Pretty good mystery and fast paced storytelling. ( )

After tracking a clever killer in Death Stalks Door County, park ranger and former Chicago homicide detective Dave Cubiak is elected Door County sheriff. His newest challenge arrives as spring brings not new life but tragic death to the isolated fishing village of Gills Rock. Three prominent World War II veterans who are about to be honored for their military heroics die from carbon monoxide poisoning during a weekly card game. Blame falls to a faulty heater but Cubiak puzzles over details. When one of the widows receives a message claiming the men “got what they deserved,” he realizes that there may be more to the deaths than a simple accident.
Investigating, Cubiak discovers that the men’s veneer of success and respectability hides a trail of lies and betrayal that stems from a single, desperate act of treachery and eventually spreads a web of deceit across the peninsula. In a dark, moody tale that spans more than half a century, Cubiak encounters a host of suspects with motives for murder. Amid broken dreams, corruption, and loss, he sorts out the truth. Death at Gills Rock is the second book in Patricia Skalka’s Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery series. ( )

This crime series is set in Door County, Wisconsin and focuses on Sheriff Dave Cubiak, formerly a Chicago homicide detective who moved north to start his life over. His wife and daughter were killed by a drunk driver four year earlier, and Dave drank himself into losing his job over it. He still has a long way to go to overcome his grief and guilt.

As the story begins, the county is rocked by the simultaneous death of three octogenarian hometown war heroes, men who apparently died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a cabin in Gills Rock. Dave, sheriff for over a year now, heads up the peninsula to investigate and finds things might be more complicated than they seemed at first, and that the deaths might not have been accidental.

As secrets come out and the pieces fall into place, Dave has to decide what needs to be revealed about the past, and what should stay buried. The decision would be clear if it were only a matter of law, but in this case, it’s also a matter of more lives potentially being ruined.

Evaluation: The story behind the deaths is interesting, but the main character of the book is definitely Door County, beloved by tourists and this author alike. Wisconsinites will especially appreciate the exploration of the setting. ( )