Straight River

by Chris Norbury

The first book in the Matt Lanier series, Straight River throws professional musician Matt Lanier into the improbable roles of amateur detective and unlikely “superhero” against a powerful and deadly enemy. It’s a mystery-thriller set during the emotional and financial depths of a farm crisis in America’s heartland.

Two mysterious deaths compel Matt Lanier, a professional musician by trade, into a search for the killer. With no superhero skills other than his brilliant musical mind and razor-sharp hearing, Lanier uncovers a land-grab conspiracy that could mean financial ruin or death for thousands of farmers . . . and for himself.

If you're a fan of unique characters who defy all odds and stand up against powerful, ruthless foes, then you'll love this story of a musician/hero who marches to a different drummer.

Buy STRAIGHT RIVER--the first book in the Matt Lanier mystery-thriller series--and start your music-laced thrill ride today.

2019 Kindle Book Review (KBR) Awards Semifinalist, Mystery/Thriller
2019 Chanticleer Book Review CLUE Awards Finalist, Suspense & Thriller Fiction
2023 Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA) Semifinalist

This well-told story has a compelling and brilliant plotline. Engaging and twisty (there were several places where "I didn't see that coming!") --this book is a page-turner that kept me up well into the night. --Laurie Buchanan, author of Note to Self and The Business of Being.

Norbury pens an extremely suspenseful, hard-to-put-down thriller in this prequel to CASTLE DANGER. The author hooks the reader with intrigue from the early pages and never lets go. --Valerie Biel, author of the Circle of Nine series

Genres: Mystery

300 pages, Paperback

Published February 5, 2019

About the author

Chris Norbury is the award-winning author of the mystery-suspense-thrillers Straight River, Castle Danger, and Dangerous Straits. The stories feature Matt Lanier, a southern Minnesota farm kid-turned professional musician whose middle-class world is turned upside down by a conspiracy of powerful, ambitious, violent men. 

He grew up in the Twin Cities and earned a B.S. in Music Education at the University of Minnesota. He’s written for several websites as a freelance writer. His essays on wilderness canoeing have been published in the Boundary Waters Journal.

Chris is a member of both the Twin Cities and national chapters of Sisters in Crime and the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi). Chris advocates for independent bookstores and prefers to send his customers to Indiebound to purchase books.

As a volunteer Big Brother for twenty years and now a "Big Brother Emeritus", Chris donates a portion of all book sales to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Minnesota. During the golf season in Minnesota, he works on perfecting his golf game. It's an impossible dream but also a good excuse to get out of the office. He lives in southern Minnesota with his wife and golf clubs.

Reviews

[Sue Shipley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book from the author at a book fair in Minnesota. Loved recognizing all the local area references. Norbury uses lots of musical examples for voices and sounds, a different approach.
Matt has to return to his hometown when his father is found dead in the silo. He reconnects with his childhood friends and commences searching for answers to his father's and a neighbors deaths.

The story bogs down some in the middle but picks us with some fast and violent action.

At first I didn't like the ending, but it is a great lead in for a sequel.

[J.J. Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! If you like music and mysteries, this one is for you!
Put Chris Norbury in your 'to read' list today!

[Julie Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This introduction to professional musician Matt Lanier is a wild ride of a thrilling mystery! The story starts with Matt returning to his hometown after years away to settle his estranged father's estate. Reunions with childhood friends and neighbors turn into suspicious happenings. Matt starts digging into the mysterious circumstances of not only his father's death, but the death of a well-known neighbor. What starts as a favor to save a farm turns into an intricate web of deception and land-grabs. A country boy from Straight River finds himself matching wits with a powerful mogul. This book had twists, turns, and at times gasps of disbelief--in a good way. I saw some revelations coming, but others were surprises. The book has a satisfying end--for this installment. Luckily I have the second Matt Lanier book, so I could jump right back in and follow Matt's game of cat and mouse. Though Mr. Norbury wrote "Straight River" after the second Matt Lanier book, "Castle Danger", I never would have known it. If you like conspiracies, music, and suspense, you won't be disappointed.

[Chris Norbury]

*I won't give a star rating or comment on the quality because I can't possibly give an unbiased review, be it positive or negative.*

It's really hard to review my own book because I can't read it with a fresh perspective and can't be surprised by the plot twists and turns. Nor can I become enamored by, or charmed by, or disgusted with, a character because I spent so many hours and words developing that plot point or those character traits.

The only positive comment I will make is that reading Straight River kept me awake longer at night when I was reading in bed than many other books I've read lately. That gives me hope that my goal of not wasting the readers time with "the parts readers tend to skip over," as Elmore Leonard famously noted, was achieved.

I encourage your reviews and comments, both positive or negative. Reviews are what give all authors hope that what they write matters and provokes thinking and conversation.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid crime novel about a good guy that keeps getting a raw deal, but that doesn't stop him from righting a wrong that is seeping into his county and affecting him and his neighbors. I want to tell you more about the story, but I don't want to spoil it. Let's just say, for the local Minnesotans, you will recognize lots of locations in the book. For the rest, this story had a couple of unique hooks. **** 3/19/2020

[Laurie Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gripped by STRAIGHT RIVER: a Matt Lanier Novel by Chris Norbury. This well-told story has a compelling and brilliant plot line. Engaging and twisty (there were several places where "I didn't see that coming!") — this book is a page-turner that kept me up well into the night. I highly recommend this book!

[Kylah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book club picked (Robin) Castle Danger #2. Told me it can stand alone but I had to read #1 first. It was ok, started off strong but I started to lose interest 60% in. Great story line and love books set in my home state of Minnesota. Looking forward to start #2 because I hear it’s better.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the best judge of the mystery genre but I did like Straight River. Credit the author with writing about a land acquisition scheme that is way out there but he makes it work. I could just picture the farm sites near I35W south of the Twin Cities in what I believe is meant to be my hometown of Owatonna, Minnesota. It's fun to recognize other familiar landmarks. Lanier is a musician and not skilled at investigation; in his own words, he "improvises." The book is fast paced with a lot of action going on. I will have to read Matt Lanier, #2, to see what happens next.

[Emylia Stickler · Rating 5 out of 5]

what an amazing author!! I was hooked on every chapter !! I can't wait to get the 2nd book as well!!

[Robert Williscroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Previous reviewers of this book have noted that there is a lot of killing going around locally, which implies even more beyond the corners of the story. But if you suspend your disbelief, the story works quite well. I found using a musician as the protagonist, as the detective, so to speak, was an interesting twist that I had not encountered before. Author Norbury takes the time to develop his characters, perhaps spending a bit more time on the good guys than the bad guys, and he paints a detailed canvas against which his action takes place. If the reader does not have one or two “I didn’t see that coming” moments, I would be very surprised. Author Norbury has plotted his tale carefully. Definitely worth reading for anyone who enjoys thrillers and mysteries.

[John Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book although somewhat “cliche-ish” in the since of good guys and bad guys. But it’s a good enough story and it does provide the back-story behind the storyline of his first book (written), “Castle Danger.” The character development is, once again, pretty good and the action is very good. But, all in all, I just came away feeling that it wasn’t really anything special. If I could give half-star ratings I suppose that I’d give it 3 1/2 rather than 3 stars but I just didn’t think it was strong enough for a 4-star rating. -JS

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, some things I liked - the location (Minnesota and the Boundary Waters), the use of the main character's musical background throughout the story, the beginnings of the story, the writing generally.

What I had problems with - the cliche bad guys, and the fact that Matt could not stop getting his friends involved or thinking they would be safer with him which resulted in them getting killed. At some point WAY sooner, he should have realized the bad-bad guy was going to kill anyone he contacted. This finally wore me out so I only finished the book because I was mostly done.

[Sharyn Maas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minnesota land conspiracy

I read this book because the author, Chris Norbury was the featured guest for Minnesota Mystery Writers night. This is the first book in a trilogy, with Matt Lanier as the protagonist. He’s a jazz musician who gets involved in a conspiracy after his father and other farmers die under suspicious circumstances. It’s so preposterous that he can avoid the law and the bad guys who are all out to get him! I don’t plan to read the other two books in this series.

[Don Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome reading, as I am from the area that the Author wrote about was riveting an hard to put book down. Well written, knowledgeable about his characters an the landscape. Looking forward to read future books by this author.

[Lisa Turbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Held my interest from the beginning! Always fun to read stories set in familiar locations.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well-written action/suspense story with outstandingly crafted characters. The heart of the story is the relationships between Matt Lanier – a professional bass player and reluctant hero – and his boyhood friends from a small Minnesota town (Straight River). His ex-wife is also drawn into the mystery and his aching desire to reunite with her gives the narrative extra emotional weight. The plot includes several unexpected and poignant twists and is not at all conventional or predictable. It is a classic good guys vs. bad guys adventure with plenty of action to keep you interested.

There are some flaws here, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. For starters, the book is exceptionally well-edited, leaving few blemishes to distract the reader from the story. The plot advances quickly through nicely paced chapters, drawing the reader into the story and then moving along from action sequences to breath-taking interludes before the next action sequence. The hero’s motivations are clear and each sequence is well-crafted and compelling. I had no thoughts of skimming to get to the end because each event along the way was worth reading.

The author’s loving descriptions of the Minnesota settings are also wonderfully crafted, allowing the reader to smell the manure in the barn and feel the cold water of the frigid lake, and hear the jazz in the nightclub. A small farming town can hold much mystery and intrigue and Mr. Norbury makes the settings come alive. If you enjoy rich description, you will luxuriate in this book.

The flaws here are easily overlooked within the action/suspense story. It’s often true with such tales that you should not think too hard about the plot and just go with it and enjoy the ride. That’s certainly true here. The bad guys are one-dimensional and lack much depth to their characters. The central plot involves a millionaire real estate mogul who is willing to cheat, steal, blackmail, and kill to achieve his ends. But the scheme he has cooked up is not illegal, so it doesn’t make much sense why he would employ such illegal and violent means – which opens him up to criminal prosecution – when his scheme could be as easily achieved using tough business tactics. But, he’s a bad guy, so he has henchmen and has corrupt politicians and lawmen in his pocket and is quick to use them to crush anyone who gets in his way. (The underlying real estate scheme is itself pretty far-fetched, but I’m happy to let the author have that one as a plot premise.)

Along the way, there are smaller plot holes in the story and leaps of logic. Matt, the hero, performs feats of courage and comes up with combat strategy far beyond what his character might seem capable. Matt suffers serious injuries, and yet is immediately able to battle the bad guys. There are a few instances of the tech being a bit too easy, and the big climax scene on an island on a remote lake has some funky geography. More than once you may scratch your head and ask, “but, how?” But it all works in the context of the story.

There are also a few segments where things drag out longer than necessary to get to the next important plot event. The descriptions are lovely, however, so you don’t really mind the lengthy interlude.

Mr. Norbury does not fall into predictable patterns, particularly with the resolutions for the main characters. This is not a story where all the good guys win out and all the bad guys go to jail. I love that. It’s much more relatable as written and for me more satisfying.

In the end, Straight River, is an enjoyable read and as the first novel in a series featuring the intrepid musician, Matt Lanier, it suggests great promise for the books ahead.

[Bruce Perrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Amateur Sleuth with a Musical Ear Faces a Not-So-Subtle Conspiracy

The protagonist of this novel, Matt Lanier, is a musician. He’s always humming a tune or drawing parallels between his situation and the lyrics of a song. And when he’s reluctantly pressed into a murder/conspiracy investigation, he leverages this talent to find clues to the truth in the timber and tone of voice of the people he meets. That’s not an ability I’ve seen other amateur sleuths leverage and one of the reasons I enjoyed Straight River.

As you might imagine with a thriller, the songs that Matt finds apropos to his situation are ones like Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor—his circumstances are often bleak. Called back to his boyhood home after his father’s unexpected death, Matt soon suspects foul play. Then, later, he finds evidence of a multi-state (perhaps eventually, multi-nation) conspiracy to purchase vast tracks of farmland at below-market prices. Physical intimidation, even murder, are the tools of this criminal scheme and author Norbury keeps the reader guessing, presenting us with a long list of possible co-conspirators. The action is tense and well-paced, with the body count increasing steadily throughout the novel. But even so, there are pauses to enjoy the Minnesota countryside or to relive moments of Matt’s past. His still strong feelings for his ex-wife, in particular, provide a nice counterpoint to the action. And the ending, though a bit well-worn, felt appropriate to the plot.

The limitations of the book are primarily in the lack of subtly of the conspiracy and how/why that seemed to have little effect on the course of the tale. To start, the story is set in the 2008 Recession, so killing reluctant sellers seems a bit excessive given the overall financial state of the world. But even if we accept that premise as a literary given—to create tension—the number of deaths, near fatalities, and co-conspirators in one small Minnesotan county implies dozens, if not hundreds of incidents across multiple states. And facts that should have caused suspicion amid this killing spree are often ignored—things like suffocating in a silo when the grain isn’t being taken out from the bottom or a hanging that produces no bruising around the victim’s neck. And when a police sergeant asks the coroner about the latter evidence, she refuses to talk … but the sergeant still ignores the issue. A little more attention to aligning the investigation to the extent and nature of the crime would have increased the impact of the tale considerably.

Overall, expressive descriptions of setting and backstory add spice to a tense, well-paced thriller. Tightening up the plot would have let the action reach its full potential.

[Bernadette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book by Chris Norbury -- an entertaining, fast-paced mystery/thriller, set in southern Minnesota farm country and the Twin Cities. Matt Lanier, a young music professor raised on a farm, uncovers a major land-swindling plot after his father dies unexpectedly under suspicious circumstances. Lanier is likeable, gullible in some ways, but a creative, fast thinker who can surprise his more experienced adversaries as corporate thugs and politicians try to outwit him. I liked Norbury's realistic portrayal of the farmers and rural community, especially a gathering of older farmers at a coffee klatch at Hy-Vee. One thing I didn't buy was Lanier's lack of computer experience. It's unlikely that a U of Minnesota music professor would be able to be part of academia without going online to set up his work/class schedule, paycheck/health insurance, departmental info, etc. Lanier hires a student tech genius to assist him in deep research of the bad guys, but his near total lack of computer experience was not realistic. That said, Norbury writes a gripping read, intriguing enough for me to seek out his other Lanier books.

[Justin Alcala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Lanier is a Midwest bassist from the charming town of Straight River. He’s a simple musician with a crew of good Minnesota friends that are as charisma and interesting as Matt. But not all things in Straight River are linear. There’s a local millionaire with a thirst for power that is willing to hurt, trouble or even kill anyone in order to accomplish his goal. And whether Matt is willing or not, he’s dragged into the middle of it.

Straight River a descriptive tale that drops you right into the good hearted locals of the Midwest, who in my opinion are some of the best people from east-to-west. You feel the charm of the locals, the affable characters, and the attention to detail that comes with Minnesota (which I’ve never been to but feel like I have after reading this). The plot is interesting and the high flying action is nonstop. Most impressively, the grammar is fantastic, cleaner than most books from big time publishers like Penguin and Harper Collins.

If you need a little spice in your life, adrenaline in your veins, and all around fast paced action, pick up Straight River. It’s a super charged turbo engine in a Midwest blue collar pickup truck.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Norbury's second book in the Matt Lanier series is a prequel to the first and is noted as Book 1 in the series. Even though Castle Danger came out earlier, do read Straight River first otherwise there will be spoilers revealed to you! I enjoyed Straight River more than I did Castle Danger; it's a better written book than Castle Danger. That said, I felt as though the writing at times did not fully convey the emotional gravity one would expect of certain devastating events--characters didn't react the way you'd think they should after learning of the death of a loved one, for example. This distracted me from getting fully immersed in the story-line. But that's me. I really enjoyed the books from the perspective of their setting in Minnesota. Will there be a third in this series, Chris? Does Smythe make good on his threats? Thanks for the great read!

[Haris · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting and surprising page turner. I found the setting and central characters so refreshing and unexpected. I was hooked from the very first page. Matt Lanier grew up the son of a Minnesota farmer, but left the farm, moved to Minneapolis, and became a musician. You don’t often find a musician at the center of a mystery and the way he relates to the world has huge impact on how he navigates the danger he finds himself in. I thought all the characters were very well drawn and I was with Matt every step of the way with every surprising twist and turn. I don’t want to give too much away, but just know the tension and danger continues to ramp up from the first page to the last.

[Larry F. Sommers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Lanier, musician-turned-crime cover, sparks the action in this suspenseful thriller set Up North in Minnesota. I can't wait to read the next one.

[Dawn Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I was more interested in how the setting was handled - in what is clearly a renaming of my hometown to Straight River, it was nice to revisit the old places from Lanier's perspective of someone who was returning from a long absence. I also enjoyed getting to travel to the BWCA and other places that are familiar. As the plot picked up, I found that I couldn't put the book down. There were a couple notable twists that were quite unexpected.

[Sue Hagen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't have a true ending If the reader wants to know what happens, he has to buy and read the next book. Some of the action was too farfetched for me.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the things I liked most about this book was the extended ending. So many authors build up the suspense through multiple chapters, only to abruptly pack the who, what, when, where, why, and how into the last few pages. But just when you think you've reached the end of "Straight River," Norbury throws in another twist.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it very much

I liked this book a lot. I enjoy reading local authors and I will definitely read the other titles in this series.

[Patty Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had such high hopes for this book as it is based in Minnesota ,but sadly it was underwhelming.

I found it dry and boring . I couldn't connect with or care about the protagonist, ,but I did finish it ,eventhough, I scanned pages towards the end to do so.

I prefer William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor series much more . My hopes were to find a similar series to it , but this definitely did not come close .

[Kelly Greenameyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read. Easy flowing and kept me wanting more! Not so patiently waiting for book 3 :)

[lezli dow · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a nail biter! The characters, the pace, and the storyline kept me engaged and reading “one more page”.

[Tony Parsons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straight River, MN (600 acres). Jack (old black Lab) was barking to high heaven.
Ray Lanier (70, widower/father, retired USMC) went down stairs armed & someone had thrown a rock through the window again.
911.
Several yrs. ago the Great Recession wreaked havoc on everyone/everything.

Wayne Hibbert (Hibbert Realty real estate agent) was using high pressured sales pitch to by other PPL’s land/farms.
Matt Lanier (son, jazz musician, BA; music), & the group had been on tour at the Dakota Jazz Club (Minneapolis, MN.), Kansas City KS, St. Louis MO, Columbus OH, Cleveland OH, Chicago IL, & Detroit MI. They had returned home.
Sergeant Clay Gebhardt (Straight County PD) over the phone told Matt what happened to Ray.
He had fallen into grain silo & suffocated to death.
Matt met with John “Max” Maxwell (Ray’s attorney).
Straight River Eagles Club. Wayne was enjoying a few drinks & some comradery.

Wayne confronted Helmer Myrick (Swedish) again about his land proposition.
Straight County Law Enforcement Center (LEC). Courtney Johnson (operator) took Betty Myrick 911 call.

After the funeral/burial Betty Myrick (widow) showed Matt Helmer’s life insurance policy. Because of the suicide exclusion clause, it would not pay anything.

Matt later went to talk with Dave Swanson, & Amy Swanson about his Ray’s death.
Pennington County, SD, Sheriff’s office teletype confirmed Wayne fell or was pushed over a Black Hills cliff.

Straight River Hospital When he awoke Julia Deason LPN was checking Matt’s vitals.
Zach Perez (U of Minnesota musical student) was in another room.
Chief Michael Flannery (Straight County PD, LEC), & Officer Hansen came to ask Matt a few questions.

A huge blast had severely damaged the Lanier farmstead.
The fireman did their best to contain the fire. There was not much left of the homestead.
Clay had survived but Officer Steven Sandvik (Straight County PD) had perished. Matt was not accounted for.
Chief Bill Stewart (Straight River FD) was inspecting the remains.
Does Dave “Swanny” Swanson (Amy’s husband, Matt’s neighbor, farmer/rancher) know something?
Diane (Matt’s ex-wife) admitted to him she broke up with Steven “Steve” Crossley.

Matt returned to Dave, & Amy’s farm/ranch. They were tied to posts, she was nude & Dave had gotten the wholly crap beat out of him.
Alan Witt (enforcer, former convict, USMC dishonorable discharge) had done it.
Will the illegal ranch/land buyers be found & brought to justice?

Warning: This book contains adult content, violence, which is only suitable for mature readers. It may be offensive or have potential adverse psychological effects on the reader.

I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.

A very awesome book cover, & great font/writing style. Wow, a very well written mystery/thriller book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great mystery/thriller movie, or better yet a mini TV series. A very easy rating of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free Goodreads; Making Connections; Making Connections discussion group talk; BookLocker Inc.; Author; PDF, Word book
Tony Parsons (Washburn; MSW)