Washed Up

by Susan Koefod

"A bold new voice in the crime genre." —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author of Ordinary Grace WASHED UP, a shocking discovery on the banks of the Mississippi River forever changes 11-year-old Abatha Cox and Somerset Hills, the small Minnesota community she calls home. Lead investigator Arvo Thorson is the only person trusted enough to investigate the tragic murder, but he's drowning too—in a toxic cocktail of whiskey, vodka and gin—and his career will be dead in the water unless he can solve the crime. Christine Ivory, the brainy, fashionable and compulsively organized social worker caring for the girl has never been more intent on thwarting Arvo. "Arvo Thorson is an ex-smoker and current drunk with a weakness for blondes, and he's about to have a heart attack. My kind of detective . . . washed up and on the case. Readers are going to like this guy." —Steve Thayer, New York Times bestselling author of Saint Mudd "Washed Up is rich with suspense, poetic descriptions, and fully-fleshed, sympathetic characters. Susan Koefod is a writer to watch!" —Jess Lourey, author of the Lefty-nominated Murder-by-Month Mysteries "Susan Koefod's fine debut novel Washed Up is anything but. It's the be­ginning of what promises to be a bold new voice in the crime genre. Three strong elements make it a clear a couple of wonderfully flawed protagonists; a lot of sizzling sexual tension; and a plot with the kind of suspense and pacing that readers absolutely love. Hungry for a good read? This book satisfies!" —William Kent Krueger, Minnesota Book Award winning author of Thunder Bay

201 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2020

About the author

A native Minnesotan, Susan Koefod spent much of her girlhood taking long bicycle rides and walks through hilly Dakota County and along the Mississippi River. Such excursions typically filled her imagination with poetry and story ideas. She invariably thought of herself in the third person and was the first character in her early stories. Ultimately, she relegated herself to the background as she could always invent more interesting characters to play the starring roles.

Susan Koefod is an award-winning novelist. Her Arvo Thorson mystery series debuted with Washed Up [North Star Press], which was praised by Library Journal as “a smashing debut with astute observations and gorgeous prose.” The series includes Broken Down and Burnt Out. Her short stories have been published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and other place. Her latest novel is Albert Park: a Memoir in Lies. Susan won a Loft McKnight Artist Fellowship for Writers, a distinction of excellence and a $25,000 award open to Minnesota fine artists and writers.

She lives in West St. Paul, Minnesota, with her family.

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this one because for some reason the 3rd book was on my list, so I wanted to start at the beginning of the series. That other book is still on my list, so I sure hope they get better.

Anyway...this was pretty formulaic. The dissolute detective thing has been done many times before, and much better.