Welcome to the High Peaks of the Adirondacks.Beauty surrounds you. So does evil.Police Chief Frank Bennett patrols the not-so-mean streets of Trout Run, New York, an idyllic town nestled in the rugged Adirondack Mountains. But natural beauty is no protection against the evil in people’s hearts. Secrets…deception…con games…murder–there’s never a dull moment fighting small town crime. This … small town crime.
This boxed set contains three Frank Bennett mysteries:
The Lure
Police Chief Frank Bennett has his hands full when a group of environmental activists shows up in Trout Run trying to close down Raging Rapids, a popular tourist attraction.
Frank thinks they’re all noise.
Until their leader turns up with a bullet in his heart.
Now Frank must figure out why this group targeted Trout Run. And how they’re connected to a feral family who live off the grid.
As Frank untangles the clues, he confronts the lure of cash, the lure of power, and the lure of a happy family.As he navigate the dangerous intersection of love and greed, one wrong turn could spell death to those he most wants to protect.
Blood Knot
When a tough-love school for troubled teens opens its doors in Trout Run, Frank Bennett worries about the arrival of so many juvenile delinquents on his turf.
When a North Country Academy teacher is mauled to death by a bear while leading wilderness expedition, Frank’s worst fears are confirmed. Evidence points to sabotage.
As Frank investigates, he learns more about the school’s controversial techniques: isolation, restraints, and mind control. . He meets students who might be terrified…or might be brilliant liars. And he uncovers disturbing information about the Academy’s headmaster. What is more impressive? His track record of putting teens back on the right path? Or his skill in covering up past scandals?
Then an Academy student turns up dead, and Frank must unravel a knot of deceit and revenge whose threads lead right into the heart of the Trout Run community.
Dead Drift
Frank Bennett investigates three puzzling crimes in these short mysteries with big twists. In the Christmas mystery “Chainsaw Nativity,” Frank’s relentless pursuit of the thief who stole the Joseph statue from the town’s Nativity scene brings him up against the limits of compassion. In “Losers Weepers”, a locket that’s lost, found, and stolen holds the secret to past betrayals. And in “Coyote Justice” Frank’s simmering attraction to Penny the librarian threatens to divert him from the path of justice. These three mystery short stories explore twisting Adirondack mountain trails just as surely as the dangerous terrain of the human heart.
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A perfect rendition of the Adirondacks in all their glory and the ongoing challenges of small town police force. Great stories. Great scene building. I couldn’t stop reading one after another.
Enjoyed all three and would read others from this series
Excellent book, fascinating story line, couldn’t put it down. Although I am from New England, the characters rang true for me! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone looking forward to a cast of characters to keep you on your toes! Hats off to the author and I look for many more books in this series.
I enjoyed the original plots in these books as well as the quality of some of the writing, which was very descriptive without being wordy. However, I’m glad I read all 3 books because, after I read books 2 and 3 which were shorter than book 1, I realized what bothered me in the first book. Compared to the other two, the first book contained a fair amount of material that seemed to do little beyond add to the length of the book. Admitted a fair number of mystery writers do this–ask themselves a lot of questions without answers, pursue dead ends whose dead end comes as no surprise to the reader, etc. However some of it–such as when Frank Bennett over-reacted to something his inexperienced underling did–struck me as unnecessarily nasty. But in books 2 and 3, such excess falls away and reveals unique and finely crafted plots and characters.
That said, all three books had memorable, elegant endings that accomplished in a few sentences what less skilled writers would have needed pages to communicate.
The police chief has no illusions about his job and how far he can go in a small town where many are politically connected. Environmentalists as the bad guys? Definitely works in this story where the family that works together wins the right to continue their business.
Story had very good flow, which made it hard to put down.
I enjoyed this series as I live in this area of the world. Good characters that seem to be like people you actually would know. I enjoyed the plot and the main character is entirely human, but keeps working to solve the crimes. I would read more from this author.
I loved the setting. Fairly interesting characters. I looked forward to my reading sessions
I lied the local color
A good read to escape into…easy to read. Also a lovely setting.
I enjoyed all three books in this series and plan on reading more of them.
I like the main character, Frank Bennett, and his descriptions of the Adirondack Mountains are excellent! I read all three books in this series and really enjoyed the mysteries and the interesting characters in them all.
I am reading it now and enjoying the characters and plots.
I enjoyed the three books and would recommend this to anyone who loves to read. It kept my attention and I couldn’t not put it down. It had great interaction with the people who are in the book
Sometimes a little difficult to keep up with side characters but but always could follow the main ones. Good plots, never sure hou it’s going to end.
These books did keep you guessing what was going to happen next. And they also kept you very involved. I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.
The characters were endearing and this book was fun to read.
I wish I could put my finger on exactly what Hubbard does to keep me coming back for more of her books! There’s coziness, comfort, intrigue, compassion, believable, likable characters and, as I said, a “Je ne sais quoi,” that has me now on a fifth book in the past month.
a great police chief in a beautiful setting, solving murder and mayhem!
I am from the Adirondack region and now live in Minnesota. These were fun reads, just like going home.