Burnt Out

by Susan Koefod

CAN SHE FORGET THE PAST TO SAVE HER OWN LIFE? A burnt-out social worker is reluctantly caught up in the suspicious disappearance of a world-famous geologist and learns her own life is in danger. Will she be able to forget the disaster of her failed love affair and reach out to the only person who can truly help her—detective Arvo Thorson? "Prickly-but-principled social worker Christine Ivory is feeling burned out on the job and retreats to the family place in Minnesota's north woods. Burnt Out the third in a richly realized series from Susan Koefod, captures the complex push-pull of home and family, not to mention the dark underbelly of idyllic small-town life. Add a missing geologist and a ripped-from-the-headlines clash over oil and gas rights, and Koefod hits a gusher of motives for murder." —Erin Hart, award-winning author of The Book of Killowen "Koefod skillfully captures the many layers of drama and tension underlying small town life." —Brian Freeman, international bestselling author of Spilled Blood

188 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2021

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

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been following Christine Ivory since Washed Up, and this final book brought everything full circle. Burnt Out has that quiet, haunting kind of power, the kind that lingers. Koefod captures the tension between love, loss, and survival so well. It’s more than a mystery, it’s a story about finding your way back to yourself.