is feeling uneasy about the reunion and an old classmate coming to town.
Both the cold case murder and Lew’s coming reunion are forced to the back burner when Mason, Lew’s granddaughter, has experienced something that has frightened her but she is not talking. Doc is concerned and anxious to find the underlying cause of Mason’s problem.
C. J. Calverson has brought an upset Mason home. C. J. found Mason hiding in their garage. The Calverson’s have just moved to town. Curt Calverson, C. J.’s husband, is the CEO of Calverson Finance. C. J. is very friendly and invites Doc and Ray Pradt to join the couple on their boat. Curt is anything but friendly. Not only is he rude to the guests but to C. J. as well.
Soon Lew begins to get reports about Calverson Finance and the fact that the company is taking advantage of elderly residents. Doc and Lew are trying to figure out what to do next about the Calverson Finance problem as well as attempting to solve the mystery of the body in the carpet. A local man has just been released from prison and it seems the recent robberies may have some connection to his return to town.
Solving all of the problems currently facing Loon Lake keep Lew and Doc busy and Ray Pradt also lends a hand. Ray is always on hand to help Lew in her investigations and first in line to charm the ladies.
There is a lot going on in this 10th book in the Loon Lake series. Dead Renegade can be read as a stand-alone but each book in the series is well worth reading.
Doc welcomes the chance to call Lew since he is feeling a little uneasy about their relationship. Lew has a class reunion coming up and she hasn’t invited Doc. The two have been very close since Doc has worked as Lew’s deputy and he is feeling uneasy about the reunion and an old classmate coming to town.
Both the cold case murder and Lew’s coming reunion are forced to the back burner when Mason, Lew’s granddaughter, has experienced something that has frightened her but she is not talking. Doc is concerned and anxious to find the underlying cause of Mason’s problem.
C. J. Calverson has brought an upset Mason home. C. J. found Mason hiding in their garage. The Calverson’s have just moved to town. Curt Calverson, C. J.’s husband, is the CEO of Calverson Finance. C. J. is very friendly and invites Doc and Ray Pradt to join the couple on their boat. Curt is anything but friendly. Not only is he rude to the guests but to C. J. as well.
Soon Lew begins to get reports about Calverson Finance and the fact that the company is taking advantage of elderly residents. Doc and Lew are trying to figure out what to do next about the Calverson Finance problem as well as attempting to solve the mystery of the body in the carpet. A local man has just been released from prison and it seems the recent robberies may have some connection to his return to town.
Solving all of the problems currently facing Loon Lake keep Lew and Doc busy and Ray Pradt also lends a hand. Ray is always on hand to help Lew in her investigations and first in line to charm the ladies.
There is a lot going on in this 10th book in the Loon Lake series. Dead Renegade can be read as a stand-alone but each book in the series is well worth reading.
December 13, 2024
another great story...
March 23, 2011
This was our book clubs monthly choice. We have read her Loon Lake Series before and liked. She was the author of choice to come to speak at the yearly session that is promoted through the art center. I didn't get to meet her -- but I heard she was delightfully funny. Being a Rhinelander native and knowing some of the details of the wisconsin lakes, law, and medicine/pathaology makes her a more interesting author to read. Her characters are all the same -- they have a good plot. A Body is usually found - searches for clues -- etc bring in many aspects. This one was okay but for some readon just didn't seem interesting or enjoyable enough.
October 6, 2014
Not as good as previous books in the series. I liked the main characters, and the northern Wisconsin setting, but there were way too many subplots going on. There were a couple murders, of course, but the author also touched on domestic abuse, a series of burglaries, financial scamming of the elderly, sibling rivalry, sexual molestation and bullying, all jammed into a shorter than usual book, skimmed over, then quickly wrapped up neatly in the last few pages.
August 4, 2010
This book was very short compared to the others in the series. Lots of little things going on in the story. Everything was ended by the conclusion of the book. The main characters remained strong, but in this book the new characters were not developed. I didn't feel anything when the character C.J. got a double skull fracture. Not Houston's best book.
February 6, 2015
Dead Renegade
I love these tales of murder with their fishing thrown in for relief. The characters make it a fun read though this antagonist was so nasty. Such a good story and wrapped up neatly with no loose ends. I never want them to end.
I love these tales of murder with their fishing thrown in for relief. The characters make it a fun read though this antagonist was so nasty. Such a good story and wrapped up neatly with no loose ends. I never want them to end.
December 29, 2009
This book seemed less complex than the others in the series, so I didn't like it as much.
July 10, 2011
This was an enjoyable, very quick read. But it didn't get me excited about the author's other books. It's fun that it takes place in Wisconsin though.
July 26, 2011
Light summer reading. The setting is in Wisconsin so its fun to read from that standpoint.
June 4, 2012
A friend in book club loaned this to me. It wasn't a downer, surprisingly!, but it tried to do much and impart too much wisdom for the amount of pages.
September 27, 2018
Short sweet and straight to the point. I enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews