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Detectives Seagate and Miner Mysteries #2
Deviations: A Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery
Former police detective Karen Seagate is drinking herself to oblivion and having dangerous sex with losers from the bar when the new police chief tracks her down. The brutal rape and murder of a state senator by a lone-wolf extremist gives Seagate a chance to return to the department, but the new chief has set down some rules, and Seagate is not good with rules. At this point, she is just trying to stay alive. With nothing left to lose and nobody left to trust--not even her partner, Ryan--Seagate goes off the grid to find the killer. She doesn't care that she will be fired again. She has much bigger problems, now that she has been captured inside the neo-Nazi compound.
210 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2012
276 people are currently reading
1023 people want to read
About the author
Mike Markel
67 books54 followersI am the author of eight books in the Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery series: Big Sick Heart, Deviations, The Broken Saint, Three-Ways, Fractures, The Reveal, Players, and Swerve. For more information, please visit my site: http://mikemarkel.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
June 8, 2011
Great book for demonstrating the art of following the clues and finding the guilty parties. Lead Detective Karen Seagate is a divorced alcoholic but, a great detective when her hang over isn't too bad. Her rookie partner, Ryan Miner is a young muscular former college football end and married straight arrow with children, eager to learn the ropes of being a detective and willing to back his partner and cut her some slack especially after she saves his life by shooting a meth crazed criminal who was trying to make a filet of Ryan with a long knife. Police procedures, lying suspects, political pressure (both within and from without) and estranged exes and children just add to the pressure complicating Karen's life. Good contrast between a straight young detective and a older damaged and broken detective, too jaded by the system and life to be able to sleep sober. Amazing that as a team, they are truly effective even though Karen is actively undermined by her chauvinistic peers including the Police Chief. Typical actions for a small town Montana Police force. Out standing that fairness and justice triumphs against all odds! Enjoyable fact paced story worth the read!
July 19, 2011
Big Sick Heart is an interesting mystery, although less mystery than what I expected. It is more of an exploration of the relationship between an alcoholic cop who is bent on destroying her life and her straight laced partner who supports her no matter what although in his place I think I would slap her silly. I enjoyed learning more about stem cell research. I like learning about things in a novel and contrary to some reviews I enjoyed the religious viewpoints as well. I enjoyed the book, hated the female character, and loved learning new things. I think this author will only get better over time.
August 15, 2016
Detective Karen Seagate and her new partner Ryan Miner are assigned security detail at a stem cell research debate. Not long after they leave the debaters at their hotel one of them is dead.
As the case progresses Seagate's life gets more complicated. Not just with her ex and her son, but lying suspects, political pressure and police procedures and more importantly her drink problem.
An enjoyable and interesting read.
As the case progresses Seagate's life gets more complicated. Not just with her ex and her son, but lying suspects, political pressure and police procedures and more importantly her drink problem.
An enjoyable and interesting read.
December 6, 2017
Mike Markel is a master of this genre. “Deviations” is exceptionally well-written throughout, with no wasted words: “Age had defanged the Reverend Barry and was draining the lifeblood of his organization.” It’s the stripped-back writing style of this genre at its best: “I give him money. He gives me drinks. A streamlined relationship.” The author has a similar relationship with his reader: s/he gives him a little money, he gives her/him a great story, skilfully told. I read this one in one go during a ten-hour flight from Manchester to Cancun.
He can get across a whole heap of hurt in a couple of sentences: “Mom had fallen apart – she had a right, I can see that now – so Dad packed up one day and left. He’s in Virginia now, in some kind of facility, where he’s dying of something.” He has a dry sense of humour: “Now, if it said “I think I’m living in a book of fiction,” that might tell you something worth talking about.” “I looked like hell, of course, with the black bags under my eyes giving me that whole racoon vibe.”
He has an almost pathological awareness of the discrepancy between the potential and the actual when it comes to human behaviour: “So, even though there’s about eight or ten inappropriate relationships going on at any given time in the department, it’s still inappropriate.” He is also wise: “The smile that said yes, life is indeed beautiful if you come factory-equipped with all the options – brains, incredible beauty, and energy – and live in an environment in which much is expected and every advantage is provided.”
He’s a genuine satirist. “… they played the chief’s press conference a couple dozen more times and sent all their reporters out on to the streets to interview every non-comatose person in the Rawlings area about the murder. Here’s what I learned: When a person heard about the crime they were either “shocked” or “horrified”. What did they think of the murder? The top answers were that it was “terrible” or “just so sad” followed by “what does it say about our world today?” Was she a good senator? Almost everyone said she was doing a “great job” (not a good job, OK job, or truly shitty job). What would she be remembered for? Top answer: “I don’t really follow politics.”
He has done his research. The reports by the medical examiner are in chilling and convincing detail. His characters are fleshed out with similar meticulousness. You learn some useful stuff about psychological profiling: “Some people laugh when they hear [obnoxious terms of abuse for people different to themselves]. The laughter means that the person hearing the word is better than the person being described by the word. … Other people shake their heads in sadness when they hear these words. They’re a notch more evolved than those who simply laugh. They understand that [the people described by these terms] represent the most serious threat facing true white Christian Americans. This threat makes them sad. Still other people nod their heads in determination. They are the most evolved because they understand that some people have already put down the pen and picked up the sword of righteous anger to smite those who wish to destroy us. …When I saw these people on the video, I couldn’t predict which ones were going to laugh, which were going to be sad, and which were going to be determined.”
There are some great messages: “If you’re too stunted and shallow to see it’s okay that everyone is different, you could at least shut up and make it a little less obvious that you’re a total asshole.” There are profound questions: “Everybody has a story, I guess. The question is, does anyone want to take the time to listen to it?” That will strike a chord with a million Indie authors.
Yet another thing that makes this book special is the author’s interest in the psychological consequences of the trauma suffered by his protagonist while solving the case. Other books in this genre often stop once the crime is solved. “Deviations” takes you beyond that into sessions with a psychiatrist on how his female main character with serious issues to start with should begin to deal with the rage she inevitably feels after being beaten up and raped by a white supremacist psycho who has already raped - beaten to death and carved a fascist symbol into the torso of - a female senator.
By now, it must be obvious that I recommend this book without reservation. I will most definitely be reading and reviewing all the other books in this series. There are so many sows’ ears in the field of Indie publishing that when you occasionally come across a silk purse, you grab him/her with both hands.
He can get across a whole heap of hurt in a couple of sentences: “Mom had fallen apart – she had a right, I can see that now – so Dad packed up one day and left. He’s in Virginia now, in some kind of facility, where he’s dying of something.” He has a dry sense of humour: “Now, if it said “I think I’m living in a book of fiction,” that might tell you something worth talking about.” “I looked like hell, of course, with the black bags under my eyes giving me that whole racoon vibe.”
He has an almost pathological awareness of the discrepancy between the potential and the actual when it comes to human behaviour: “So, even though there’s about eight or ten inappropriate relationships going on at any given time in the department, it’s still inappropriate.” He is also wise: “The smile that said yes, life is indeed beautiful if you come factory-equipped with all the options – brains, incredible beauty, and energy – and live in an environment in which much is expected and every advantage is provided.”
He’s a genuine satirist. “… they played the chief’s press conference a couple dozen more times and sent all their reporters out on to the streets to interview every non-comatose person in the Rawlings area about the murder. Here’s what I learned: When a person heard about the crime they were either “shocked” or “horrified”. What did they think of the murder? The top answers were that it was “terrible” or “just so sad” followed by “what does it say about our world today?” Was she a good senator? Almost everyone said she was doing a “great job” (not a good job, OK job, or truly shitty job). What would she be remembered for? Top answer: “I don’t really follow politics.”
He has done his research. The reports by the medical examiner are in chilling and convincing detail. His characters are fleshed out with similar meticulousness. You learn some useful stuff about psychological profiling: “Some people laugh when they hear [obnoxious terms of abuse for people different to themselves]. The laughter means that the person hearing the word is better than the person being described by the word. … Other people shake their heads in sadness when they hear these words. They’re a notch more evolved than those who simply laugh. They understand that [the people described by these terms] represent the most serious threat facing true white Christian Americans. This threat makes them sad. Still other people nod their heads in determination. They are the most evolved because they understand that some people have already put down the pen and picked up the sword of righteous anger to smite those who wish to destroy us. …When I saw these people on the video, I couldn’t predict which ones were going to laugh, which were going to be sad, and which were going to be determined.”
There are some great messages: “If you’re too stunted and shallow to see it’s okay that everyone is different, you could at least shut up and make it a little less obvious that you’re a total asshole.” There are profound questions: “Everybody has a story, I guess. The question is, does anyone want to take the time to listen to it?” That will strike a chord with a million Indie authors.
Yet another thing that makes this book special is the author’s interest in the psychological consequences of the trauma suffered by his protagonist while solving the case. Other books in this genre often stop once the crime is solved. “Deviations” takes you beyond that into sessions with a psychiatrist on how his female main character with serious issues to start with should begin to deal with the rage she inevitably feels after being beaten up and raped by a white supremacist psycho who has already raped - beaten to death and carved a fascist symbol into the torso of - a female senator.
By now, it must be obvious that I recommend this book without reservation. I will most definitely be reading and reviewing all the other books in this series. There are so many sows’ ears in the field of Indie publishing that when you occasionally come across a silk purse, you grab him/her with both hands.
April 20, 2021
This is the 2nd novel in this mystery series. It is unusual for the lead in a mystery series to be a female, but even more unusual is for her to be an alcoholic with problems following orders. After she was 'fired' by the former police chief, she went on a several month period of drinking and hanging out in bars, looking for a man. This is a gritty, dark, story and uncomfortable in places. The author pulls no punches in his writing style. Seagate and her partner, Detective Ryan Miner, get into some difficult situations but in this book it is pretty much all Seagate. When she is rehired by the new police chief, she doesn't believe it when he tells her a murder won't be solved because it is the FBI decision. Seagate decides to investigate on her own. She visits an isolated paramilitary compound to see if she can glean any information from their leader about who killed the senator. She finds herself in over her head. It is a dark but gripping murder mystery. This is only Book 2 in a series of many more so hold onto your seat and give this series a try.
May 11, 2017
An alcoholic female detective who was terminated by her chief of police is called back to duty by the next man appointed chief. She has to be good, though, and play by the rules, which is difficult if not impossible for her. Her first case back is a politician who was murdered by someone in a neo-nazi white supremacist group. Well all goes well for a few minutes, then her boss, her partner and the FBI guy assigned to the case all start acting strange. She picked a bad time to quite drinking.
All in all, it was an ok book. A very fast read but not terribly original and without any real surprises. At least i don't regret reading it, which is an improvement over some i've tried to read lately.
All in all, it was an ok book. A very fast read but not terribly original and without any real surprises. At least i don't regret reading it, which is an improvement over some i've tried to read lately.
May 18, 2017
Wow! I didn't want to stop reading! At the beginning I wondered if I would like the book but goodness, it sucked me right in.
The main character is well defined, I could certainly follow her train of thought. The book moves along at a steady pace, no boredom here!
The main character is well defined, I could certainly follow her train of thought. The book moves along at a steady pace, no boredom here!
June 17, 2021
This book was decent but the ending was very unsatisfying.
February 19, 2018
There are about a million cop shows on television right now, and they all seem to follow the same formula. A crime happens, the cops investigate, and they follow the clues in an A-B-C progression for about forty minutes and solve the case. It's all very neat and tidy. Of course, real life isn't like that, which is why Mike Markel's Big Sick Heart is an enjoyable and frankly riveting exception to the rule. This is a very messy book, in the best sense of the word, one that takes readers down some rabbit holes and into dead ends with a lead detective whose life is quite a mess as well. And despite a couple of major lapses in credibility along the way, the writing flows smoothly and seemingly effortlessly.
Like Craig Johnson's Longmire stories, Big Sick Heart is set in the modern West, in this case, the fictional town of Rawlings, MT, which I’m guessing has a population of 50,000 or so and also has an actual police department with a few detectives on hand. These include Karen Seagate, the narrator, and her new partner, Ryan Miner. The two are trying to solve the murder of a conservative advocate whose current cause was his group’s opposition to stem cell research. The victim was prominent enough that his brutal murder made the national headlines, so there’s a lot of pressure on Seagate and Miner to solve the case.
The mystery in Big Sick Heart is a reasonably decent one, but the solution to it is rather haphazard, with a key bit of forensic evidence turning up in the last couple of chapters that points to the killer. Before that happens, however, the investigation gets very complicated, with ties to another murder that takes place in Hawaii at the same time, and a couple of characters with some dark secrets in their pasts that Seagate and Miner uncover, and which don’t always have any bearing on the case. The book isn’t a traditional whodunit, and, while readers might well guess the killer, it would be a mere guess and not by picking up on some clue the author cleverly buried.
The lack of some of the elements of a traditional mystery doesn’t detract from Big Sick Heart because the pursuit and the investigation are interesting in and of themselves. This is the type of book where the cops spend time batting around various theories of the case with each other and then shooting them down and where the author gets to drop fascinating tidbits of information about subjects like the nature of modern pharmaceutical research, stem cell and otherwise, and corporate financial shenanigans. Markel is able to have various characters impart these bits of information without making them sound like information dumps, but, rather, a natural part of the book’s progression. The author has a style that makes every twist and turn and dead end in the book seem quite natural.
In addition to the investigation seeming quite credible, despite some highly sensational developments, his narrator, Karen Seagate also feels like a real, and highly flawed person. She is a fortyish divorcee alcoholic who gets blind drunk on more than one occasion in the book when things don’t go well. She also has explanations for her problems that blame seemingly everyone but herself, but readers will have the sneaking suspicion that her narrative is as flawed as Karen herself.
The only problems I had with the book are a couple of major incidents that seemed to fly in the face of logic. In the book’s first chapter, Karen winds up shooting a man in self-defense during a domestic dispute. While, in any police department I know of from Mayberry to Los Angeles, this would be a serious development leading to at the minimum, an internal investigation, here, it gets completely dismissed and forgotten by everyone including Karen within about two pages. Later, Karen’s drinking gets her into big trouble as well, and that incident is also pretty much swept under the rug. I realize that Big Sick Heart is a fairly short book, but it strains credibility just a bit too much to accept the author’s and his narrator’s version of these events.
Despite these credibility flaws, Big Sick Heart was able to catch and keep my attention far better than almost any mystery I’ve read recently. The author’s dialogue captures the audience, not by turning it into a comedy routine with snappy one-liners, but simply by having the characters tell stories in a way that readers want to hear. I kept reading, not really to find out the identity of the killer, but, rather to see where the author was going next. At the end of Big Sick Heart, the immediate case is solved, but Karen’s life clearly is a work that’s not even on progress to the right track. That progress, if there is any in subsequent books in the series, will be a path well worth following.
Like Craig Johnson's Longmire stories, Big Sick Heart is set in the modern West, in this case, the fictional town of Rawlings, MT, which I’m guessing has a population of 50,000 or so and also has an actual police department with a few detectives on hand. These include Karen Seagate, the narrator, and her new partner, Ryan Miner. The two are trying to solve the murder of a conservative advocate whose current cause was his group’s opposition to stem cell research. The victim was prominent enough that his brutal murder made the national headlines, so there’s a lot of pressure on Seagate and Miner to solve the case.
The mystery in Big Sick Heart is a reasonably decent one, but the solution to it is rather haphazard, with a key bit of forensic evidence turning up in the last couple of chapters that points to the killer. Before that happens, however, the investigation gets very complicated, with ties to another murder that takes place in Hawaii at the same time, and a couple of characters with some dark secrets in their pasts that Seagate and Miner uncover, and which don’t always have any bearing on the case. The book isn’t a traditional whodunit, and, while readers might well guess the killer, it would be a mere guess and not by picking up on some clue the author cleverly buried.
The lack of some of the elements of a traditional mystery doesn’t detract from Big Sick Heart because the pursuit and the investigation are interesting in and of themselves. This is the type of book where the cops spend time batting around various theories of the case with each other and then shooting them down and where the author gets to drop fascinating tidbits of information about subjects like the nature of modern pharmaceutical research, stem cell and otherwise, and corporate financial shenanigans. Markel is able to have various characters impart these bits of information without making them sound like information dumps, but, rather, a natural part of the book’s progression. The author has a style that makes every twist and turn and dead end in the book seem quite natural.
In addition to the investigation seeming quite credible, despite some highly sensational developments, his narrator, Karen Seagate also feels like a real, and highly flawed person. She is a fortyish divorcee alcoholic who gets blind drunk on more than one occasion in the book when things don’t go well. She also has explanations for her problems that blame seemingly everyone but herself, but readers will have the sneaking suspicion that her narrative is as flawed as Karen herself.
The only problems I had with the book are a couple of major incidents that seemed to fly in the face of logic. In the book’s first chapter, Karen winds up shooting a man in self-defense during a domestic dispute. While, in any police department I know of from Mayberry to Los Angeles, this would be a serious development leading to at the minimum, an internal investigation, here, it gets completely dismissed and forgotten by everyone including Karen within about two pages. Later, Karen’s drinking gets her into big trouble as well, and that incident is also pretty much swept under the rug. I realize that Big Sick Heart is a fairly short book, but it strains credibility just a bit too much to accept the author’s and his narrator’s version of these events.
Despite these credibility flaws, Big Sick Heart was able to catch and keep my attention far better than almost any mystery I’ve read recently. The author’s dialogue captures the audience, not by turning it into a comedy routine with snappy one-liners, but simply by having the characters tell stories in a way that readers want to hear. I kept reading, not really to find out the identity of the killer, but, rather to see where the author was going next. At the end of Big Sick Heart, the immediate case is solved, but Karen’s life clearly is a work that’s not even on progress to the right track. That progress, if there is any in subsequent books in the series, will be a path well worth following.
October 17, 2018
now i am hooked. This was such a great, easy and creative book. i was hooked after the first page.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
The characters were easy to fall in love with and follow, along with the story. the author made the mental visions so easy and vivid of the surroundings and the characters actions felt so real.
i would highly recommend this author and this book.
December 16, 2017
I read Book 2 in this series before reading this opening book, so I had already decided Mike Markel was a master of this genre. This book confirms it. What takes it beyond the usual, clever ‘are you as a reader astute enough to pick up the clues the writer has artfully woven into the proceedings as you move towards the eventual solving of a crime?’ is that the author is as interested in the struggle of his main character, Karen Seagate, to solve the problems that are messing up her life as he is in her solving the crime in question. The interplay of the two gives the book added depth. “More and more these days, I feel like I’m in some kind of a parallel universe that makes even less sense than the regular one.”
Karen’s marriage didn’t work out, as “apparently getting older wasn’t part of the deal.” She cares desperately about her unhappy son, Tommy, who is growing away from her since his father got custody. Drowning her sorrows in Jack Daniels has turned her into an alcoholic. She knows she’s a nuisance – to herself, to the people she deals with while solving the crime and to her Chief of Department. As Karen herself put it: “So few things in life are a hundred percent, but the chief is a total ***hole.” But then she does something unforgivably irresponsible and becomes life-threateningly toxic. I won’t tell you what. You have to read the book.
Her new partner, recently promoted from uniform, is a remarkably together, intelligent, decent young man who belongs to the Church of Latter Day Saints and is a black belt in Shotokan karate. Karen’s observation on this last fact exemplifies Mike Markel’s dry sense of humour: “I had no idea what flavor that was, but I knew the door and the frame were beyond repair.” Mr Markel can characterize a minor character in a choice detail: “Apparently, he was the kind of hotel manager who gets a call there’s been a death in his hotel and thinks, this outfit could really use a boutonnière.” He makes observations that call for real empathy: “It was more like she was incredibly weary, as if I was making her go someplace she didn’t want to go – because she went there all the time on her own.” He asks important questions: “And after you figure out who killed him, how do you forget about all the bad stories you heard along the way?”
I appreciated the way the author brought out the nitty gritty, one-step-at-a-time nature of a normal police investigation: the dogged pursuit of detail and the cross-checking of stories. He is meticulous in his inclusion of forensic detail, and convincingly knowledgeable about how police gather information not normally available to the rest of us. However, it is typical of Karen that she has scant regard for the rules that govern investigations, and if she sees a chance of rattling someone’s cage, she does it: “I was pretty sure this was the first time I’d lied to an archbishop. I lie to everyone; it’s what I do. I just don’t talk to a lot of archbishops.” That said, she’s brutally honest about her own problems, and not being anywhere near as good at solving them as she is solving murder mysteries: “I put the drink back on the end table. This was a first for me: shaking too much to drink. Better learn how to do it. One more life-skill to put on my to-do list, I thought, How am I doing? Sh***y, thanks, and you?”
There are so many more examples I could quote from this entertaining and engrossing series, but that should be enough to give you a flavour. I can’t think of a better way of getting through a 9/10-hour flight on a Thompson ‘Dreamliner’ between Manchester and Cancun!
Karen’s marriage didn’t work out, as “apparently getting older wasn’t part of the deal.” She cares desperately about her unhappy son, Tommy, who is growing away from her since his father got custody. Drowning her sorrows in Jack Daniels has turned her into an alcoholic. She knows she’s a nuisance – to herself, to the people she deals with while solving the crime and to her Chief of Department. As Karen herself put it: “So few things in life are a hundred percent, but the chief is a total ***hole.” But then she does something unforgivably irresponsible and becomes life-threateningly toxic. I won’t tell you what. You have to read the book.
Her new partner, recently promoted from uniform, is a remarkably together, intelligent, decent young man who belongs to the Church of Latter Day Saints and is a black belt in Shotokan karate. Karen’s observation on this last fact exemplifies Mike Markel’s dry sense of humour: “I had no idea what flavor that was, but I knew the door and the frame were beyond repair.” Mr Markel can characterize a minor character in a choice detail: “Apparently, he was the kind of hotel manager who gets a call there’s been a death in his hotel and thinks, this outfit could really use a boutonnière.” He makes observations that call for real empathy: “It was more like she was incredibly weary, as if I was making her go someplace she didn’t want to go – because she went there all the time on her own.” He asks important questions: “And after you figure out who killed him, how do you forget about all the bad stories you heard along the way?”
I appreciated the way the author brought out the nitty gritty, one-step-at-a-time nature of a normal police investigation: the dogged pursuit of detail and the cross-checking of stories. He is meticulous in his inclusion of forensic detail, and convincingly knowledgeable about how police gather information not normally available to the rest of us. However, it is typical of Karen that she has scant regard for the rules that govern investigations, and if she sees a chance of rattling someone’s cage, she does it: “I was pretty sure this was the first time I’d lied to an archbishop. I lie to everyone; it’s what I do. I just don’t talk to a lot of archbishops.” That said, she’s brutally honest about her own problems, and not being anywhere near as good at solving them as she is solving murder mysteries: “I put the drink back on the end table. This was a first for me: shaking too much to drink. Better learn how to do it. One more life-skill to put on my to-do list, I thought, How am I doing? Sh***y, thanks, and you?”
There are so many more examples I could quote from this entertaining and engrossing series, but that should be enough to give you a flavour. I can’t think of a better way of getting through a 9/10-hour flight on a Thompson ‘Dreamliner’ between Manchester and Cancun!
October 15, 2014
“Big Sick Heart” Review
Mike Markel
Karen Seagate is a police detective in Rawlings Montana, spiraling down from a divorce and the loss of her almost 15 year old son. She was assigned a new partner a short time ago, Ryan Miner, and the two were as different as night is to day. The main thing was Ryan is married, one child and another on the way, along with a very Christian belief in God. Their assignment was a routine security detail the chief wanted them to do; protect two men at the auditorium on campus, after a debate the University had sponsored regarding stem cell research. After the debate they spent some time at a local pub watching the two laugh and talk over a few beers together, and then afterwards delivering them to their hotel. The following day the report comes in that one of them has been found dead. Now they must find the murderer.
What did I like? This turned out to be a very complicated case with a varied group of suspects, a US Senator, a hooker, the wife, fellow debater, the founder of the Soul Savers and an Archbishop. I liked the method of their investigation and narrowing down of their search. I thought at first this was going to be quite religious but it wasn’t. I felt that it was included in a very natural way making it seem very much as part of real life is to us. I also really enjoyed the way that the author handled Karen’s problems. Divorce is very traumatic to start with but to add having your son removed to the father’s custody must have been devastating to her. The author showed how this lead to the very heavy drinking which of course lead to Karen’s real problem, her lack of faith in herself and God.
What did I dislike? In general nothing, the problems are real and that in its self is enough to dislike. I certainly don’t want to air my own feeling about that type of research, good or bad.
What will you like? Here is a book that touches on real life and brings it out in a very natural way. It is very detailed and you can tell that the author spent a lot of time researching the subject. His descriptions of the characters are so on spot that they feel very, very real. I personally have been through a divorce and I know how I felt but to have all these other problems and be a police detective on top of that is monumental. The story line is well developed and the search is well thought out. I obviously don’t want to give away the ending but I can say for sure that I never saw that coming. Truly, an ending that really fits the story. This is only book one and as far as I can tell at least 3 others have been released. I will be looking forward to the continuing story of Karen and Ryan as they have become my favorite characters and I know that they will be for you too. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Mike Markel
Karen Seagate is a police detective in Rawlings Montana, spiraling down from a divorce and the loss of her almost 15 year old son. She was assigned a new partner a short time ago, Ryan Miner, and the two were as different as night is to day. The main thing was Ryan is married, one child and another on the way, along with a very Christian belief in God. Their assignment was a routine security detail the chief wanted them to do; protect two men at the auditorium on campus, after a debate the University had sponsored regarding stem cell research. After the debate they spent some time at a local pub watching the two laugh and talk over a few beers together, and then afterwards delivering them to their hotel. The following day the report comes in that one of them has been found dead. Now they must find the murderer.
What did I like? This turned out to be a very complicated case with a varied group of suspects, a US Senator, a hooker, the wife, fellow debater, the founder of the Soul Savers and an Archbishop. I liked the method of their investigation and narrowing down of their search. I thought at first this was going to be quite religious but it wasn’t. I felt that it was included in a very natural way making it seem very much as part of real life is to us. I also really enjoyed the way that the author handled Karen’s problems. Divorce is very traumatic to start with but to add having your son removed to the father’s custody must have been devastating to her. The author showed how this lead to the very heavy drinking which of course lead to Karen’s real problem, her lack of faith in herself and God.
What did I dislike? In general nothing, the problems are real and that in its self is enough to dislike. I certainly don’t want to air my own feeling about that type of research, good or bad.
What will you like? Here is a book that touches on real life and brings it out in a very natural way. It is very detailed and you can tell that the author spent a lot of time researching the subject. His descriptions of the characters are so on spot that they feel very, very real. I personally have been through a divorce and I know how I felt but to have all these other problems and be a police detective on top of that is monumental. The story line is well developed and the search is well thought out. I obviously don’t want to give away the ending but I can say for sure that I never saw that coming. Truly, an ending that really fits the story. This is only book one and as far as I can tell at least 3 others have been released. I will be looking forward to the continuing story of Karen and Ryan as they have become my favorite characters and I know that they will be for you too. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 9, 2018
Karen Seagate is a hot mess.
An alcoholic, she has lost custody of her teenage son to her ex-husband and his girlfriend - who isn't much older than her son. She is bitter, cynical, and - because she's one of the few women on the Rawlings, Montana police force - she's learned to counter the inherent sexism and misogyny she encounters daily with sarcasm and even cruelty when it comes to the not-so-gentle art of conversational combat.
She's also a pretty good detective.
Taken all together, that makes her a fascinating character; one of the most intriguing I've encountered in awhile.
"Big Sick Heart" is the first in a series of mystery novels featuring Seagate and her erstwhile young partner Det. Ryan Miner. Theirs is an unlikely partnership: Where she is cynical, he is perpetually optimistic. She drinks too much, he doesn't drink at all. She's divorced, he's happily married. She is not religious, he is a devout Mormon. Despite their differences, and some bumps along the road, they make their partnership work as they try to discover who murdered a prominent evangelical campaigner against stem cell research.
Author Mike Markel has blended a couple of styles in his narrative. At times, his pages read like an old episode of "Dragnet." There are many no-nonsense, police procedural scenes, for example. Later, however, he switches into deeply introspective first-person narratives on life, love, loss, and grief. It's an interesting technique and I'm not quite sure that everyone can pull it off as well as Markel does, What I am sure of is that it makes this novel a real pleasure to read.
Markel also has a wry sense of humor, which is especially evident when he is writing about Seagate's interactions with some of the novel's secondary characters. He doesn't overdo it, but - instead - gives readers just enough levity to lighten the narrative in a novel about a brutal murder.
The plotting is intricate but, again, not overdone. There are some red herrings in the mix, which is always a good thing in a murder mystery, but they add flavor to the story without becoming so distracting that the reader gets lost. The ending is not entirely unexpected, but Markel tells it in a compelling way that makes it - in my opinion - special.
The verdict: A really excellent read for those that like offbeat stories set in offbeat locales featuring very intriguing characters.
An alcoholic, she has lost custody of her teenage son to her ex-husband and his girlfriend - who isn't much older than her son. She is bitter, cynical, and - because she's one of the few women on the Rawlings, Montana police force - she's learned to counter the inherent sexism and misogyny she encounters daily with sarcasm and even cruelty when it comes to the not-so-gentle art of conversational combat.
She's also a pretty good detective.
Taken all together, that makes her a fascinating character; one of the most intriguing I've encountered in awhile.
"Big Sick Heart" is the first in a series of mystery novels featuring Seagate and her erstwhile young partner Det. Ryan Miner. Theirs is an unlikely partnership: Where she is cynical, he is perpetually optimistic. She drinks too much, he doesn't drink at all. She's divorced, he's happily married. She is not religious, he is a devout Mormon. Despite their differences, and some bumps along the road, they make their partnership work as they try to discover who murdered a prominent evangelical campaigner against stem cell research.
Author Mike Markel has blended a couple of styles in his narrative. At times, his pages read like an old episode of "Dragnet." There are many no-nonsense, police procedural scenes, for example. Later, however, he switches into deeply introspective first-person narratives on life, love, loss, and grief. It's an interesting technique and I'm not quite sure that everyone can pull it off as well as Markel does, What I am sure of is that it makes this novel a real pleasure to read.
Markel also has a wry sense of humor, which is especially evident when he is writing about Seagate's interactions with some of the novel's secondary characters. He doesn't overdo it, but - instead - gives readers just enough levity to lighten the narrative in a novel about a brutal murder.
The plotting is intricate but, again, not overdone. There are some red herrings in the mix, which is always a good thing in a murder mystery, but they add flavor to the story without becoming so distracting that the reader gets lost. The ending is not entirely unexpected, but Markel tells it in a compelling way that makes it - in my opinion - special.
The verdict: A really excellent read for those that like offbeat stories set in offbeat locales featuring very intriguing characters.
January 9, 2015
Still working things out....
Karen Seagate is sitting in a AA meeting when one of the attendees comes up to her and gets up in her face. This guy that has come into the meeting in a suit steps in between and backs the girl down but as he turns to leave he tells Karen the he wants her to be in his office the next morning and be on time. Oh, and he is the new Chief of Police. Not sure why but she shows up and get the surprise of her life, he offers her her job back, on conditions, of course! And Karen and Ryan are partners again!
What did I like? There are two things that I really liked about this book and the series in general. The first being the characters, all of them, oh not the bad guys but all the rest of them. Karen Seagate is a wildcard, you never know what she's going to do next but in spite of that she is on her way to being an excellent cop. Her new boss could see that in her. The other thing I really like it's her character. Being a cop is a hard job without all the things that are going on in her life, the ex, the son, her drinking problem, her missing sister, her relationship with her mom and her job.
What are you going to like? Hopefully your reading this as book two and you have finished the first one, so you know the history. You will have noticed the research that has gone into this work but also the writing style, the descriptions, the very, very vivid details that make you become a part of the story. All of these put together and you have another amazing book. This book takes you to another level when it comes to action. I could not believe the twists and turns, some of them false turns leading one way but taking off in a completely different direction. Being an avid murder, mystery reader I know when I start a book that it with be (hopefully) very interesting, tie you in at page one and you will never see what happens on the last page coming. Really a mind boggler! Excellent, excellent read!
Karen Seagate is sitting in a AA meeting when one of the attendees comes up to her and gets up in her face. This guy that has come into the meeting in a suit steps in between and backs the girl down but as he turns to leave he tells Karen the he wants her to be in his office the next morning and be on time. Oh, and he is the new Chief of Police. Not sure why but she shows up and get the surprise of her life, he offers her her job back, on conditions, of course! And Karen and Ryan are partners again!
What did I like? There are two things that I really liked about this book and the series in general. The first being the characters, all of them, oh not the bad guys but all the rest of them. Karen Seagate is a wildcard, you never know what she's going to do next but in spite of that she is on her way to being an excellent cop. Her new boss could see that in her. The other thing I really like it's her character. Being a cop is a hard job without all the things that are going on in her life, the ex, the son, her drinking problem, her missing sister, her relationship with her mom and her job.
What are you going to like? Hopefully your reading this as book two and you have finished the first one, so you know the history. You will have noticed the research that has gone into this work but also the writing style, the descriptions, the very, very vivid details that make you become a part of the story. All of these put together and you have another amazing book. This book takes you to another level when it comes to action. I could not believe the twists and turns, some of them false turns leading one way but taking off in a completely different direction. Being an avid murder, mystery reader I know when I start a book that it with be (hopefully) very interesting, tie you in at page one and you will never see what happens on the last page coming. Really a mind boggler! Excellent, excellent read!
October 9, 2014
Great Story ... Well Written
Mr. Markel's first book in the Detective Seagate and Miner series sets the tone for the following books. The plot is strong, the story is well written, with a fast paced style that makes you want to turn page after page. Since the author is a renowned writing professor, it is hard to criticize his work on a technical level, but I find only one flaw among the many things that have been done so well. I read the fourth book in this series first and had many unanswered questions about the development of the characters. After reading a second novel, I have almost as many questions. I would really like to know more about the characters, their lives, their lives, their background. There is no more than a handful of sentences that really tell us about who these people are and why I should care about them, because I do care. Since I did learn a little more about the people, it highlights even more what little I learned in the book I read first. Having said that, I do want to say that the author does something few authors can achieve, he has written a series where the individual books are developed enough to stand on their own, even when read out of sequence. This is something that even most best selling authors rarely accomplish.
If you want a well-written, fast paced murder mystery you can find it in Mike Markel's detective series. The stories are as driven as the two detectives, one on the slide down and the other on the way up in a small Montana town. I started to call them three S and M mysteries, for the title characters, Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner, but that would give you the wrong impression of what the stories are about. Again, accolades to the author for a job well done, as well as one done well.
Mr. Markel's first book in the Detective Seagate and Miner series sets the tone for the following books. The plot is strong, the story is well written, with a fast paced style that makes you want to turn page after page. Since the author is a renowned writing professor, it is hard to criticize his work on a technical level, but I find only one flaw among the many things that have been done so well. I read the fourth book in this series first and had many unanswered questions about the development of the characters. After reading a second novel, I have almost as many questions. I would really like to know more about the characters, their lives, their lives, their background. There is no more than a handful of sentences that really tell us about who these people are and why I should care about them, because I do care. Since I did learn a little more about the people, it highlights even more what little I learned in the book I read first. Having said that, I do want to say that the author does something few authors can achieve, he has written a series where the individual books are developed enough to stand on their own, even when read out of sequence. This is something that even most best selling authors rarely accomplish.
If you want a well-written, fast paced murder mystery you can find it in Mike Markel's detective series. The stories are as driven as the two detectives, one on the slide down and the other on the way up in a small Montana town. I started to call them three S and M mysteries, for the title characters, Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner, but that would give you the wrong impression of what the stories are about. Again, accolades to the author for a job well done, as well as one done well.
June 8, 2014
I read the first book in this series (Big Sick Heart: A Detectives Seagate and Miner Mystery) a year ago, and I was afraid I wouldn't remember enough to enjoy the second as it was intended. I was wrong; within the first five minutes, I was completely caught up with everything I needed to know, and full engulfed in Karen Seagate's second adventure.
I say Karen Seagate because her partner, Miner, plays only a cameo role in this one. Similar to the first one, it has more to do with our heroine's personal struggles than the mystery itself, which serves as a backdrop.
Seagate is as enigmatic as always. She's an alcoholic, for example, but she hates smokers. I've never heard of an alcoholic who hates smokers. Maybe it's an American thing, with all their particular hatred for tobacco these days, but I suspect it's deliberate on the part of Mike Markel. Seagate is also tough-as-nails, but she expresses a deeply human and emotional side throughout the story, like most addicts, I guess.
I don't want to downplay the actual mystery. It's full of suspense and intrigue, and has an ending that I truly didn't see coming, but it does a great job of forcing Karen Seagate to move forward in her life, and moves us forward in our understanding of who and what she is.
The story is a masterpiece, and I'm adding the next one to my to-read shelf as we speak!
I say Karen Seagate because her partner, Miner, plays only a cameo role in this one. Similar to the first one, it has more to do with our heroine's personal struggles than the mystery itself, which serves as a backdrop.
Seagate is as enigmatic as always. She's an alcoholic, for example, but she hates smokers. I've never heard of an alcoholic who hates smokers. Maybe it's an American thing, with all their particular hatred for tobacco these days, but I suspect it's deliberate on the part of Mike Markel. Seagate is also tough-as-nails, but she expresses a deeply human and emotional side throughout the story, like most addicts, I guess.
I don't want to downplay the actual mystery. It's full of suspense and intrigue, and has an ending that I truly didn't see coming, but it does a great job of forcing Karen Seagate to move forward in her life, and moves us forward in our understanding of who and what she is.
The story is a masterpiece, and I'm adding the next one to my to-read shelf as we speak!
December 30, 2014
Mike Markel's Big Sick Heart is the first in his series featuring detectives Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner. It is one of the best written and compelling detective novels I've had the pleasure to read.
Like most detective yarns, this one centers around a mysterious murder. Seagate and Miner are assigned to solve it. But that's just the framework within which the real story unfolds, Senior Detective Seagate's struggles with the inner demons ripping her apart.
This is unquestionably the best character reveal I've come across in some time. Markel does not throw Seagate at us all at once. We get to watch her crumble bit by bit like a week old oatmeal cookie. It is not a pretty sight. But instead of disliking Seagate, we root for her to get her life together. Even after she does something that most would deem unforgivable.
The character of her partner, Ryan Miner, is equally well developed. He is young and idealistic but has inner strength that Seagate comes to rely on as the murder they are investigating turns darker and darker.
There is a scene about midway through the story when Seagate has a complete meltdown, aiming her fury at Miner. It is so well written, the dialogue so raw and acidic, that I wanted to yell at her, “Stop! Stop!” Not often that words on a piece of paper evoke that kind of response from me.
Mike Markel is a master storyteller. If you've been waiting for a book that's a punch in the gut, this is it. Can't recommend too highly.
Like most detective yarns, this one centers around a mysterious murder. Seagate and Miner are assigned to solve it. But that's just the framework within which the real story unfolds, Senior Detective Seagate's struggles with the inner demons ripping her apart.
This is unquestionably the best character reveal I've come across in some time. Markel does not throw Seagate at us all at once. We get to watch her crumble bit by bit like a week old oatmeal cookie. It is not a pretty sight. But instead of disliking Seagate, we root for her to get her life together. Even after she does something that most would deem unforgivable.
The character of her partner, Ryan Miner, is equally well developed. He is young and idealistic but has inner strength that Seagate comes to rely on as the murder they are investigating turns darker and darker.
There is a scene about midway through the story when Seagate has a complete meltdown, aiming her fury at Miner. It is so well written, the dialogue so raw and acidic, that I wanted to yell at her, “Stop! Stop!” Not often that words on a piece of paper evoke that kind of response from me.
Mike Markel is a master storyteller. If you've been waiting for a book that's a punch in the gut, this is it. Can't recommend too highly.
November 13, 2013
"Big Sick Heart" is a good old fashioned whodunnit, and I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed it! The plot was entirely believable, and the end was surprising. I still don't understand the motive one hundred percent, but that's probably because of a minor detail I missed somewhere. The investigation played out really well.
Underlying a murder of a man who's openly against stem cell research, there's a story of the relationship between two cops. One, the main character (who also narrates the story) is a washed up old detective, a single mother with a child living with her ex-husband. She drinks herself to sleep every night, and doesn't see anything worth living for anymore. The other, a young whippersnapper and her partner, is full of idealism. He has a family and a God in whom he has faith that everything will turn out all right.
That being said, he's not your stereotypical goodie-two-shoes Christian. He knows how to lie to get what he needs, and he can throw the profanities out with the best of them. Very refreshing!
I really enjoyed the dynamic between these two, and watching them both grow and learn from each other as the story progressed. I'll be looking out for the next installment in this series!
Underlying a murder of a man who's openly against stem cell research, there's a story of the relationship between two cops. One, the main character (who also narrates the story) is a washed up old detective, a single mother with a child living with her ex-husband. She drinks herself to sleep every night, and doesn't see anything worth living for anymore. The other, a young whippersnapper and her partner, is full of idealism. He has a family and a God in whom he has faith that everything will turn out all right.
That being said, he's not your stereotypical goodie-two-shoes Christian. He knows how to lie to get what he needs, and he can throw the profanities out with the best of them. Very refreshing!
I really enjoyed the dynamic between these two, and watching them both grow and learn from each other as the story progressed. I'll be looking out for the next installment in this series!
October 20, 2014
Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner, detectives in Rawlings, Montana, are assigned a security detail to protect the adversaries in a stem-cell debate at Central Montana State College from being assaulted or killed during the debate. Early the next morning Karen receives a call to go to the hotel where one of the debaters has been killed. As she and her partner search for the killer, they learn many unsavory things about the victim and those around him.
The story started slow but once the murder investigation begins it picked up. I tried to figure out who was guilty but I never figured it out. I liked the twists in the investigation. I also liked that Ryan has learned a few things from Karen that I did not expect to see coming from him. I enjoyed the banter between Karen and some of her colleagues (Dr. Breen, Robin, and Ryan.) It is a dry humor but fun to figure out what they are saying. I did not like the chief nor his receptionist. What a jerk of an ex-husband!
The soul searching Karen had to do after the accident was interesting and seemed to be long overdue for her. This is a good set-up for the series where I learned who the characters were, what their personalities are, and who are the good guys and the bad guys. I am looking forward to more in the series.
The story started slow but once the murder investigation begins it picked up. I tried to figure out who was guilty but I never figured it out. I liked the twists in the investigation. I also liked that Ryan has learned a few things from Karen that I did not expect to see coming from him. I enjoyed the banter between Karen and some of her colleagues (Dr. Breen, Robin, and Ryan.) It is a dry humor but fun to figure out what they are saying. I did not like the chief nor his receptionist. What a jerk of an ex-husband!
The soul searching Karen had to do after the accident was interesting and seemed to be long overdue for her. This is a good set-up for the series where I learned who the characters were, what their personalities are, and who are the good guys and the bad guys. I am looking forward to more in the series.
April 17, 2015
The story starts out with promise. I don't recall the mystery, a couple of weeks after I began reading (and finished), but I recall the characters. The big gentleman partner, the petite female cop with issues. I was about halfway through the book when the author broke the main character for me, in a way I could not forgive. I know there are bad cops, careless cops, but I also know there are far more who are people, with enough intelligence to not get behind the wheel blind sodding drunk and then t-bone a mini van full of kids. Which is what this character does.
I put the book down. Reluctantly, a day or two later, hoping that since the story up to this point had been quality, I picked it up again. The cop who has just possibly killed a child in a drunk-driving accident talks the rookie first responder into letting her leave the scene, since she's the only one who can possibly solve this murder... I put the book down again, and I won't pick up any others by this author. There are some things that are unforgivable, and I just found one of them for me.
I put the book down. Reluctantly, a day or two later, hoping that since the story up to this point had been quality, I picked it up again. The cop who has just possibly killed a child in a drunk-driving accident talks the rookie first responder into letting her leave the scene, since she's the only one who can possibly solve this murder... I put the book down again, and I won't pick up any others by this author. There are some things that are unforgivable, and I just found one of them for me.
June 9, 2015
I love stories like this. The main character is a normal person, who is dealing with real problems. Detective Karen has hit an all time low. She is at her lowest and is fighting to figure out whether it's worth the fight to climb back out of that pit or just let it consume her. She has and does make some really bad decisions. You are right there with her, listening to her talk to herself about her choices and her decisions - at times sad, at times witty. She is definitely someone you will connect with, feel for and hope that she will start moving forward. Besides the well crafted characters, I really enjoyed the crime story and her role in trying to solve it. Not only is this about a woman who is living her personal life on the edge but her professional life as well. At times gritty and raw.
This story leads well into another story. This is the first book I've read by this author but I will definitely be reading more. Enjoyed it. 4.5/5
This story leads well into another story. This is the first book I've read by this author but I will definitely be reading more. Enjoyed it. 4.5/5
July 19, 2015
After reading Big Sick Heart by Mike Markel, I knew I had to find out what happened next. So I read this story and I was not disappointed.
This is a mixture of mystery and police procedural.
Seagate is on her own facing the life she created from her bad habits. When she reaches rock bottom see seeks help. It is then she is approached by the new Chief of Police and they come to an agreement. She is not to deviate from police protocol while on probation. Unfortunately she feels she has to go 'off reservation' to get to the bottom of the case she and Miner are assigned. Will she survive to take the punitive action she know will come?
I really like how Mr. Markel shows Detective Seagate's battle with her inner demons to discover why she puts her health and happiness at risk.
Warning: This book is for Mature Audiences due to Violent Sexual Situations, Adult Language, and general Violence.
This is a mixture of mystery and police procedural.
Seagate is on her own facing the life she created from her bad habits. When she reaches rock bottom see seeks help. It is then she is approached by the new Chief of Police and they come to an agreement. She is not to deviate from police protocol while on probation. Unfortunately she feels she has to go 'off reservation' to get to the bottom of the case she and Miner are assigned. Will she survive to take the punitive action she know will come?
I really like how Mr. Markel shows Detective Seagate's battle with her inner demons to discover why she puts her health and happiness at risk.
Warning: This book is for Mature Audiences due to Violent Sexual Situations, Adult Language, and general Violence.
April 14, 2021
This book has it all. The heart in the title belongs to Karen Seagate, Detective of the Rawlings Police Department. She is divorced, an alcoholic who drinks at night but never on the job, a mother who lost custody of her 14 year old son, and frequents bars, but still solves cases. Karen’s new partner, Ryan, is 14 years younger, a Mormon who doesn’t drink, happily married, and wants to help her. Together they work to solve the murder of a man who supports stem cell research and sleeps with his assistant, Connie. He is despicable in almost all ways. There are so many suspects that it is hard to sort out who could plausibly have committed the murder. The writing is easy to fall into and the story while gritty and hard to take sometimes, is wonderful. You can almost feel Karen’s self esteem falling as the book progresses. Her boss wants her gone yet she continues to deliver solutions. This is a great first book in the series.
March 16, 2015
This is the 1st book in the Dectectives Seagrave and Miner series. Karen Seagrave is a drunk. Her ex-husband has custody of their 14 year old son. She is holding on to her job in the Rawlings, Montana, Police Department, by her fingernails. But she has recently been assigned a new partner, Ryan Miner, who respects her investigative skills even while the Chief hates her and is looking for any reason to fire her.
There is a murder, they investigate, and eventually solve the crime. I like the detectives, their contrasting styles, her weaknesses, his squeaky clean family life, but how they can still work together and care for each other. I look forward to continuing the series. The only reason I gave it a 4 star review was because the ending was too contrived and, though satisfying, quite unbelievable.
There is a murder, they investigate, and eventually solve the crime. I like the detectives, their contrasting styles, her weaknesses, his squeaky clean family life, but how they can still work together and care for each other. I look forward to continuing the series. The only reason I gave it a 4 star review was because the ending was too contrived and, though satisfying, quite unbelievable.
July 19, 2015
I discovered this book on one of the free and reduced price sites that I subscribe to and ran across it on my eReader.
This book is a combination of a mystery and a police procedural. It is also book one of a series.
Detective Seagate gets a new partner Rookie Detective Miner. They were assigned to prevent problems during a speech. They take the people to their motel. Hours later they are back when one of the people they protected was found dead in his motel room. As the investigation unfolds they discover untold truths.
It is interesting to me that the partners are almost polar opposites. Seagate has many personal issues including bad drinking and eating habits. Miner eats and drinks healthy and believes in the goodness of his partner, even when she is unable to see it.
Warning: This book is for Mature Adults due to Adult Language, Sexual Situations, and Violence.
This book is a combination of a mystery and a police procedural. It is also book one of a series.
Detective Seagate gets a new partner Rookie Detective Miner. They were assigned to prevent problems during a speech. They take the people to their motel. Hours later they are back when one of the people they protected was found dead in his motel room. As the investigation unfolds they discover untold truths.
It is interesting to me that the partners are almost polar opposites. Seagate has many personal issues including bad drinking and eating habits. Miner eats and drinks healthy and believes in the goodness of his partner, even when she is unable to see it.
Warning: This book is for Mature Adults due to Adult Language, Sexual Situations, and Violence.
November 30, 2013
This is the second book by Mike Markel I have read and again he did not dissapoint! I really enjoy his ability to make a mystery into something so much more. Usually one just expect a mystery to just focus on the who, what and why a certain act was perpetrated, this author however delves deeper. There are so many facets that make up this story, from the personal journey of detective Seagate, struggling with her own demons to the religious detective Miner and how he handles his partner. This story made me realise that it is important to have empathy with other people, as we do not always understand in the beginning why they act the way they do!
A well thought out story that I will happily recommend to anyone!
A well thought out story that I will happily recommend to anyone!
December 17, 2015
This is the first book in the Seagate and Miner mystery series. In the book we get to meet the Detectives, Karen Seagate and Ryan Miner. Seagate is not only a Detective but she is now in the process of her life falling apart around her, by her own fault. She is an alcoholic, divorced, and in the process of loosing her son. Miner is married, Mormon , and a father. They are now partners and while all this is going on the get sent on a security job protecting two gentlemen after they leave them at there hotel one of the gentlemen are murdered. Now the Detectives have to follow the clues to find the murderer. This is a great fast read....one that leads you on twist and turns. Now on to the next one in the series.
December 31, 2015
This is the second book in the Seagate and Miner series. In this one Seagate has been fired as a police detective and her life continues to spiral out of control. She is drinking and sleeping around now more then ever. In this one there is a new chief of police who Seagate runs into at an AA meeting, after the meeting he asks Seagate to please meet him in his office the next day. When she gets there she is told she can have her job back on a few conditions. She agrees to try and within a few hours she is on a murder case. A senator is rape and murder and she has to follow the clues and find the killer. Another quick interesting read. Now on to book 3 in the series. I hope Mr. Markel keeps them coming.
August 8, 2013
The main character is from a particular stock of cop, the self-destructive kind. Having the character be female adds a wrinkle, and the setting (small-town Montana) adds another, but the main thing is that the author pulls it off. It's hard to come up with anything in this genre that hasn't been done before, so it's really all about the prose, the execution. As someone else said, the mystery isn't all that mysterious; we're more interested to see how this train wreck will play out and whether the MC will find some way to repair herself. I won't give anything away there.
I'd recommend the book. It certainly can hold its own against any number of other, better known mystery novels.
I'd recommend the book. It certainly can hold its own against any number of other, better known mystery novels.
April 23, 2018
Karen Seagate is a Detective in Rawlings Montana she is recently divorced and suffering the loss of her almost fifteen year old son. She was recently assigned a new partner Ryan Miner he is married with one child and another on the way, Their assignment is a routine security detail to protect two men at the auditorium on campus, after a debate the University had sponsored on stem cell research. After the debate they went to a local pub with them and after a few beers and laughs took then back to their Hotel. The next day a report comes in that one of them is dead. And it is up to them to find the murderer!
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