Boomtown

by Mark Munger

An explosion rocks a new copper/nickel mine near Ely, Minnesota. A young woman is dead and her family turns to trial lawyer Dee Dee Hernesman and Sheriff Deb Slater for justice. A legal thriller/murder mystery set in the great northwoods.

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 29, 2016

About the author

Mark Munger is a life-long resident of Northeastern Minnesota. Mark, his wife Rene', and one of their four sons live on the banks of the wild and scenic Cloquet River north of Duluth. When not writing fiction, Mark enjoys hunting, fishing, skiing, and working as a District Court Judge.

Reviews

[Linda]

Munger's legal/environmental mystery, set in northeast Minnesota, is fast-paced, well researched and engaging. The book is well-organized; twists and turns in the plot don't lose the reader. I enjoyed the descriptions of places with which I am familiar, the rugged woods and mines (and the characters who are believably of that setting). Lots of strong, gutsy women (and men) in this book -- real northerners for sure!

[Daisy]

I pushed through three chapters but that is all I could manage. The writing style is too clunky for my tastes and there is too much unnecessary information provided.

[Jennifer]

I stayed up late to finish this book. I'll be honest, it took me 'til about the middle of the book before it really grabbed me. I think I was "overthinking" everything that I was reading, analyzing too much because I know the author. I was trying too much to see if I could figure out who he was basing the characters on. I should have just had the mind set to just read and read for pleasure.

I love reading books that involve the local area and picturing the scenes that the author sets up. Being involved in the court system, that's easy for me to do. He does a good job of bringing you to where the story is and the surroundings.

As I said, the book finally grabbed me at about halfway and I had to finish it. I finished it and I still had questions and wondered, huh, what if. . .I like books that make me think like that.

I do appreciate the way he pits the women attorneys against each other. This author has many female characters in strong roles. Actually, when I think more about the book, he has done a role reversal for the males and females. Maybe to show that men can be the vulnerable ones at times just like women, but also showing that women can be just as shrewd and cunning as men, especially when it comes to the "almighty dollar".

I do recommend picking this book up. If you like this, I recommend checking out Author Munger's other books, my favorites have been "Laman's River" and "Esther's Race". You can find them at the author's website, www.cloquetriverpress.com, you won't be disappointed!