The Dead of Summer: A Piper Blackwell Mystery

Piper Blackwell #3

by Jean Rabe

Shouts of delight turn to screams of terror when a carnival ride goes berserk at the Spencer County Fair. Sheriff Piper Blackwell must contain the chaos and investigate the possible sabotage, even as she tries to solve a local businessman’s horrific murder.

But managing two investigations with at least one killer on the loose pushes the young officer and her tiny staff to their limits. Can Piper catch the murderer, or will the summer’s body count continue to rise?

Genres: Mystery

276 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2019

About the author

When I am not writing, I toss tennis balls to my cadre of dogs. My house is filled with books and dogs, you can smell both when you walk in the front door. It's a good smell.

I have 36 published novels and am currently writing in the mystery genre. My latest mystery, The Dead of Winter, was a finalist for the Claymore Award and is the first in the Piper Blackwell series.

I live in a tiny town in the middle of Illinois that has a Dollar General, a pizza place with exceedingly slow service, a veterinarian (good thing, eh?), and train tracks...lots of train tracks.

Reviews

[Steven Paul Leiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great strengths of Jean Rabe’s writing, among many, is her ability to immerse a reader in a scene or moment. It could be a loud and action-filled moment, or a quite and contemplative one, it doesn’t matter. Rabe’s art here is to wrap you in the sights and sounds surrounding, and the feelings and perceptions surging through, the character whose point-of-view is dominating the moment.

This strength is beautifully on display in the first chapter of Rabe’s recently published third Piper Blackwell mystery, The Dead of Summer.

Piper, the very young Sherriff of Spencer County, Indiana, is taking the day off and enjoying the county fair with her boyfriend when disaster strikes in the first sentence. Suddenly the air is filled with sounds of metal torturing metal, fairgoers screaming out in horror or calling out for help. Piper’s body moves fast toward the trouble as her mind races to try to comprehend what has happened. The sights, sounds, and smells of a county fair take on a surreal quality, but a darkly serious one, and the reader feels this deeply, becoming not just an observer but a participant.

One is tempted to call Rabe’s writing here cinematic, but it is far deeper and more textured than that. After all, inscribed fiction, whether poetry or prose, was the first virtual reality. The reading of a good translation of Homer’s The Illiad will convince you of that.
The Dead of Summer: A Piper Blackwell Mystery
In The Dead of Summer, Rabe has fully matured into an author of mysteries. In the past Rabe concentrated on writing science fiction and fantasy, but, being a lover of mysteries, she always wanted to try her hand at this more “realistic” genre. So Rabe studied the genre to see what made good mystery novels work. She was an astute student. But what is best about her three Piper Blackwell mysteries is not the situations, the plot, the characters, or the puzzles—although all are contenders—but the exceptional artistry of her prose. It’s her intelligent, possibly instinctual, shaping of this virtual reality through the manipulating of words on a page, making the etherial tactile and the psychological palpable, that I celebrate.

But to what end? To characters who become flesh and blood; to situations that become immediate; to doubts, resentments, passions, anger, puzzlements, anxieties, pride, that become the reader’s in the trick of empathy that the best of fictions can conjure.

You don’t need to read the first two Piper Blackwell mysteries to read The Dead of Summer. But why would you deny yourself that pleasure?

[Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book in the Piper Blackwell Mystery series is easily the most action-packed of the trio. Strong characterization and strong plotting have characterized this series of books from the start. With each entry in the series, the characters continue to grow and reveal new facets of their personalities The addition of the action at the end of this one makes this series a "must read" for the modern mystery fan. Author, Jean Rabe proves once again that she is well-deserving of the recent acknowledgement she has received from the Illinois Soon to be Famous Author Project. The only real mystery here is that it took so long for this excellent author to receive these accolades!

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book

As always I have not been disappointed Ms. Rabe. I can't wait to read the next adventure in the Piper Blackwell saga.

[George Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Piper Blackwell series has been fun. Good stories. Lighter reading. This one works comic book collecting and CCGs into the plot.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piper Mystery #3 Rocks!

This third volume is quite possibly the best of Jean Rabe’s new rural Indiana Sheriff Piper Blackwell murder mysteries/police procedures. It is not very long for a novel, and quite fast-paced, and a very engrossing and thus quick read. The characters are naturally more developed, and that’s fun for those who’ve read the first two books, but it will stand on its own. I found Jean’s writing more fluid and so in to excellent use of colors, in this summer fair/carnival-set story! Here is my favorite sentence: “Hair so blonde it looked like spun sugar” - said of a child at the fair. I highly recommend this book!

[Christina Stiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rabe Does it Again!

This is a solid selection in the Piper Blackwell mystery series. I've been enjoying the cast of characters that make up the Spencer County Sheriff's Department, and I love the added geekery of comics and card games in the book's storyline. Makes my geek heart smile. Rabe knows how to tell a story. Good stuff!

[loopyloulaura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a start to the book! We are straight into the action on the very first page of The Dead of Summer as a fairground ride malfunctions leading to multiple deaths. Then a comic book store owner is found murdered, horrifically tortured before death.
Piper and her team begin their investigations and soon negligence and witness protection are thrown into the mix...
This is soooo different from the last two books (The Dead of Winter and The Dead of Night) but just as enthralling. The plot and cases are totally unique and an absolute credit to the author 's amazing imagination and literary talent. The funfair deaths are tragic and emotive so really pulled at my heartstrings as I imagined my own children enjoying a day out only for horror to unfold.
There are mentions of events in the previous books but no spoilers so The Dead of Summer could be read on its own but I guarantee you will want to read the others in the series!
The drama unfolds at a rapid pace and I felt completely drawn in to both cases. The professional relationships between Piper and her team and now more trusting and respectful, although tensions do exist due to Piper's lack of experience and her own self-doubt. Piper's romance with Nang continues to develop which adds a gentle subplot to counter the graphic and tense investigations.
There is a realism about the plot, characters and style of writing that make it so believable and easy to engage with. The unpleasant forensic detail of the murder and aftermath of the funfair accident are delivered factually and sensitively yet conveys the impact on Piper and her team to make it emotive.
The Dead of... series is simply superb and I can't wait for the next one!

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another excellent book in the series. I like these, even if everything gets cleaned up nice and tidy at the end (sometimes there should be loose ends). Same problem as with the others - the abbreviated sentences. Some people talk like that all the time (probably, anyway), but not as many people and as much as in this book.

A good mystery; you can start to piece things together as you get closer to the end, but still enough to make you wonder what's going on. The sub-plots are nice as well - just enough seasoning to improve the taste, but not enough to overwhelm the main dish.

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a carnival ride gone terribly wrong to the murder of a local businessman's murder, Sheriff Piper Blackwell most certainly has her hands full. Case after case comes into her purview and she proves herself time after as she manages to solve the most difficult cases. Both cases are a priority for Piper and she most certainly has proved that her age as a woman not yet twenty-five hasn't slow her down one bit.

Factor in two things in this third book in a fabulous series - the excellent writing and the perfect narration as I listened to the Audible audiobook. I was completely pulled into all three books in this series and each book, including this one, were wonderful reads. I was completely pulled into the stories and find Piper to be a great character.

There is a fourth book in this series, The Dead of Jerusalem Ridge, and I am adding it to my TBR. I do hope that the series will continue as I would love to read more of Piper and her experiences.

Many thanks to Boone Street Press, Piper Blackwell and Psst...Promotions for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

[Tha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Has you can notice this stars don't represent the full potential of this author. That being said:

I found it weak compared to the other two books in the series.

A simple plot with simple resolutions. Despite this, it was still an easy and kinda fun to read. But it didn't grab me the way the previous ones did.

But I still recommend.

Goodreads and byebye

[Deedra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Piper is back again and can't seem to get a break!She is at the fair when a ride breaks.It seems she is always on duty.I loved it! Narration by Catherine Wenglowski was terrific! I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.' 

[Wendy Lord · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each Piper Blackwell novel gets better and better! So far this is my favorite.

[Bill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well-done murder mystery with enough twists to make it hard to put down.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was good. You could kind of see where it was going but it was good getting there. Like the characters.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting and it was fast paced. I will definitely read more of this series.

[Shawn Remfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cozy mysteries are like sugar cookies. They're pretty tasty, but after five or six you start to feel physically ill. What I really like about Blackwell Mysteries is that they're not just sugar cookies. They're cookies flavored with lemon zest and chocolate chips and cranberries! You never know which cookie you'll get but you know it'll be sweet and a little different from all of the others.

In this book, we have our same beloved rural Indiana town and beloved characters. This time, there's a whole bunch of craziness going on. We don't just have one killer. We have several things going on and it's hard to tell which are tied together.

Fans of comics and Stan Lee will have an easier time figuring this one out. Don't get me wrong, you'll be pretty stunned by the amount of research Rabe has done. However, the key to solving most of the mystery lies in a key Stan Lee ingredient. No. Nope. I'm not telling you what it is. What I will tell you is that whether you're a comic fan or not, you'll have a blast wading through the bodies with this one.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dead of Summer – Jean Rabe

Buckle your seatbelts! Just when Sheriff Piper Blackwell thought she’d seen the worst—a deadly Spencer County Fair ride incident, leaving a trail of death and destruction—her summer gets a bunch more complicated.

The first-term sheriff, fresh from a stint in the military, including deployment in Iraq, can’t catch a break when a gruesome crime scene pulls her attention away from the fair tragedy. Her small department is stretched to the limit when a local businessman, comic book collector, Sam Silver, is murdered in horrific fashion. Who would want to see Sam, dead? He’d been a popular institution around those parts for twenty years. More to the point, who had the motive to attack him, so viciously, with an ice pick?

New department detective, Basil Meredith, previously with the Chicago Police Department, thought moving to the sleepy Southern Indiana county would offer safety for his family, and less stress for himself. But, here he was, back in the soup with death and injury at the county fair, in addition to several unexplained murders. When a couple of strangers begin stalking some of the victim’s friends, the mystery expands. Basil, and the rest of the department, have their hands full.

Piper had replaced her father as sheriff when he declined to run for another term due to illness. Chief Deputy, Oren Rosenberg, had hoped to replace the former sheriff, but stayed on to insure the young and inexperienced, Piper, would stay out of trouble. While Piper counts on her department, the local coroner, and her dad, now Chief of Police, for advice, she knows the buck stops with her.
Dead of Summer is the third book in the series. I hope there are more! Jean Rabe not only weaves an excellent mystery, she paints pictures with her dialogue and prose, making the characters jump right off the page for the reader.

I was gifted a copy of this book in order to give an honest review. I love the characters, the mysteries, and the excellent writing in all three Piper Blackwell Mysteries. Highly recommended to all who love exciting mysteries.

[Katinka · Rating 5 out of 5]

While attending the county fair with her boyfriend, Piper finds herself thrust into the middle of a major crisis. One of the rides malfunctions and breaks apart, causing a number of injuries & some deaths before it completely falls to pieces. So much for a relaxing evening at the fair. Piper & all of the other department staff are immediately on duty, helping to rescue injured fairgoers and investigating what happened and who, if anyone, was at fault. But this is only the beginning of the problems Piper faces in this story.

The next day, one of the other members of the Sheriff’s department discovers that the owner of the local comic book store, Sam Silver, has been gruesomely murdered in his own home and several other of Sam’s regular customers have gone missing. There seems to be no motive behind this murder, and the more they look into it, the stranger the case seems to become. Between these two problems, Piper and everyone else involved with the Sheriff’s office are kept quite busy.

This third book in the Piper Blackwell series is every bit as addictive as the first two books in the series were. The story told kept me reading far longer into the evenings than I should have been and was full of enough twists and turns to keep me guessing as to what was really happening. Every time I thought I had a reasonable guess, something more fell into place to start making me look at it in another way.

Who was Sam Silver, and why would anyone have wanted to torture and kill the local comic store owner? Ms. Rabe has once again written a fantastic tale that will likely keep others as just as engrossed in the story as I was. If you like mysteries, I strongly recommend giving this one a try. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

[Pegboard · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the very cover of The Dead of Summer, Jean Rabe sets the mood of her newest Piper Blackwell novel. This “cozy police procedural” gets gruesome as a carnival ride malfunctions with horrific results, putting this small, rural town of Indiana on the map. Sheriff Piper Blackwell is just finding her rhythm within the department when she is called on to make major decisions. With the backing of seasoned officers, Piper investigates many murders. The continual question remains, how does the carnival accident tie in with the murder of the comic store owner? Then within these questions lies more questions. As Piper and her team digs deeper into these crimes the more bizarre the mystery.
 
Jean Rabe is one of those unique individuals whose love for multiple genre allows her to write with a depth that is rarely seen. The Dead of Summer draws the reader in from the very beginning as the bodies pile up. The characters within the story are dedicated to solving these murders; some out of duty, others out of the thrill of the action. The continual action pulls the reader along as the story unfolds into a distinctive closing. I love how the author captures the exclusive aura of a small town and its citizens. She makes you hear the music, smell the corn dogs, and feel the wind as you run along with Piper. Each setting, person, and event is brought alive, which is chilling. Mystery mayhem at its best. Excellent novel for those who like it forbidding and extraordinary.     

Review written by Peggy Jo Wipf for Readers' Favorite.

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was supposed to be a night of fun until a carnival ride malfunctions leaving several dead. Sheriff Piper Blackwell is called in to look at the ride and possible sabotage. But the more she start looking, the more bodies she starts finding. Spencer County has a small police force and it is stretched to its limits trying to find the murder/murderers.

You jump right into the action as the ride goes crazy at the carnival and Piper to get to it and direct people away. It’s not a pretty scene and had me hooked from page one. I liked Piper. She left the military to return home to help her father with his chemotherapy. I love how she is not a push over, she is strong willed and a great main character.

This is a great mystery that had me guessing until the end. It was great to revise Piper after reading The Dead of Night. I really need to go back and read the first book of this series, The Dead of Winter. This is a wonderfully engrossing read and one that I recommend checking out. I can’t wait to read more about Piper.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.