Book Review: All That Glitters by Mike Martin

 

Sergeant Windflower is back with a new adventure in All That Glitters by Mike Martin.

Now retired from the force, Windflower is a Community Service Officer in Grand Bank. But when a dead body is discovered at the bed & breakfast he co-owns, he is pulled into the investigation. Working alongside his friend, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Eddie Tizzard, Windflower must bring ruthless diamond smugglers to justice before anyone else gets hurt.

All That Glitters is a novel featuring changes for Windflower and Tizzard. Windflower is focusing on family, the bed & breakfast, and his new role as Community Service Officer. Tizzard finds himself promoted as a result of changes at the RCMP, and not all of those changes are good. 

Like F. M. Meredith's Rocky Bluff P.D. series based in California, the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series blends professional and personal lives to create an engaging read. While I'm not sure what's next for Windflower and Tizzard in this plot-driven series, I'll be sure to check out the next installment when its ready. This novel easily stands alone, but it's always great to get the bigger picture by starting at the beginning. 

If you like engaging mysteries that offer a glimpse into its character personal and professional lives along with a dose of mysticism, check out All That Glitters by Mike Martin and the rest of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C3SGWMWT
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing (May 19, 2023)
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 19, 2023
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 2916 KB
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 301 pages

I received a digital copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Book Spotlight: All That Glitters by Mike Martin

Sergeant Winston Windflower is moving on to a new chapter of his life, no longer an RCMP officer but now a Community Safety Officer in his home of Grand Bank, Newfoundland.

But when a body is found in the bed and breakfast he co-owns, diamonds are found in the body’s digestive system, and then Windflower’s friend Dr. Sanjay, who was given the diamonds for safekeeping, is kidnapped, it’s clear that crime has returned once more to Grand Bank.

Windflower finds himself back in the thick of it, helping his newly promoted friend, RCMP Corporal Eddie Tizzard, track down a ruthless diamond smuggler who will stop at nothing — kidnapping, even murder — to pull off his dirty business.

This is another finely spun Windflower mystery that contrasts suspense and tension with the joys of friendship, family, and gratitude.

Amazon (US): https://tinyurl.com/4ucyjwzv 

Amazon (Canada): https://tinyurl.com/z9b2n5br

Barnes & Noble: https://tinyurl.com/2nzf687b

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.

He is the award-winning and best-selling author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 13 books in this light mystery series with the publication of All That Glitters.

A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest A Tangled Web was released as an audiobook in 2023. All audiobooks are available from Audible in Canada and around the world.

Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Capital Crime Writers.

Visit Mike online at:

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Look for my review of All That Glitters coming soon!

Book Review: The Walker on the Cape by Mike Martin

If you enjoy a police procedural or a murder mystery with a unique protagonist, you'll find it in The Walker on the Cape by Mike Martin.

The body of Elias Martin is found on the Cape on the eastern coast of Canada. Word was the old man died of a heart attack or stroke, but it is soon discovered he was poisoned. Sergeant Wintson Windflower and his trusted colleague, Eddie Tizzard, are called to investigate, discovering Grand Bank  holds a lot of secrets for a small fishing community.

The Walker on the Cape is the first book in Martin's Sgt. Windflower Mysteries series. It features a full-blooded Cree as a sergeant for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. While balancing his work life with a little bit of romance, Windflower draws upon his native background and traditions to help others.

Martin does a fine job of crafting an engaging mystery with several twists and turns. He ramps up the tension between Windflower and his superior, making this story feel real. This novel had a quick pace and was easy to move through.

Personally, I'm not a fan of the third person omniscient point of view, so I struggled with that. In addition, it would have been helpful if the book made it through another round or two of edits. The number of typographical errors, missed words, or incorrect words drove me a bit batty; but that's the editor in me. Some readers might not notice as much.

Overall, this looks like it will be a fun series to read. Windflower and Tizzard make a great team.

File Size: 353 KB
Print Length: 243 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: BookLocker.com, Inc. (November 1, 2012)
Publication Date: November 1, 2012
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B00A95U6JQ


I received a digital copy of this book from the author. This review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way.

Interview with Mike Martin, Author of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series

Mike Martin was born in Newfoundland on the East Coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand. He is the author of Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People and has written a number of short stories that have published in various publications including Canadian Stories and Downhome magazine.

The Walker on the Cape was his first full fiction book and the premiere of the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series. Other books in the series include The Body on the T, Beneath the Surface, A Twist of Fortune and A Long Ways from Home, which was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award as the best light mystery of the year. A Tangled Web was released in 2017 and the newest book in the series is Darkest Before the Dawn.

Website: www.sgtwindflowermysteries.com

Twitter: @mike54martin

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore/

Did you like mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels when you were growing up?

I loved the Hardy Boys and Tom Swift, a British young boy's series that had lots of adventures and they always had a bag of sweets. Later, I loved Stephen King, until he scared me too much.

What was the first story in that genre that you wrote?

I never wrote horror, but mystery remained a favorite. My first mystery was The Walker on the Cape, the first book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series.

What is your favorite part of writing in this genre?

I love the idea of discovering a crime like a murder and then taking the time to not just solve the crime, but to explore why people do these kind of things in the first place.

What do you find most difficult about writing in this genre?

There are some general rules that you have to follow that sometimes stop the flow, but it's also that readers are very smart and point out any errors or mistakes that they find. You have to find a hook or something different every time you kill someone, especially in a series.

Is there an author in this genre that you admire most?

Louise Penny is an author that many of us admire and few of us can hope to live up to. She has created characters and a world that we would all like to live in.

What is up next for you?

I have started a new book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series and I'm also working on an audio book for The Walker on the Cape. Both will be out this year sometime.

Do you have anything to add?

Thank you very much for your interest. Keep reading and I will keep writing.