Northwoods: A Novel

Written by Amy Pease

Narrated by Chris Henry Coffey and Zac Aleman

“Riveting.” —People

In this “compelling and heartbreaking debut that marks a new and important voice in the mystery genre” (William Kent Krueger), a murder with ties to America’s opioid epidemic reveals the dark underbelly of an idyllic Midwestern resort town.

Eli North is not okay.

His drinking is getting worse by the day, his emotional wounds after a deployment to Afghanistan are as raw as ever, his marriage and career are over, and the only job he can hold down is with the local sheriff’s department. And that’s only because the sheriff is his mother—and she’s overwhelmed with small town Shaky Lake’s dwindling budget and the fallout from the opioid epidemic.

The Northwoods of Wisconsin may be a vacationer’s paradise, but amidst the fishing trips, campfires, and Paul Bunyan festivals, something sinister is taking shape. When the body of a teenage boy is found in the lake, it sets in motion an investigation that leads Eli to a wealthy enclave with a violent past, a pharmaceutical salesman, and a missing teenage girl. Soon, Eli and his mother, along with a young FBI agent, are on the hunt for more than just a killer in this thriller that is “not to be missed” (Mindy Mejia, USA TODAY bestselling author).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Jan 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9781797167893

Amy Pease

Amy Pease is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin and the Madison Writer’s Studio, and works as a nurse practitioner, where she is a nationally recognized HIV specialist. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two children. Northwoods is her first novel.

Reviews for Northwoods

[Brown Charlotte · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really great debut procedural, very evocative, suspenseful and interesting. Grapples quite a few big topics but also the usual troubled cop trope included - which I don’t mind and tend to enjoy! Could see it as a series/film in future.

[Tracy Isaacs · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Engaging story with a protagonist you feel for. But the book tried to tackle too many “issues” (addiction, troubled family relationships, ptsd, big pharma, corporate corruption, intimate partner violence, divorce) and that took away from the pace and plot.

[kwakyewaa owusu-nyantakyi · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was really good! I’ll be looking out for more books from this author!

[Cilica · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The story is engaging and the characters are rich with humanity. The grammar is good. Grammar and writing in many books here on Everand are horrible, thus it needs to be mentioned. The narration is strange when suddenly the narrator switches to a different person and back again.

[Jules H. · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love when all the elements of a great read come together the way they do in Northwoods—compelling story, sensitive character development, and quality writing. Plus, Coffey’s narration was perfection.