Eli used to be an excellent investigator—can he pull it together again for a murdered teenage boy and the boy’s missing friend? It may not be the small town crime that usually happens in Shaky Lake.

This book definitely felt like the first of a series, and the reader is left wondering what’s next when this case is solved. The story starts out with Eli drunk more often than not, running from his memories of war and his failure to readjust to his previous life. His mom, Marge, is the police chief who has given him a job to try and help him get back on his feet, but she spends a lot of her time and emotional energy covering for him and trying to convince them all that he’s just having a rough patch.

When Eli finds a dead boy in a docked boat while responding to a noise complaint, their little police department of four employees really does not seem like enough to handle such a serious situation. Once a missing girl is added to the mix, the FBI is called in to collaborate. Luckily the FBI agent, Alyssa, seems the perfect addition to their awkward little cast of characters. With their few leads going in opposite directions, it’s soon apparent that the crime they think they’re investigating may only be covering up for an even more devious network of trouble.

Overall, the book had a few unexpected twists and turns, but the characters were especially rich with their own back stories and experiences. The story earned 4 out of 5 stars with just a few loose ends that would be great to hear more about in follow-up. This book would come recommended to those who enjoy crime thrillers, police procedurals, and small town stories.

The author perfectly captured the people, places, and mood of the Northwoods of Wisconsin. Well paced mystery with characters you are invested in.

Northwoods by Amy Pease was a very impressive debut novel. There was a lot of hurt in this book which might pull at the reader somewhat but I found the book really came together by the end. Along with intriguing characters, I love books that take place in areas of woods and lakes. I came away from this book definitely wanting more from this author and these characters.

Northwoods should get some award nominations this year IMO.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity in exchange for an honest review.

This may be Amy Pease's debut, but I've already added her to my auto buy list. Northwoods is a character driven book. It's listed as a mystery/ thriller and both genre are included but it's so much more. Pease has built a small town community and populated it with characters that care about their community. Even as they battle their own demons, they push themselves to stop the evil that has come to their town. It will be a real shame if we do not see another book with these characters.

If you have read the Quinn Colson series by Ace Atkins, you'll love this book.

Northwoods is set in a quiet lakeside community in northern Wisconsin. Eli is a deputy helping to investigate when a boy is killed and a girl is kidnapped with a possible connection to the local the opiod crisis.

Eli has struggled since returning home from the military and working with his mother, Marge, creates an interesting dynamic.

This will be a winner for those that like a police procedural but with more character depth. I was constantly questioning the motives of everyone and their connections to the case.

Thank you so much to @atriabooks for gifting my bookclub @thrillersbythebookclub.mke with ARCs 💞

Title: Northwoods
Author: @amypeasewrites
Pub date: January 9, 2024

If a book is set in Wisconsin, I'm going to read it! Especially a thriller. Especially by a debut author. Especially by a Wisconsinite!

This was an incredible debut and I couldn't put it down! I loved the switch of perspectives and that kept things rolling along at a rapid pace!

While this dealt with very heavy topics of substance abuse, it never felt overly heavy or hard to read. I feel like Amy handled these topics so delicately and without judgement to those who struggle.

I'm so happy for a new thriller voice in Wisconsin and cannot wait to read and enjoy what she writes next!

"Northwoods by Amy Pease delves into a small town in Wisconsin, where the Northwoods conceal dark secrets that threaten the lives of the town's people. Eli North, is troubled after his deployment to Afghanistan. He struggles with alcoholism, relationships, and a career in the police department where his mother is the sheriff.
Eli and his mother are investigating the death of a teenage boy. Leading them to a wealthy enclave with a troubled history and unexpected twists and turns.

The scenery and vivid descriptions of the Northwoods portrays a vacationer's paradise, but below the surface lurks a sinister plot. The opioid epidemic is brought to the forefront of this book showing that even the most beautiful places are not safe from drugs, violence, and evil people.

Eli is working his way through his troubles throughout the book. This book is not for people that are easily triggered. The book is a good combination of mystery, drama, family, and human resilience. Amy Pease is able to describe the beauty of the Northwoods while keeping the reader engaged in the unfolding mysteries of the murdered boy.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of "Northwoods" and I would recommend picking up a copy of this book. #NetGalley #Northwoods #AmyPease

This story is told in third person and follows multiple characters in the Northwoods of a small lake town in Wisconsin that is short on law enforcement personnel amid an opioid problem. The small community of Shaky Lake with its fancy summer vacation homes and run down lake cabins displayed a sharp contrast between the country club set and working-class locals setting the perfect scene for this moody, atmospheric mystery.

The characters were vivid and distinct from the young FBI agent with mysterious scars to the father of a missing girl caught up in a corporate conspiracy. The mystery had me quietly absorbed while these characters slowly revealed their prospective thread in the larger web of the story. I did have an issue with the plausibility of a lawnmower incident as I have been mowing my own lawn since I was ten and thought that it could have been handled in a more realistic manner given current modern safety requirements.

I found the central character of Eli to be multi-faceted from his problems with alcohol, PTSD from serving in Afghanistan and challenging relationships with the locals and his own family including his mother, the sheriff and his estranged wife and son. His mental struggles were met very realistically by the other characters in his life with compassion, love, and frustration, some at the end of their rope and others holding out hope. I came to feel very protective of him by the end and I look forward to any future installments of this series.

Recommended to quiet or slow-burn mystery/suspense lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

A body of a young teenage boy is found in the lake. This puts Eli on the hunt for a killer. A killer in their small town is not normal. And this death leads Eli to find out for more than he bargained for.

Eli is so intelligent when it comes to investigative work. This is where his talent lies and his mother, the chief of police, knows it. She cuts him every bit of slack she can…until she can’t anymore.

Eli is a character that breaks your heart. But at the same time, you want to shake him and tell him to “WAKE UP!” Such is the life of an addict and their families. The author does a TREMENDOUS job with dealing with addiction.

This is an intricate mystery that I enjoyed. Being a pharmacist, reading about the medication side of this story, I couldn’t help but think of the Sackler family and OxyContin. So, there are many layers to this tale and you do not want to miss it!

Need a good mystery with great characters…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

This is different from what I expected after reading the synopsis. I found it more of a family drama than a mystery/thriller.
The Wisconsin/Northwoods references were spot on. I enjoyed learning about the characters, but I was expecting more on the opioid epidemic.
Overall, good for a debut novel.

I am amazed that this is a debut novel! It definitely does not read as a debut.

The story takes place in a small resort town, Shaky Lake, in the Northwoods of Wisconsin. One of those places with vacation cabin rentals around a lake.

It’s an idyllic setting, not one in which you would expect to find a dead body. Especially not a young boy murdered in a boat.

The main character of the story is Eli. Marge is the sheriff of the small town and Eli is her son. Eli comes with his own set of demons, including alcoholism and PTSD from his time in Afghanistan.

Unfortunately the small town is also feeling the effects of the opioid epidemic, could this be tied to the murder?

At first, when I started reading, I wasn’t sure about the book. I don’t really like my fiction to tackle issues and this one covered a lot - alcoholism, PTSD, and the opioid crisis. However, the more I read, the more I got into the story and the character development, and ended up enjoying the book. As long as there are no triggers for you, it’s a solid story and I look forward to reading more from Amy Pease.

"Some people are born without a human conscious."

Sadly, it's the ones with a consciousness that suffer. We feel that human pain in the impressive heart grabbing character driven crime drama police procedural, Northwoods, by debut author Amy Pease.

Eli North is hurting...his body, his mind and mostly his heart. Coming back from a deadly deployment in Afghanistan the only job he can get is as a deputy in the small resort town of Shaky Lakes, Wisconsin; where his mother, Marge (my favorite character), is the sheriff. He literally stumbles into a major investigation involving a dead teenage boy on a deserted boat, a missing tourist teenage girl, a suspicious pharmaceutical drug trial and the opioid epidemic in the Northwoods of his hometown.

The crimes and the police investigation kept me guessing and reading but it was Eli and his relationship with his mother, his estranged wife and young son that kept me up alternating between reading and listening to this all too real family drama.

Voice actors Chris Henry Coffey and Zac Aleman touched my heart with their very real emotional performances. This writer brought tears with her honest writing. Marge, already dealing with no budget for her deputies, a murderer on the loose, a missing girl, and opioid overdoses, knows that she can't kiss her son's boo boos away anymore. Realizing Eli is looking for a way out, she tearfully says to him, "I don't know what to do; loving you isn't enough." As a mom who knows if loving them was enough they would all be saved; this story became very real for me.

There were good twists, honest emotions, and hopefully more of these very human characters in the future of the Northwoods.

I received a free copy of this audiobook/book from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book very much. A detective novel with an unreliable protagonist who has many of his own problems to solve before he can effectively do his job, I thought it was well written and introduced a lot of characters with the intention of writing future installations.

Deputy Eli North returned from Afghanistan suffering from PTSD and now employed as deputy in a resort in Wisconsin. A murder finds him working with the FBI to solve this crime. It took a bit of time to get into this book, but overall not a bad read.

Wow. What can I say. As an avid thriller reader, this hits the mark and is reminiscent of Brian Freeman’s Stride series. Short chapters keep it easy to pick up and put down as needed but I didn’t want to put it down. I can easily see how this could become a series - the characters are well written and easy to root for, you feel attached to them.

My only drawback was that I easily figured out the ending - but again, I read thrillers all the time and have learned to pick up clues, so it’s not any fault of the book itself. It didn’t stop me from enjoying it at all. Well done!

Thank you to Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This novel is so well-written that it’s hard to believe it is a debut.

It is a very character-driven mystery/police procedural and will interest those who enjoy intense characters with tortuous personal struggles.

The intricate plot addresses PTSD in veterans, opioid abuse, alcohol abuse, and big pharma in the form of a drug company that has developed a miracle drug that will help opioid addicts.

When the body of a dead boy is found, it leads to a missing teenage girl from the Chicago area. This was a bonus because I spent part of my childhood around the areas discussed in the book.

#Northwoods #AmyPease #Mystery #Police #NetGalley #ARC #HonestReview #AtriaBooks #EmilyBestlerBooks #Debut #ReadersOfTheLateArc #TalkWordyToMe #LoveToRead #BookAddict #ThrillerBookLovers #BookReviewer #Thriller #LoveBooks #ThrillerBookLoverPromotions #ThrillerFriendsUnite #ThrillerObsessedBookishClub #Bookstagrammer #BookReels

A very compelling read! I will read anything revolving around the opioid epidemic & this one was fascinating. The ending felt a little too open for me, but I hear we might be getting more from these characters? Overall, a very good mystery.

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Northwoods‘ pace is medium.

POV: Northwoods is told mainly from Eli’s 3rd person POV. But, there are also 3rd person POVs from Marge, Alyssa, and Cal. There is one heartbreaking scene from Ben and Caitlin’s POV (the day of Ben’s murder).

Trigger/Content Warning: Northwoods have trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Gun Violence
Alcoholism
War
Addiction
Drug Abuse
Mental Illness
Panic attacks/Disorders
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Suicidal Thoughts
Blood
Kidnapping
Grief
Death of a parent
Murder
Alcohol
Injury/Injury Detail
Classism
Domestic Abuse (not on page but mentioned to Eli by his mother)
Death
Drug Use
Toxic Relationship
Medical Content
Medical Trauma
Suicide Attempt
Amnesia & Memory Disorders (Eli cannot remember what happened after he entered the hallway of a house he entered in Afghanistan)
Depression
Hospitalization
Car Accident
Knife Violence
Sexual Content: There is no sexual content in Northwoods.

Language: There is moderate to explicit swearing in Northwoods. The language used could also be considered offensive to readers who are triggered easily.

Setting: Northwoods is set in Shaky Lake, Wisconsin.

Age Range: I recommend Northwoods to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Eli North is battling his demons. His drinking is out of control, and his marriage is over. The only job he can hold down is a deputy under his mother, the sheriff of Shaky Lake. And even then, he is skating on thin ice because of his drinking. So, he thinks it is no big deal when he responds late to a noise complaint at a local campground. Instead of finding tourists partying, Eli finds the dead body of a teenage boy. The resulting investigation leads to a missing teenager, the boy’s girlfriend. The resulting investigation takes Eli from the mansions that line Shaky Lake to the people with an addiction who buy opioids to a pharmaceutical salesperson who is going to blow the whistle on a miracle drug that is killing people. While Eli follows the clues, his life is imploding. Can he hold it together long enough to solve the case? Or will Eli succumb to his demons?

Main Characters:

Eli North is the main character in Northwoods. His well-written, well-researched character made my heart bleed for him. What I liked the most about him was that he was very self-aware of his faults. There were times when I didn’t think he would be able to finish the case and one time when I thought he was going to end his life. If I had to label him, I would say that he was more of a morally gray character and only because he was so tortured by what happened overseas.

There were a lot of secondary characters, and they each added depth to the storyline (and to what Eli was going through).

My review:

Northwoods is Amy Pease’s first book; I can’t wait to read more from her. Northwoods is well-written and well-researched. I was captivated right from the beginning (when Eli was swimming) to the end, which offered so much hope for Eli. I will be on the lookout for more books by this author.

The main storyline centers around Eli. It follows him during the investigation into Ben’s murder. But it also shows a very realistic look into what it is like living with PTSD. To say Eli wasn’t coping well was an understatement. He turned to alcohol to numb himself and to deal with the severe panic attacks that he got (which could be triggered by anything). Everyone knew something was up, but no one wanted to say anything, including his mother. But he did manage to investigate Ben’s murder (and Caitlin’s kidnapping) while battling those demons.

There were a few secondary storylines (centered on Ben’s mother, her drug use, Caitlin’s father, and his work). I was curious how the author was going to tie everything in with Ben’s murder and Caitlin’s disappearance. Well, I wasn’t surprised with how everything was connected. It made sense in a weird, roundabout way. It also paved the way for the end of the book.

The mystery and thriller angles were both well-written. I was kept in suspense over what would happen next during the investigation. I was also shocked at not only who the murderer/kidnapper was but why that person did what they did.

The end of Northwoods was a little bittersweet. I can’t get much into it, but it was good. There was a twist with who the kidnapper/murderer was, and it took me by surprise. I found it interesting that the author didn’t end some of the storylines. Instead, the people behind the killers were still out there. I wondered if there was going to be another book.

Many thanks to Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, NetGalley, and Amy Pease for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Northwoods. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Intriguing story of a war time vet who is haunted by his wartime experiences. His mother is the local sheriff and gives him the opportunity to settle back into life by making him a deputy. As he battles drugs and alcohol, he begins to suspect that there is a bad cop in their midst.

I love books set in Wisconsin, so from the very beginning of this book I was absorbed by the setting. I could feel the heat of the lake water and hear the whine of the mosquitoes. But I quickly felt entangled in the lives of these messy characters as the understaffed sheriff's office investigated the murder and disappearance entwined in the opioid crisis. I felt the betrayal along with Eli, the terror for her child along with Marge, and the relief as the book came to a conclusion. I was sad to end my time with these characters and hope that they may return in a future story.