What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wyandot County Mysteries #4
A Winter of Discontent for Henry Milch
In the fourth book of the Wyandot County Mysteries, Henry Milch has his hands full. Literally. His mother has mysteriously run off, leaving his baby sister in his care. He, with the help of his grandmother and her friends, juggles diapers, feedings, and constructive playtime with his new job as an investigator for PI Hamlet Gilbody. His first assignment, looking into a local woman who is suing a winery suddenly becomes a lot more complicated when the woman’s corpse is dumped in front of the tasting room.
- GenresM M RomanceMysteryLGBT
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 28, 2025
5 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Marshall Thornton
58 books633 followersThree-time Lambda Award-winning author, Marshall Thornton is best known for the Boystown and Pinx Video mystery series. Other novels include the erotic comedy The Perils of Praline, or the Amorous Adventures of a Southern Gentleman in Hollywood, Desert Run and Full Release. Marshall has an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA, where he received the Carl David Memorial Fellowship and was recognized in the Samuel Goldwyn Writing awards.
Member Mystery Writers of America
Sign-up for my newsletter at marshallthorntonauthor.com!
Member Mystery Writers of America
Sign-up for my newsletter at marshallthorntonauthor.com!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 13, 2025
Another wonderful addition to the series. I adore that Henry Milch and all his flaws. The ending of the book broke my heart for him. I can only hope spring is a better season for Henry.
November 2, 2025
My least favorite Marshall Thornton protagonist, Henry Milch, is back for his fourth adventure, and finds a new way to be dislikeable. I'd thought we were maybe seeing a bit of growth from the self absorbed little shit, and we probably are, but I guess that just forced his awfulness to find a new outlet.
Despite never actually liking the main character, I've always been a bit more excited for a new Henry Milch book than for a new Dom Reilly book, but I'm sorry to say this outing was just kind of meh. The part up until the murder actually takes place was pretty boring, with Henry in his own head and taking care of his baby sister, all the interactions he has with others feeling very cursory and superficial.
Things picked up once he really started investigating, but he still didn't feel very engaged, and neither was I. All the stuff with the baby sister felt very pointless throughout most of the book, though it ends up contributing to the punch of the ending which worked better than all of the pages leading up to it.
Here's hoping the next installment in each of Thornton's three active series are better than the last.
Despite never actually liking the main character, I've always been a bit more excited for a new Henry Milch book than for a new Dom Reilly book, but I'm sorry to say this outing was just kind of meh. The part up until the murder actually takes place was pretty boring, with Henry in his own head and taking care of his baby sister, all the interactions he has with others feeling very cursory and superficial.
Things picked up once he really started investigating, but he still didn't feel very engaged, and neither was I. All the stuff with the baby sister felt very pointless throughout most of the book, though it ends up contributing to the punch of the ending which worked better than all of the pages leading up to it.
Here's hoping the next installment in each of Thornton's three active series are better than the last.
November 30, 2025
A Winter of Discontent for Henry Milch (Wyandot County 4)
BY Marshall Thornton
Kenmore Books, 2025
Five stars
I give this top marks, even though the ending made me sad. And chuckle.
Poor Henry Milch, twenty-four and pretty (by his own description), and, it seems, holding off his opioid addiction. That’s what got him into this mess—meaning exiled in his hometown in rural Michigan with his bigoted grandmother and—a key element to this instalment of his saga—his infant sister Emerald.
There’s a murder to solve, and Henry, hoping to make money helping a local private investigator, joins in the fun. He is neither dedicated nor particularly skilled at detective work, and yet we can see his native intelligence and sense of justice at work. He deals with the Hooterville cast of characters in Wyandot County, including his grandmother, and somehow manages to function as a sober adult while trying to avoid responsibility.
Henry is—as intended by the author—an irritating, feckless young man. That’s what got him into this situation, shipped off to the heartland due to his addiction. But what I couldn’t stop thinking about—because it’s a carefully managed core theme of the book—is how wonderfully he cares for his baby sister, who has been more-or-less abandoned by their shared mother, who seems as feckless and irresponsible as Henry is.
It's a funny book, and yet there’s an underlying core of anxiety that never lets up. The pace is steady and while it seems meandering, the plot is carefully crafted to lead up to the ending—and then the startling curtain-drop on the last page.
Against all expectations, I want Henry to be happy. He is not happy at the end of the book, but he has been prevented from making a bad mistake. I need the next book. Well played, Marshall Thornton.
BY Marshall Thornton
Kenmore Books, 2025
Five stars
I give this top marks, even though the ending made me sad. And chuckle.
Poor Henry Milch, twenty-four and pretty (by his own description), and, it seems, holding off his opioid addiction. That’s what got him into this mess—meaning exiled in his hometown in rural Michigan with his bigoted grandmother and—a key element to this instalment of his saga—his infant sister Emerald.
There’s a murder to solve, and Henry, hoping to make money helping a local private investigator, joins in the fun. He is neither dedicated nor particularly skilled at detective work, and yet we can see his native intelligence and sense of justice at work. He deals with the Hooterville cast of characters in Wyandot County, including his grandmother, and somehow manages to function as a sober adult while trying to avoid responsibility.
Henry is—as intended by the author—an irritating, feckless young man. That’s what got him into this situation, shipped off to the heartland due to his addiction. But what I couldn’t stop thinking about—because it’s a carefully managed core theme of the book—is how wonderfully he cares for his baby sister, who has been more-or-less abandoned by their shared mother, who seems as feckless and irresponsible as Henry is.
It's a funny book, and yet there’s an underlying core of anxiety that never lets up. The pace is steady and while it seems meandering, the plot is carefully crafted to lead up to the ending—and then the startling curtain-drop on the last page.
Against all expectations, I want Henry to be happy. He is not happy at the end of the book, but he has been prevented from making a bad mistake. I need the next book. Well played, Marshall Thornton.
February 28, 2026
Mooch (Henry), a young gay man with a drug problem, is living in Michigan . He is caring for both his grandmother and baby sister, and has a new job working for a private investigator.
Mooch is more adept at solving murder cases than the police. He is becoming more responsible. His dream of returning to Los Angeles is now more unlikely as he builds ties to his new home.
I have gotten to know and like Mooch in this book and in the previous three novels in the series. That's why I was disappointed in the ending of this book, when two tragedies occur. It was a real downer for me. I rated the book immediately after I had finished it, which is why I only rated it four stars instead of five. That is probably unfair of me, as I really enjoyed the story until the last few pages.
Mooch is more adept at solving murder cases than the police. He is becoming more responsible. His dream of returning to Los Angeles is now more unlikely as he builds ties to his new home.
I have gotten to know and like Mooch in this book and in the previous three novels in the series. That's why I was disappointed in the ending of this book, when two tragedies occur. It was a real downer for me. I rated the book immediately after I had finished it, which is why I only rated it four stars instead of five. That is probably unfair of me, as I really enjoyed the story until the last few pages.
November 1, 2025
Poor Henry has been left to look after his grandma as well as his baby sister Emerald.
He is starting a job as a private eye and his first job is to investigate an insurance claim against a local winery which then ends up as a murder case.
I am liking Henry and his struggles with drugs and also the help the locals give him in looking after his sister.
A nice twist at the end that I didn't see coming.
He is starting a job as a private eye and his first job is to investigate an insurance claim against a local winery which then ends up as a murder case.
I am liking Henry and his struggles with drugs and also the help the locals give him in looking after his sister.
A nice twist at the end that I didn't see coming.
March 24, 2026
Henry is at it again - delving into deaths and troubles.
His side kick is his baby sister, she is the star.
Granny is still grumpy.
Opal needs to be replaced with a better friend model.
Henry does get to the bottom of the shenanigans going on, but just as a hot date is his reward, things go badly wrong
His side kick is his baby sister, she is the star.
Granny is still grumpy.
Opal needs to be replaced with a better friend model.
Henry does get to the bottom of the shenanigans going on, but just as a hot date is his reward, things go badly wrong
November 2, 2025
This series gets better and better…
I wasn’t fond of Henry in the first book, but he grows on you and in reality he’s such a sweet, kind goey addict, with complex emotions and a very dysfunctional family - I hope the next book doesn’t take too long as the ending made me cry….
I wasn’t fond of Henry in the first book, but he grows on you and in reality he’s such a sweet, kind goey addict, with complex emotions and a very dysfunctional family - I hope the next book doesn’t take too long as the ending made me cry….
November 8, 2025
Really good new entry in the series, wish it could have been a bit longer! We are finally seeing Henry evolve and I have been craving for that since book 2. I hope the next one can be a bit more mysterious, like some spooky. A bit heartbroken about the ending but it was also very sweet.
November 8, 2025
More invested in Henry's problems than my own lol
Man, I've got a problem: I love how messy MC is but I want him to get clean and be happy real bad hahahha Just gonna trust the author to keep balancing the two lol
Man, I've got a problem: I love how messy MC is but I want him to get clean and be happy real bad hahahha Just gonna trust the author to keep balancing the two lol
December 22, 2025
Great next instalment
Great read, appears simple but has depths when you pay attention. Enjoyed it thoroughly and can’t wait for the next one
Great read, appears simple but has depths when you pay attention. Enjoyed it thoroughly and can’t wait for the next one
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews