Better Safe Than Sorry

Reviews from Good Reads

Faith, family, friends, good food – all important to Winston Windflower, as is his job as community safety officer for Grand Bank and a number of other surrounding communities. When his local RCMP detachment closed because of budgetary concerns, he decided to leave the Mounties and accept this new position. He’s happy spending more time with family and friends, and the job is okay. But only okay? Well, maybe better than okay, but he misses the challenge of running the station, protecting the public, solving crimes. I daresay he might even miss the excitement of a fast-paced, active investigation. He’s an active, vigorous young man, and as we’ve gotten to know him more and more through this wonderful series, we can recognize that Windflower is starting to get a little stir-crazy.

As a community service officer he is well-known, well-liked, and competent. He’s in a good routine. But that’s the problem, Windflower isn’t satisfied with routine. He looks forward to the occasional RCMP request to consult, fill in, offer his opinion and advice. The problem, though, is that serious crime hasn’t left Newfoundland or St. John’s alone but has popped up in Marystown and Grand Bank as well. This is a darker world than we are used to seeing Windflower in; he’s had some close calls and narrow escapes in the recent past.

And his wife Sheila worries about that. Windflower would never go against Sheila’s wishes and makes that clear to his temporary superiors. On the other hand, Sheila knows how important being a Mountie was to Winston, how it’s in his very bones, his passion. She sees a man that is a little more mature and a whole lot less reckless today and she doesn’t want to stand in the way of his dreams, his calling if you will. Some tough decisions coming up.

A new drug has found its way to Marystown, and as the temporary head of the RCMP detachment there it’s Windflower’s long-time friend Eddie Tizzard’s job to deal with that as well as a number of recent crimes and a short-staffed disgruntled workforce. Eddie is perfectly capable, but temporary is the key word here: Eddie has a young family of his own and a wife who is also in law enforcement. He doesn’t want the responsibility, stress or time demand leading the detachment requires.

Sgt. Windflower is brought back in first an unofficial position, then a temporary official one, and the carrot for a permanent position is always dangling. Once again, he’s in his element being back in the thick of things, using his brain to solve problems and outsmart criminals. Leadership comes naturally to him. And he will need all of his skills in this current situation.

Better Safe Than Sorry is the darkest, sharpest, edgiest story yet in the series. It feels like crime is rampant; the criminals are bolder, more reckless, more desperate. The detachment is understaffed and morale is low and rebellious. Some members of upper management aren’t exactly giving off a trustworthy vibe. Combine that with the distribution, sale, and deadly use of the new drug, the wrong body in a hearse and more mysterious deaths and life is no longer calm and serene. The pace picks up. The danger is larger and closer. Better Safe Than Sorry is full of intrigue, suspense and many suspects.

If author Mike Martin has shown us a darker side of Marystown and Grand Bank and a Sgt. Winston Windflower who has to rise to the task, he’s also done what he always does so well: balanced that with the Winston whose core treasures are faith, family, friends and good food. When he’s home with the family he is immersed in that life and fully present.

It’s always a pleasure and a welcome change of pace to catch up with this side of his life. Sheila’s business is successfully growing in her capable hands. The girls are growing too: Stella is now six and a half and Amelia Louise is four. Amelia Louise has always been a little character and she is still delightfully so. Stella was such a welcome addition to their family and she’s adorable with her interests and activities and her interaction with her little sister. I look forward to reading about their outdoor fun, movie nights, pancake breakfasts in every book. Lady the dog and Molly the cat, with their unique contributions, round out this warm, loving family. The detailed descriptions of the delicious food and Winston’s preparations of it always make my mouth water and make me want to mark my place in the book and start cooking. Old friends, family and co-workers pop up in abundance. And at his center is Winston’s faith. The smudging, the dream weaving and the communication with and insight from ancestors, some of whom have only recently departed this life, is always a welcome glimpse into something a little otherworldly and fascinating.

Thanks to author Mike Martin for providing an advance copy of Better Safe Than Sorry. This is a series I have enjoyed from the very start, watching Winston Windflower grow, mature, struggle, find happiness, make hard choices. I recommend every book in this series without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

- Sally

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” (The Godfather III)

Welcome back to Winston Windflower’s world, where he’s getting accustomed to his retirement from the RCMP, whilst still taking an active role in the safety of his little community of Grand Bank, Newfoundland. His family is happy, his cat tolerates him, and his dog is all too pleased to have many walks and treats.

His assistant, Betsy, still calls him Sergeant, and his former compatriots still come to him for advice; Eddie Tizzard, whose own family is about to grow, is finding it difficult to fill the shoes of the previous Inspector at the Marystown RCMP detachment.

An insidious new drug is making its way into the public - most worriedly, school children are being exposed - and Winston is drafted in as an undercover sting is being put in place to weed out the worst of the offenders - the traffickers.

By the time we reach the entirely satisfying and emotional end of Better Safe Than Sorry, change is once again in the air, setting up future adventures.

With superb characterizations and intricate plots, author MIke Martin continues the ever evolving story of Windfower’s family life, love of local food, music and friendships (and their lives, too).

As always, the book combines a subtle mixture of the characters’ internal and external lives - the spiritual and the material/physical, and individual characters’ storylines slowly meld as plot lines interconnect.

As much as this is a crime novel with an all-too-relatable plot, Mr. Martin always tempers the criminal with humour and down-to-earth characters.

Could be read as a standalone, but you really need to go back - maybe to the beginning, but definitely a few books previous - to prior stories to feel the full effect of the intertwined characters.

- Joanne Hurley

Master storyteller, Mike Martin, has created a singularly unique concept in The Sergeant Windflower Mystery Series by blending police procedures with Cree spiritual traditions. The series abounds with life lessons. He has cleverly crafted an elaborately complex series wisely presenting a myriad of human foibles and the challenges faced by his protagonist. Winston Windflower, a recently retired RCMP Sergeant struggles to find fulfillment in his new role as community safety officer for Grand Bank.

In the heart-pounding thriller "Better Safe than Sorry," the picturesque streets of Newfoundland turn deadly as a sinister drug, dubbed the Green Monster, grips the community in fear. Acting RCMP Inspector Eddie Tizzard is short-handed and pleads with Superintendent Ron Quigley to send reinforcements. Quigley calls on the recently retired Sergeant Winston Windflower for help.

In a bizarre twist, an unidentified woman's body is found in a coffin belonging to someone else. Is there an as-yet-undiscovered connection to the recent spate of criminal activity? With the biker gang's insidious leader pulling the strings, Tizzard and Windflower must race against time to unravel the truth before more lives are lost.

“Better Safe than Sorry” is a timely tale reflecting the current reality of the life and death struggle across this country against the rapidly rising tide of deaths from dangerous new street drugs.

I highly recommend this emotionally charged cosy police procedural or what I refer to as a brosy mystery.

- James Terry