Past Imperfect - Softcover

Hills, Kathleen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0373264712 ISBN 13: 9780373264711

Publisher: Worldwide Library, 2003

Synopsis

When burly Norwegian fisherman Nels Bertelsen is found dead on his boat, a victim of his allergy to bees, retired military intelligence officer John McIntire suspects foul play and, while investigating on his own, discovers that someone will stop at nothing to keep a dark secret buried forever. Reprint.

About this title

About the Author:

Kathleen Hills spent the first forty years of her life in rural northern Minnesota, before leaving for the real world and a career in Speech/Language Pathology. After determining that ten years in the real world should be all that is demanded of anyone, she turned to writing. She had published several short mystery stories; Past Imperfect is her first Novel. Kathleen lives with her family in Duluth, Minnesota.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this low-key debut, set in 1950, John McIntire, retired military intelligence officer and newly appointed township constable, has to investigate the death of a boyhood friend, Nels Bertelson, in their hometown of St. Adele on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. A fisherman of Norwegian stock, Bertelson is found dead on his boat his pants down, a syringe at his feet apparently from a bee sting, to which he was highly allergic. It looks like Bertelson tried to give himself an injection of epinephrine, without success. The antidote vial, however, is missing. Everyone is satisfied with the verdict of a natural death, except McIntire. Bertelson grew up to become a quarrelsome man, who argued with just about everybody, but did anyone hate him enough to kill? McIntire does have a suspect, a troubled young man, David Slocum, who was known to have fought with Bertelson and has since gone missing. Another unlikely victim is Cindy Culver, an adolescent femme fatale, whose strangled body was seen in the woods but then disappears. Convinced that the two murders are connected, McIntire mulls everything over interminably, when not engaged in endless chat that does little to further the action. Hill nicely captures the color and feel of the Michigan wilderness, but bland characters and a less than compelling plot don't generate much excitement or suspense. Hopefully, future cases in this series will have more zing.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Worldwide Library
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0373264712
• ISBN 13: 9780373264711
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 304