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Sean Stranahan #3
Dead Man's Fancy
The third novel starring Montana's fly fisherman-cum-detective Sean Stranahan, for fans of C. J. Box and Craig JohnsonWolves howl as a riderless horse returns at sunset to the Culpepper Dude Ranch in the Madison Valley. The missing woman, Nanika Martinelli, is better known as the Fly Fishing Venus, a red-haired river guide who lures clients the way dry flies draw trout.As Sheriff Martha Ettinger follows hoof tracks in the snow, she finds one of the men who has fallen under the temptress’s spell impaled on the antler tine of a giant bull elk, a kill that’s been claimed by a wolf pack. An accident? If not, is the killer human or animal? With painter, fly fisherman, and sometimes private detective Sean Stranahan’s help, Ettinger will follow clues that point to an animal rights group called the Clan of the Three-Clawed Wolf and to their svengali master, whose eyes blaze with pagan fire.In their most dangerous adventure yet, Stranahan and Ettinger find themselves in the crossfire of wolf lovers, wolf haters, and a sister bent on revenge, and on the trail of an alpha male gone terribly wrong.
338 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 2, 2014
242 people are currently reading
950 people want to read
About the author
Keith McCafferty
25 books380 followersKeith McCafferty is the Survival and Outdoor Skills Editor of Field & Stream. He has written articles for publications as diverse as Fly Fisherman Magazine, Mother Earth News, Grays Sporting Journal and the Chicago Tribune, and on subjects ranging from mosquitoes to wolves to mercenaries and exorcism. Based in Montana and working on assignment around the globe he recently spent a month in India trekking the Himalayas, fishing for golden mahseer and studying tigers. Keith has won numerous awards, including the Robert Traver Award for angling literature. He has twice been a finalist for a National Magazine Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
October 13, 2025
In this third book in the 'Sean Stranahan' series, the painter/private detective helps search for a missing woman. The book works fine as a standalone, though familiarity with the characters is a bonus.
****
Sean Stranahan - an artist and private investigator - moved from the East Coast to Bridger, Montana for a change of scenery and the excellent fly fishing.
Sean had been living in his office/studio, but he and his sheltie Choti now reside in a large teepee. Sean's 'mailbox' is a rock, his 'bathroom' is out in the woods, and he follows Native American customs when guests visit.
Sean's living situation seems rather eccentric to Sheriff Martha Ettinger, who sometimes hires Sean to work with her team.
Martha's crew includes Deputy Sheriff Walt Hess, who was once a Chicago police detective;
and Native American tracker Harold Little Feather, who can follow footprints and animal tracks that are almost invisible.
As the story opens, Ettinger's squad, on horseback, are searching Papoose Mountain for a missing woman called Nanita Martinelli (Nicki). Nicki is a 25-year-old naturalist and fly-fishing guide who works on the Culpepper Dude Ranch. Nicki had tagged along on a trail ride, then peeled off to take the long way back.
When Nicki's horse returned to the paddock without her, the call went out about a missing woman. Ettinger's team answered the call, along with Sheriff's Sergeant Warren Jarrett, Culpepper Ranch's manager Bucky Anderson, and Grady Cole - a wrangler smitten with Nicki.
In fact, many men are enamored with Nicki, a gorgeous redhead who's known as the 'Fly-Fishing Venus.'
zAs the search continues into the night, Martha and Walt camp out and light a fire. In the morning, Martha is making her way up a rise when she hears wolves howling.....and comes across a shocking sight. The body of wrangler Grady Cole is lying on top of an elk carcass, with an elk antler grotesquely protruding from his abdomen.
It turns out Grady was murdered, which adds to the mystery of Nicki's disappearance, and divides the work of Ettinger's deputies.
As the search for Nicki drags on, Ettinger phones Sean Stranahan - who's on a fishing trip - and asks him to return and help.
Nicki's continued absence suggests foul play, so Sean is dispatched to Nicki's home town of Libby, Montana, to see what he can find out. In Libby, Sean learns about a tragic occurrence in Nicki's family, and is told a young man had been around looking for her.
After Stranahan returns to Bridger, Nicki's sister Asena - also a beautiful outdoorsy redhead - arrives from her home in British Columbia.
Asena suspects Nicki's old boyfriend - who calls himself Fen, and has an odd affinity for wolves - may be responsible for Nicki's disappearance. So Asena hires Stranahan to look for Fen. During Sean's search, he learns that Fen (whose real name is Todd) has been to prison for sexual crimes, and exerts Svengali-like control over young women he takes up with.
When a wolf scat containing a red hair is found, word spreads that a wolf ate Nicki. This causes a HUGE ruckus between people who want to kill wolves and environmentalists who want to protect them.
[Note: Wolves are a controversial issue in Montana. After wolves were wiped out in the region, they were re-introduced in 1995. Ranchers hate wolves for (allegedly) attacking their cattle, and ecologists believe wolves are natural to the environment.]
A large part of the book has Ettinger's team, including Sean, chasing after Fen, who's been seen around the area. The pursuit of Fen, and twists in the plot, lead to an exciting, action-packed climax.
In the characters' personal lives, Martha Ettinger and Harold Little Feather are in a relationship....until they aren't;
and Sean - whose last girlfriend has moved on - seems to ignite romantic sparks with Asena, Martha Ettinger, and a tracker called Katie Sparrow. I'll be curious to see where Sean's romantic life goes from here.
The book is engaging, but the plot is too complicated and confusing. With respect to murders (or attempted homicides), there's Nicki's disappearance; the wrangler's death; and a young woman who was badly burned in a local hot pot (thermal pool). There's also too much chatter about wolves. Admittedly, this is an important real-life issue, but it's over-emphasized in the novel.
I enjoyed visiting with compelling recurring characters, but I wish Sean's best friend, the fishing guide Sam Meslik, would tone down his colorful language about women. Sam's observations are adolescent at best, and offensive at worst.
This isn't the best book in the series (so far) but it's worth reading if you're a fan of Sean Stranahan novels.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot.com
July 2, 2017
I turned to the Sean Stranahan series when I ran out of Longmire books to read. I love reading modern western books and Sheriff Martha Ettinger has, together with Sean Sean Stranahan, become favorite characters of mine.
In this book is Martha Ettinger trying to find a woman that has gone missing. Nanika Martinelli, the missing woman's horse showed up without any rider and Martha follows the tracks in the snow, but instead of finding the woman does she stumble over a dead man impaled on the antler tine of a bull elk. And elk that seems to have been killed by wolves. Is this an accident or is it murder? Sean Stranahan, on the other hand, is contacted by the sister of Nanika Martinelli, to find Nanika. Could both cases, the missing woman, and the dead man, have some connections? But why would anyone want to kill the man and where is Nanika?
Dead Man's Fancy is a good book, not a favorite book of mine in this series, but I liked reading it. Sean and Martha have a lot of chemistry (right from the first book was that noticeable) and since I have read the book after this was I looking forward to reading about them taking their relationship to the next step.
However, this is not a romance novel, so it's not a dominant storyline. The murder case and the missing woman case are interesting. I did suspect the ending of the missing woman case. There were hints throughout the book that made me suspect things that were revealed at the end. Still, I found the ending good.
The pacing of the book was now and then a bit slow, too slow for my liking. Hence, the rating. However, I do recommend this series, and the next book in the series, Crazy Mountain is fabulous.
In this book is Martha Ettinger trying to find a woman that has gone missing. Nanika Martinelli, the missing woman's horse showed up without any rider and Martha follows the tracks in the snow, but instead of finding the woman does she stumble over a dead man impaled on the antler tine of a bull elk. And elk that seems to have been killed by wolves. Is this an accident or is it murder? Sean Stranahan, on the other hand, is contacted by the sister of Nanika Martinelli, to find Nanika. Could both cases, the missing woman, and the dead man, have some connections? But why would anyone want to kill the man and where is Nanika?
Dead Man's Fancy is a good book, not a favorite book of mine in this series, but I liked reading it. Sean and Martha have a lot of chemistry (right from the first book was that noticeable) and since I have read the book after this was I looking forward to reading about them taking their relationship to the next step.
However, this is not a romance novel, so it's not a dominant storyline. The murder case and the missing woman case are interesting. I did suspect the ending of the missing woman case. There were hints throughout the book that made me suspect things that were revealed at the end. Still, I found the ending good.
The pacing of the book was now and then a bit slow, too slow for my liking. Hence, the rating. However, I do recommend this series, and the next book in the series, Crazy Mountain is fabulous.
July 16, 2017
So these aren't the best mysteries I've ever read. I've figured out the reveals for each of the three books I've read and I'm someone who never even tries to figure things out before the protagonists. But the writing is comfortable and easy to digest so it's a nice break in between more demanding books. That said, I'm to the point that I can't take Sean's (male lead) romantic life seriously anymore. He apparently never meets a woman who doesn't want to take him to bed and they usually make this known by hugging or kissing him within minutes of meeting him. Of course these are usually emotionally unstable women (and in two cases probably mentally unstable women) but that seems to be Sean's type. It's been three beautiful women in three books and I'm wondering how much of this is wish fulfillment on the part of the author. This book sees the possibility of a relationship with Sheriff Martha blossom. Unfortunately, this doesn't really work for me because the author has had Sean spend three books waxing poetical about the aforementioned emotionally unstable women while seeming to only register Martha as a friend. It's not even clear that he sees her as a woman. If the author wants me to buy into a possible relationship between Sean and Martha, or to even believe that Sean actively thinks about this, then he needs to devote more than a sentence or two per book on the matter. So to recap, more depth to the central relationship, whether it remains platonic or becomes something more, and less telegraphing of the who-done-it would help to raise my ratings of these books.
January 13, 2014
Kevin McCafferty’s Dead Man’s Fancy is part of McCafferty’s Sean Stranahan mystery series. Each is named after a fishing fly and Dead Man’s Fancy is no exception. I had not heard of this series until I received it as part of Goodread’s First Reads program. So many books, so little time—and not to mention how to find interesting titles.
I enjoyed Dead Man’s Fancy. This book quite literally hits home. The novel (and series to the best of my knowledge) takes place in or near West Yellowstone, Montana. Stranahan is a fly fisherman who makes a living with his artwork. He is also a private detective and close friend to Martha Ettinger, the county sheriff.
In this mystery, a woman goes on a trail ride, but does not return. She is a naturalist and fishing guide. A ranch hand searches for her and somehow ends up impaled on the antlers of a wolf-killed elk. He is found by others searchers, but the woman is not. Ettinger calls in Stranahan for help.
The mystery part proceeds from there. It also discusses the controversy surrounding the re-introduction of wolves to Western states.
They story is enjoyable and moves along nicely, but I mentioned how the book hits home to me. I grew up in Idaho. I spent many days in West Yellowstone. I have traveled most of the places listed in the book such as Targhee Pass, Henry’s Lake, the Palisades, and others. My mother was an ardent angler who fished with flies (and worms, grubs, and anything else). I spent many mornings with her in the West’s cold, shallow rivers with rapidly flowing waters. I really haven’t fished since then, but that’s besides the point.
So, of course, Dead Man’s Fancy was an exercise in nostalgia for me. I found myself wanting to return to Idaho and Montana and maybe borrow my Mom’s fishing gear from family who still lives there. I’ve already added the first two books of the series to my Amazon wish list.
I enjoyed Dead Man’s Fancy. This book quite literally hits home. The novel (and series to the best of my knowledge) takes place in or near West Yellowstone, Montana. Stranahan is a fly fisherman who makes a living with his artwork. He is also a private detective and close friend to Martha Ettinger, the county sheriff.
In this mystery, a woman goes on a trail ride, but does not return. She is a naturalist and fishing guide. A ranch hand searches for her and somehow ends up impaled on the antlers of a wolf-killed elk. He is found by others searchers, but the woman is not. Ettinger calls in Stranahan for help.
The mystery part proceeds from there. It also discusses the controversy surrounding the re-introduction of wolves to Western states.
They story is enjoyable and moves along nicely, but I mentioned how the book hits home to me. I grew up in Idaho. I spent many days in West Yellowstone. I have traveled most of the places listed in the book such as Targhee Pass, Henry’s Lake, the Palisades, and others. My mother was an ardent angler who fished with flies (and worms, grubs, and anything else). I spent many mornings with her in the West’s cold, shallow rivers with rapidly flowing waters. I really haven’t fished since then, but that’s besides the point.
So, of course, Dead Man’s Fancy was an exercise in nostalgia for me. I found myself wanting to return to Idaho and Montana and maybe borrow my Mom’s fishing gear from family who still lives there. I’ve already added the first two books of the series to my Amazon wish list.
January 3, 2021
A fishing guide is missing. She went out on a trail ride from the dude ranch where she was working and separated from the group. Her horse came back alone. One of the searchers died impaled on the horn of a bull elk. Sheriff Martha Ettinger and occasional deputy Sean Stranahan search for Nikki and clues to what happened to the would-be rescuer.
The complex plot includes multiple murders/attacks, family dynamics, a charismatic and sinister wolf worshiper, and the tensions between wolves reintroduced into the region and ranchers. The strong sense of place highlights the conflicts among the various groups and the complexity of Nicki’s family history. The characters are unique and likeable. The only one who doesn’t ring true to me is Sheriff Martha Ettinger. Recommended.
Readalikes:
Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series; Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire novels; C.J. Box’s Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett series; Willliam Kent Krueger’s Cork O'Connor mysteries; Victoria Houston’s Loon Lake fishing mysteries; Anne Hillerman – Spider Woman’s Daughter; Randy Wayne White – Gone; Linda Castillo’s Sheriff Kate Burkholder mysteries.
Pace: Moderately paced
Characters: Complex; flawed
Storyline: Character-driven
Writing style: Richly detailed
Tone: Strong sense of place; Suspenseful
Frame: Montana, Madison River Valley; contemporary
Theme: Rural police
The complex plot includes multiple murders/attacks, family dynamics, a charismatic and sinister wolf worshiper, and the tensions between wolves reintroduced into the region and ranchers. The strong sense of place highlights the conflicts among the various groups and the complexity of Nicki’s family history. The characters are unique and likeable. The only one who doesn’t ring true to me is Sheriff Martha Ettinger. Recommended.
Readalikes:
Nevada Barr’s Anna Pigeon series; Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire novels; C.J. Box’s Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett series; Willliam Kent Krueger’s Cork O'Connor mysteries; Victoria Houston’s Loon Lake fishing mysteries; Anne Hillerman – Spider Woman’s Daughter; Randy Wayne White – Gone; Linda Castillo’s Sheriff Kate Burkholder mysteries.
Pace: Moderately paced
Characters: Complex; flawed
Storyline: Character-driven
Writing style: Richly detailed
Tone: Strong sense of place; Suspenseful
Frame: Montana, Madison River Valley; contemporary
Theme: Rural police
August 22, 2014
I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads. First, let me say that I have not finished this book. If I do finish it, I will update this review. As it stands today, I'm not sure if I will. I'm not really sure if I get what is going on in this story, but I do know a whole lot about the horses that are being ridden by the characters. I don't know much about horses and have never been into horses so a lot of the wording just left me a little irritated. I got as far as I did by sheer force of will. I try to read the books I receive completely before I post a review. After getting through only six chapters, I am so flustered with this story that I just had to put it down. I'm not sure if it's just the horses or if it is something else, but it seems as though there is too much detail in some areas and not enough in others. Many authors on this site ask for honest reviews, well, here you go. I'm not sure who the target audience is here but I don't fit the demographic, obviously. If the intention was to market this book to the general public then it is a failure in my opinion. Maybe horse lovers and survivalists will enjoy this book, but the average joe...not so much.
November 23, 2018
This is the third book in the Sean Stranahan series of seven mysteries. I am reading them in order to keep the continuity and the development and history of the characters. In book one, I was intrigued and attracted to the book by the cover illustration of the Royal Wulff fly, myself being an avid 30-year fly fisherman and fly tier. I thoroughly enjoyed The Royal Wulff Murders, the development of the characters and the author's skill in revealing the plot. McCafferty is obviously a quite knowledgeable outdoorsman and flyfisherman, as well as a skilled writer.
Having myself fished the Madison River, as well as several of the surrounding rivers, McCafferty has done an outstanding job of incorporating the setting as an integral character. I am usually not a mystery reader, leaning more towards westerns and history and, other than The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I have never followed a character through successive novels. Now, after book three, I've found myself enjoying the flushing out of Sean Stranahan, his foibles and idiosyncrasies, his manliness among men but his timidity, too, around women, although I find it a little tedious that they all want to fall into bed with him.
That said . . . I'm on to book four: Crazy Mountain Kiss.
Having myself fished the Madison River, as well as several of the surrounding rivers, McCafferty has done an outstanding job of incorporating the setting as an integral character. I am usually not a mystery reader, leaning more towards westerns and history and, other than The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I have never followed a character through successive novels. Now, after book three, I've found myself enjoying the flushing out of Sean Stranahan, his foibles and idiosyncrasies, his manliness among men but his timidity, too, around women, although I find it a little tedious that they all want to fall into bed with him.
That said . . . I'm on to book four: Crazy Mountain Kiss.
November 7, 2025
L'intrigue est plus palpitante que celle des "Morts au Bear Creek". Moins de pêche à la mouche aussi (tant mieux !), mais toujours la nature sauvage et grandiose du Montana. Je commence à y prendre goût, aux livres de McCafferty !
December 31, 2013
Found it a very slow and meandering book to read. Far too dry for my taste. Little to no action throughout. Book took me awhile to get through it. Never took off in my opinion. I only see 2 of 5 stars. Glad to finish up and move on to something else.
March 3, 2014
Another new (to me) author whose prior books I will have to read. While I am not a fisherman, nor outdoors man, or even like mountains, I really liked this twisted tale.
Mr. McCafferty knows how to tell a story to keep the reader in suspense until the last page.
Mr. McCafferty knows how to tell a story to keep the reader in suspense until the last page.
June 11, 2017
Happy to have discovered this outdoorsy mystery series. It's well-written, light on gore and psychopathology, full of charming characters, and sprinkled with interesting environmental themes. Set along the Madison River in rural Montana, the series is case study in how to "write what you know," which for this author is fly-fishing, rivers and the backcountry. I'm not an angler, but am a river runner and while I know nothing about flies, I love the paragraphs devoted to the passion behind the craft and can feel myself on the oars of the dories as Sean and Sam row their clients down the river. I even looked up a picture of the Madison and it looks like how the author has me picturing it. The characters are fun and I do like that female Sheriff - a refreshing combo of competence and vulnerability. I did, however, find her vulnerability leaning toward overkill in this book. Her sudden shift into passivity (letting Sean override her judgment calls and take the reins) is incongruent with the same woman who shot a murderous Congressman in the last book. Hope the next one shakes up the stereotypes and that Martha reels herself in, and darling Sean tries a little therapy to sort through his immaturity around women.
April 1, 2019
Similar to Logimere series
July 13, 2024
I’m enjoying the mysterious Sean Stranahan.
September 15, 2025
Great news series.
March 25, 2018
Another great read that had me going to the end. Sure increased knowledge about wolves, too.
August 14, 2017
If you love wolves, you will be frustrated by the attitudes of the Montana ranchers, but you probably already are. Not as much fly-fishing as the previous book, but given that Stranny is a fly-fisher some is inevitable. A good mystery, and the solution is startling.
February 27, 2014
This is the third book in the Sean Stranahan series, and my introduction to this author’s writing. The protagonist is a former private detective who considers himself a Renaissance man: He guides during the trout season, writes for fishing magazines, and paints in the winter (or when he gets a commission); a man who had never owned a gun, his weapon of choice being a can of pepper spray, and whose impatience with modern technology prompts him to throw his flip phone in a lake. The author writers “Never meeting a stranger was a Western trait, and Stranahan had grown up in the East where people conducted business with skins of reserve so thick that you had to peel them like an orange. In that regard, moving to the Rockies had been like coming home.” In this appearance, his assistance is sought by Martha Ettinger, Sheriff of Hyalite County, Montana in two cases she is working on: A wrangler at an area dude ranch is found dead in the backcountry, impaled on an elk antler, and foul play is suspected, and, that same night, a 25-year-old woman on a trail ride from the same ranch has disappeared. It is unknown if the two things are related.
The characters are all very well-drawn and interesting. Primary among these, besides Sean, is Martha, married and divorced twice, whose history includes having shot a U.S. congressman a year ago, he a murderer and she cleared by a coroner’s inquest, but her memory of the incident is still very sharp. Even lesser players are unique: One of the area residents is Pablo Mendoza, a baritone for the NY Metropolitan Opera.
A major theme is the antagonism between the environmentalists who want to “bring to light the atrocities man committed against wildlife,” when e.g. wolves had been eradicated early in the 20th century by gun and cyanide stick, after the US Congress passed a bill allowing the reintroduction of the wolf population, a program that started in Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and groups such as Ranchers and Hunters for Taking the Wolf Out of Montana and, generally, ranchers who “hate wolves as much as they hate Democrats.”
At least initially, I found the book replete with complex CSI calculations, and esoteric fishing and hunting descriptions and terminology, somewhat (well, completely) outside of my usual sphere of knowledge There are many references to fishing lures and ties, e.g., the title of the book is a name given to a fishing tie. I am certain that many readers, with perhaps more familiarity with such things, would not have a problem, but for this reader, it often took me out of the book. But ultimately, I discovered that the novel was filled as well with poetic prose, a good mystery, and a totally unexpected twist, and I closed the book, which was overall very satisfying, with a smile on my face.
The characters are all very well-drawn and interesting. Primary among these, besides Sean, is Martha, married and divorced twice, whose history includes having shot a U.S. congressman a year ago, he a murderer and she cleared by a coroner’s inquest, but her memory of the incident is still very sharp. Even lesser players are unique: One of the area residents is Pablo Mendoza, a baritone for the NY Metropolitan Opera.
A major theme is the antagonism between the environmentalists who want to “bring to light the atrocities man committed against wildlife,” when e.g. wolves had been eradicated early in the 20th century by gun and cyanide stick, after the US Congress passed a bill allowing the reintroduction of the wolf population, a program that started in Yellowstone National Park in 1995, and groups such as Ranchers and Hunters for Taking the Wolf Out of Montana and, generally, ranchers who “hate wolves as much as they hate Democrats.”
At least initially, I found the book replete with complex CSI calculations, and esoteric fishing and hunting descriptions and terminology, somewhat (well, completely) outside of my usual sphere of knowledge There are many references to fishing lures and ties, e.g., the title of the book is a name given to a fishing tie. I am certain that many readers, with perhaps more familiarity with such things, would not have a problem, but for this reader, it often took me out of the book. But ultimately, I discovered that the novel was filled as well with poetic prose, a good mystery, and a totally unexpected twist, and I closed the book, which was overall very satisfying, with a smile on my face.
January 26, 2014
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Another wonderful read from Keith McCafferty!
This story has so many layers and the author brings them all together with the melodic quality I have to come to expect from him.
Sean Stranahan is just an awesome character. A fly fisherman who loves nature, animals, fish and fowl. He lives most of the year in a tipi. He is a an very easy going guy, who paints and has found himself to be quite a private investigator even though he is techy challenged. He hates carrying a cell phone and when he does it is rarely on. He investigates the old fashioned way. He talks to people and then heads to a river for a bit of fishing to ponder over what they have told him. Surprisingly he can make all the pieces fall into place to solve the crime.
Sheriff Martha Ettinger is the perfect woman for Sean. If they could just realize it themselves. They work well together and see eye to eye on most subjects. One would be truly lost without the other.
The theme that drives this story it the wolf debate taking place out West. I have to stay the author tells both sides of the story very well without being political or preachy. He has created a very captivating mystery that involve parties on both sides.
What I like best about Keith McCafferty stories is his writing style. The characters jump right off the pages. His descriptive quality not only brings the human characters to life but the setting as well. His builds a story that just ebbs and flows and then the clues start to come together and the pages fly. I had an inkling to what was really happening but with the twists I was never sure if I was on the right track. I love books like this.
Controversy, revenge, mystery, extremists, murder, deception, trauma, drama…this story has all that and more.
Another wonderful read from Keith McCafferty!
This story has so many layers and the author brings them all together with the melodic quality I have to come to expect from him.
Sean Stranahan is just an awesome character. A fly fisherman who loves nature, animals, fish and fowl. He lives most of the year in a tipi. He is a an very easy going guy, who paints and has found himself to be quite a private investigator even though he is techy challenged. He hates carrying a cell phone and when he does it is rarely on. He investigates the old fashioned way. He talks to people and then heads to a river for a bit of fishing to ponder over what they have told him. Surprisingly he can make all the pieces fall into place to solve the crime.
Sheriff Martha Ettinger is the perfect woman for Sean. If they could just realize it themselves. They work well together and see eye to eye on most subjects. One would be truly lost without the other.
The theme that drives this story it the wolf debate taking place out West. I have to stay the author tells both sides of the story very well without being political or preachy. He has created a very captivating mystery that involve parties on both sides.
What I like best about Keith McCafferty stories is his writing style. The characters jump right off the pages. His descriptive quality not only brings the human characters to life but the setting as well. His builds a story that just ebbs and flows and then the clues start to come together and the pages fly. I had an inkling to what was really happening but with the twists I was never sure if I was on the right track. I love books like this.
Controversy, revenge, mystery, extremists, murder, deception, trauma, drama…this story has all that and more.
February 20, 2017
I was perusing some bookshelves when I came across the cover for Dead Man's Fancy and instantly curious about the book. The summary sounded up my alley so I put it on my to-read list. There were a couple of months between that moment of putting it on my list and actually picking up, that I managed to forget key details such as the book isn't focused on Martha (although I think it's understandable why I would assume so) and is actually focused on Sean and has his name on the cover and everything! Oops.
I also didn't realize how much fishing talk there was going to be in the book. I don't fish. I tended to skim the parts where it came up. If you're like me, and aren't a fisher, you'll be doing some skimming too, more than likely. But, if you like fishing, then you're in luck!
Holy romantic entanglements Batman! I'm not opposed to romance, but it wasn't really romance? Maybe it's something I should chalk up to small town living and where everybody knows everybody. Either way, I found it a tad distracting.
I really enjoyed the scenery and all of the descriptions of the settings. Enough to immerse me, but I never felt bogged down in the details.
I also liked the characters, although I kept forgetting some of the minor ones. Martha's partner? Can't recall his name. Dog Breath? Katie! Sean did take a little bit to grow on me and I probably would have enjoyed following Martha around more, but she's a little bit more bound by the law, while he has more wiggle room.
Now, as this was my entry point to the series I thought it did a nice job of catching me up with what was going on. It's not like I'm going to really know what I don't know, but I had a good sense of who everybody was.
I also didn't realize how much fishing talk there was going to be in the book. I don't fish. I tended to skim the parts where it came up. If you're like me, and aren't a fisher, you'll be doing some skimming too, more than likely. But, if you like fishing, then you're in luck!
Holy romantic entanglements Batman! I'm not opposed to romance, but it wasn't really romance? Maybe it's something I should chalk up to small town living and where everybody knows everybody. Either way, I found it a tad distracting.
I really enjoyed the scenery and all of the descriptions of the settings. Enough to immerse me, but I never felt bogged down in the details.
I also liked the characters, although I kept forgetting some of the minor ones. Martha's partner? Can't recall his name. Dog Breath? Katie! Sean did take a little bit to grow on me and I probably would have enjoyed following Martha around more, but she's a little bit more bound by the law, while he has more wiggle room.
Now, as this was my entry point to the series I thought it did a nice job of catching me up with what was going on. It's not like I'm going to really know what I don't know, but I had a good sense of who everybody was.
July 29, 2020
I liked this book a lot. It had a tight plot and interesting characters.
The book starts out with a horseback search and rescue party in the low mountains/ high hills of Montana(?). Fishing guide/ dude ranch guest Nanika (Nikki) Martinelli has gone missing from a trail ride. Sheriff Martha Ettinger participated in the search for Nikki, as did her former boyfriend/ tracker Harold Little Feather. (Harold had since returned to his exwife Lou Anne)
Soon after Nikki got separated from the trail ride, Wrangler Grady Cole rode off to look for her.
The search party discovered the body of Grady. He had stepped on a coyote/wolf trap, got his foot caught , and fallen (been pushed) into the long sharp antler of a dead elk. Wolf scat was found nearby, as was Nikki’s hat.
Grady had worked at a dude ranch managed by Bucky Anderson, a golddigger with plans to marry the ranch widow.
Martha eventually concluded that Bucky set the illegal wolf trap that caught Grady. Martha thought that Bucky pushed Grady into the trap to avoid witnesses and bad publicity that could thwart his upcoming marriage.
Authorities feared that Nikki had been eaten by wolves. A biologist found human hair in the wolf scat near the elk kill and Grady’s body.
Sheriff Ettinger hired investigator Sean Stranahan to assist with the search for Nikki and the investigation of the death of Grady.
Martha and Sean had a history of flirtation but no affair, because Martha was too proper. (Sean was still involved in a long distance relationship with bikini coffee barista Martinique, who in the previous book left to go to veterinary school. Martinique was not a character in this book.)
Fishing guide Sam Meslik and Nikki (a fishing guide who briefly worked for Sam) had a brief fling before Nikki disappeared.
The normally prim and proper Martha uncharacteristically flirted with the drunk Sam Meslik with the goal of loosening him up and getting Sam to talk about Nikki and what Nikki had said about herself prior to her disappearance. Martha got some useful information.
A while after Nikki disappeared, Nikki’s sister Asena Martinelli showed up on scene from Canada. Asena was convinced that Nikki was killed by Amorak, Nikki’s former boyfriend. Amorak was a motorcycle -riding outdoors lover and wild man, like a Charlie Manson.
The book periodically goes into the back story of Nikki. Nikki recently showed upon the tiny community and got hired by fishing guide Sam Meslik.
Alfonso Martinelli, Nikki’s deceased father, used to live in the area in a remote cabin. He hunted wolves for ranchers. As a child Nikki learned about wolves and grew to want to protect them. She joined wolf protection groups. The backstory informs us that Nikki’s sister Asena moved to Canada long ago.
Sean Stranahan was a good fisherman, a painter, and a good investigator who had never owned a gun.
Sean went to visit the empty Martinelli cabin as part of the investigation. He found some of Nikki’s childhood journals. Someone shot at Sean while he was in the cabin’s basement, but he was not injured.
In the first half of the book McCafferty fully developed the character of Sheriff Martha Ettinger. In previous books she was more of a hardass caricature. This book shows Martha’s more complex (and more likeable) personality.
The last half of the book focuses more on Sean’s investigation, and less on Martha.
Sean made efforts to locate Amorak. He discovered that Amorak and his current girlfriend were camping nearby. Sean discovered that Amorak worked at a wolf rescue sanctuary, and had access to wolf feces.
Martha concluded that Nikki saw the wolf kill scene where Grady Cole was dead, possibly murdered, and fled to Amorak’s nearby campground. He was her exboyfriend.
Sean thinks someone mixed Nikki’s hair into wolf scat to stage her death.
Nikki may have wanted Amorak to believe that she was dead so she could escape him. She may have tried to fake her own death. Alternatively Amorak may have added human hair to wolf scat to make it look like a wolf killed Nikk, rather than him. I don’t recall who put the hair in the wolf scat.
Sean suspected the Yellowstone geyser watcher Robert Knudsen once stalked a young woman. A different young woman fell into a Yellowstone geyser. I don’t recall the relevance of this. I did enjoy reading about Yellowstone locations I have previously visited.
Sean drove to a remote campsite and observd Amorak and Asena together arguing. Asena had a gun but was under Amorak’s spell and afraid to use it. There was a struggle.
During the midst of the confrontation,Sean realized that Asena and Nikki were the same person. Nikki wanted to kill Amorak before he killed her because she had left him and he was very possessive.
Asena had told the wolf center where Amorak worked that there was a dead elk at a remote riverside area because Asena wanted to lure employee Amorak to that area to harvest the dead elk as wolf food. Asena successfully lured Amorak to that area.
Nikki/Asena shot Amorak in Sean’s presence. It was not clearly self defense. However, Sean helped her construct a good selfdefense story for police.
At the end of the book Sean and Martha were about to sleep with each other.
Incredibly, it has been several weeks since I read this book, and I can’t recall what happened to Nikki/ Asena! She may have died. I recall Sam Meslik visiting some spot and commemorating her.
The author had the characters engage in flirting and sexual titillation, but no graphic steamy sex.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 7, 2014
This seemed to be just chugging along--only of real interest to hunters and fishermen. Then, it took off and became quite a ride. Even though I was still confronted with terms I didn't know and more details about wildlife and fish than I care to know, I really enjoyed it. I do plan to return to the wilds of Montana again.
March 28, 2024
SPOILER ALERT
This installment moves away from the rivers as the main landscape. Instead, the sheriff, Martha Ettinger, enlists the help of Sean Stranahan to investigate the death of a wrangler, Grady Cole, who had begun the search for a missing hand from the dude ranch, Nanika Martinelli, called Nikki, the "fly fishing Venus". Grady is found inpaled on the antler of an elk, that had been a wolf kill. The killer is not found. She is beautiful woman, and during the hunt it is speculated that she has been eaten by a wolf. The issue of wolves and ranchers is a focal point of the story, with a group yelling for open season on the species. The issue has become hot since the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone.
Then Nikki's older sister appears, Nadina, also Asena, another term for wolf. Their father was a trapper, who also had a respect for the animal, and had taken the toes of a trapped wolf and preserved them and hung them on leather for his daughters. Their mother had drowned when a snow machine had hit a thin patch on the lake and had gone under. Now scat is found that has red human hair in it.
At the same, they are tracking a dangerous, but charismatic man who has a sort of cult of wolves, The Clan of the Three-Clawed Wolf. The alphas wear red contact lenses, the betas wear orange, an the omegas, yellow. All are women. He seems to collect and then discard any women who do not measure up. Perhaps the woman found in a hot pot, and fighting for her life, was one of those women. He rides a motorcycle around with one of his current women. Asena lures him to a lake and kills him. Sean guesses and follows to witness the killing. He has guessed the twist in the story, and it is a doozie. In fact, Nadina and her mother had died in the lake accident. Nadine usually rode with her father. They were very close. But he had too much equipment, so she was with their mother. The three of them went into the lake, and only Nanika survived, by floating on the purple jacket that her father had made of hide. Now Nanika floats between the identity of herself and her sister. Having been the victim of Amork/Fenrir/Todd McCready, she was out for revenge.
This was a particularly creepy story, and not the same atmosphere of the earlier novels. I did not enjoy it as much. Nevertheless, the series is creative and well done.
This installment moves away from the rivers as the main landscape. Instead, the sheriff, Martha Ettinger, enlists the help of Sean Stranahan to investigate the death of a wrangler, Grady Cole, who had begun the search for a missing hand from the dude ranch, Nanika Martinelli, called Nikki, the "fly fishing Venus". Grady is found inpaled on the antler of an elk, that had been a wolf kill. The killer is not found. She is beautiful woman, and during the hunt it is speculated that she has been eaten by a wolf. The issue of wolves and ranchers is a focal point of the story, with a group yelling for open season on the species. The issue has become hot since the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone.
Then Nikki's older sister appears, Nadina, also Asena, another term for wolf. Their father was a trapper, who also had a respect for the animal, and had taken the toes of a trapped wolf and preserved them and hung them on leather for his daughters. Their mother had drowned when a snow machine had hit a thin patch on the lake and had gone under. Now scat is found that has red human hair in it.
At the same, they are tracking a dangerous, but charismatic man who has a sort of cult of wolves, The Clan of the Three-Clawed Wolf. The alphas wear red contact lenses, the betas wear orange, an the omegas, yellow. All are women. He seems to collect and then discard any women who do not measure up. Perhaps the woman found in a hot pot, and fighting for her life, was one of those women. He rides a motorcycle around with one of his current women. Asena lures him to a lake and kills him. Sean guesses and follows to witness the killing. He has guessed the twist in the story, and it is a doozie. In fact, Nadina and her mother had died in the lake accident. Nadine usually rode with her father. They were very close. But he had too much equipment, so she was with their mother. The three of them went into the lake, and only Nanika survived, by floating on the purple jacket that her father had made of hide. Now Nanika floats between the identity of herself and her sister. Having been the victim of Amork/Fenrir/Todd McCready, she was out for revenge.
This was a particularly creepy story, and not the same atmosphere of the earlier novels. I did not enjoy it as much. Nevertheless, the series is creative and well done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2025
Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec La Vénus de Botticelli Creek ?
"J'aime beaucoup les polars des éditions Gallmeister qui se déroulent dans les grands espaces américains, notamment autour de la pêche, et jusqu'ici j'ai été séduite par cette série."
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Une jeune femme a disparu dans les montagnes, perdue parmi les ours, les loups et la neige, et Sean est appelé pour participer aux recherches. Très vite, on retrouve un corps, mais ce n'est pas celui auquel on s'attendait..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"J'avais bien aimé le premier tome, avec quelques réserves, mais vraiment beaucoup apprécié le second, son intrigue, ses personnages et la pêche. Ce troisième opus sera donc clairement celui qui m'a le moins convaincue. J'ai trouvé que l'enquête était lente à démarrer, j'ai eu du mal à entrer dedans et les moments paisibles de pêche, de connexion à la nature et de réflexion m'ont vraiment manqués. On retombe dans les travers de l'auteur avec ces personnages récurrents de femmes à la fois incroyables et fragiles que le héros veut à tout pris protéger et qui m'agacent. Et pour couronner le tout, la conclusion de l'enquête, même si elle exploite une idée qui aurait pu être interessante, m'a juste fait lever les yeux au ciel. C'est tiré par les cheveux, invraisemblable, rien ne tient la route, et je n'ai pas du tout apprécié que Stranahan garde tout cela pour lui. Quant au crime, il reste impuni mais je me demande si des rebondissements ne nous attendent pas encore de ce côté-là dans la suite de la série."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Parce que j'ai vraiment aimé les deux précédents, je suis prête à accorder une chance au suivant, en espérant que mon avis sera bien différent de celui-ci. Et puis j'avoue que la conclusion, la toute fin de l'histoire, m'a donnée un peu d'espoir."
"J'aime beaucoup les polars des éditions Gallmeister qui se déroulent dans les grands espaces américains, notamment autour de la pêche, et jusqu'ici j'ai été séduite par cette série."
Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Une jeune femme a disparu dans les montagnes, perdue parmi les ours, les loups et la neige, et Sean est appelé pour participer aux recherches. Très vite, on retrouve un corps, mais ce n'est pas celui auquel on s'attendait..."
Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous ?
"J'avais bien aimé le premier tome, avec quelques réserves, mais vraiment beaucoup apprécié le second, son intrigue, ses personnages et la pêche. Ce troisième opus sera donc clairement celui qui m'a le moins convaincue. J'ai trouvé que l'enquête était lente à démarrer, j'ai eu du mal à entrer dedans et les moments paisibles de pêche, de connexion à la nature et de réflexion m'ont vraiment manqués. On retombe dans les travers de l'auteur avec ces personnages récurrents de femmes à la fois incroyables et fragiles que le héros veut à tout pris protéger et qui m'agacent. Et pour couronner le tout, la conclusion de l'enquête, même si elle exploite une idée qui aurait pu être interessante, m'a juste fait lever les yeux au ciel. C'est tiré par les cheveux, invraisemblable, rien ne tient la route, et je n'ai pas du tout apprécié que Stranahan garde tout cela pour lui. Quant au crime, il reste impuni mais je me demande si des rebondissements ne nous attendent pas encore de ce côté-là dans la suite de la série."
Et comment cela s'est-il fini ?
"Parce que j'ai vraiment aimé les deux précédents, je suis prête à accorder une chance au suivant, en espérant que mon avis sera bien différent de celui-ci. Et puis j'avoue que la conclusion, la toute fin de l'histoire, m'a donnée un peu d'espoir."
July 24, 2020
Lors d’une randonnée, Nanika Martinelli, jeune guide de pêche disparaît près de Yellowstone dans le Montana. Un jeune homme du ranch hôtel tombé sous son charme part à sa recherche et termine empalé sur les bois d’un cerf tué par les loups. Homicide ou tragique accident ? Le shérif du comté Martha Ettinger, est aidé dans son enquête par Sean Stranahan pêcheur à la mouche, peintre naturaliste mais surtout détective privé. L’intrigue principale tourne autour de cette disparition alors que la sœur de la victime Asena semble résolue à prouver que sa sœur a été enlevée plutôt que dévorée par les loups. L’autre thème abordé est l’opposition entre écolos et éleveurs à propos de la réintroduction du loup dans le parc de Yellowstone. Les pistes se dirigent vers le clan du loup à trois griffes qui est pour la sauvegarde du loup et dont le chef au regard hypnotique est aussi inquiétant que charismatique. Le danger rôde entre les ennemis des loups, ceux qui veulent le protéger et une sœur en quête de vérité. L’auteur a su créer une intrigue captivante qui implique les parties des deux côtés. Une enquête en plein air bien écrite ou les scènes gores et le côté psychopathe d’un certain personnage restent digestes. Son style dans les descriptions de la nature, des rivières et des paysages du Montana est sublime. On sent que l’auteur est un fervent pêcheur et grand connaisseur de pêche à la mouche. Le vocabulaire employé pour les appâts est toujours imagé et je me suis retrouvée les pieds dans l’eau en attendant que ça morde. La construction de l’intrigue est faite de haut et de bas qui font tourner les pages sans s’en rendre compte tant on est plongé profondément dans l’histoire. Un roman qui transporte par sa poésie et un mystère qui prend une orientation que rien ne laissait prévoir me laissant épatée. Bonne lecture.
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http://latelierdelitote.canalblog.com...
February 15, 2021
I'm not sure a 4 star ? I really enjoyed my trip back to Montana. This one is the one where fishing isn't as much present as in the former ones. The investigation takes over with really interesting characters. McCafferty definitely knows how to develop characters and I had fun seeing that Montana still attracts the craziest ones ! This time, the author deals with the never ending debate about wolves, especially after a young missing woman's hair is found in wolf's poop...
FR J'ai retrouvé avec grand plaisir Stranahan et tous ses proches, avec cette fois-ci le débat autour de la réintroduction des loups, surtout lorsqu'une jeune femme disparue réapparaît dans les selles d'un loup... Une enquête toujours aussi prenante, la mentalité si typique du coin, les habitués. Et des personnages bien travaillés. Bref, un plaisir (lu en une journée).
FR J'ai retrouvé avec grand plaisir Stranahan et tous ses proches, avec cette fois-ci le débat autour de la réintroduction des loups, surtout lorsqu'une jeune femme disparue réapparaît dans les selles d'un loup... Une enquête toujours aussi prenante, la mentalité si typique du coin, les habitués. Et des personnages bien travaillés. Bref, un plaisir (lu en une journée).
July 29, 2019
The weirdest thing about this book is that, although the series is supposed to feature Sean Stranahan, he seems far less important to the story than others, especially Sheriff Martha Ettinger. But I quibble. I did like the ruggedly beautiful setting, the outdoors lore I learned about wolves and elk and fly-fishing and Yellowstone, and the red herring that got me going in the wrong direction. Lots of colorful characters that I expect to encounter when I read more books in the series ... An iconoclastic but honorable main character ... A relatable dilemma faced by the sheriff, whose professional and personal lives are a little out of sync ... And, not to ignore, the psychologically bizarre evildoer and crime victim ...
November 21, 2019
Another entry in the Sean Stranahan mystery series. In this one, super flyfisherman Sean, who also happens to be a (semi-)retired private detective, hooks up with the county sheriff to search for a missing beautiful woman fishing guide and her (probable) killer. All of this, of course is set in the area south of Yellowstone NP on some of the most beautiful and productive fly-fishing water in the US. The mystery gets involved in the issues surrounding the reintroduction of wolves into the Rocky Mountains, which adds an additional layer to the story. The book is an engrossing story, always delightful to read, although it helps if you are at least familiar with the mountains of the western US and fly fishing.
June 16, 2023
This series is really good. I like the characters and hope that Martha is developed further. Sean is a great main character and the secondary characters in this one are well developed also. But I thought the arrival of a sister that no one had heard of was suspicious. I thought perhaps she was working with the crazy criminal guy, Amorak, or something since she knew so much about what he did to her supposed sister. But Asena was Nicki and she just wanted to kill him. I still don't get why she didn't leave the area altogether to avoid him. I also don't like that Bucky got away with killing the wrangler. That part of the plot was central at the beginning and then forgotten when Asena came into the story. I like this series and look forward to reading another.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2024
While always an excellent read, I gave this a 3.5 rounded up and will continue to read this series. My half a star downturn is due to a couple of problems I had with Sean’s character as it relates to his relationship with the sheriff. If he “loves” her and respects her, which the author leads us to believe he does, he wouldn’t have acted as he did in these two situations. I would think, based on what I know of the sheriff, that these would be deal-breakers or, at a minimum, big red flags in the trust department. We’ll see what happens in the next book.
And the demon-eyed wolf activist was a bit much. He, and especially the “watcher,” were not as believable or as developed as I’d have liked.
And the demon-eyed wolf activist was a bit much. He, and especially the “watcher,” were not as believable or as developed as I’d have liked.
December 31, 2025
Must say, I had a good deal of trouble getting into the book. So many characters and I had no idea who was significant. I started a list of characters, but about half way through, the action picked up, and I no longer had to consult my list.
The story begins with Sheriff Martha Ettinger trying to find a woman who had disappeared after leading a group of riders through a mountainous area near a dude ranch in Montana where she was working. What she finds instead is a dead ranch hand. The story is complicated and Sean Stranahan doesn’t show up for some time.
The last third of the book was hard to put down, had the first part been more engaging, it was have been a 4.
Loads about fly fishing and the mountains of Montana, would have liked more information about wolves.
The story begins with Sheriff Martha Ettinger trying to find a woman who had disappeared after leading a group of riders through a mountainous area near a dude ranch in Montana where she was working. What she finds instead is a dead ranch hand. The story is complicated and Sean Stranahan doesn’t show up for some time.
The last third of the book was hard to put down, had the first part been more engaging, it was have been a 4.
Loads about fly fishing and the mountains of Montana, would have liked more information about wolves.
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