Dead Wind by Tessa Wegert
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
Dead Wind is the third book in Tessa Wegert’s Shana Merchant series. I really enjoyed the first two books of the series and am happy to report this installment is my favorite yet!
Following Senior Investigator, Shana Merchant, and her partner, Tim Wellington, this series delivers solid Police Procedural action and intrigue.
The setting is the Thousand Lakes region of upstate New York, which sits on the border to Canada. In fact, in Dead Wind, the body that kicks off our mystery is actually found on Wolfe Island in Canada, at the base of a wind turbine.
Shana has an uneasy feeling about the case from the start. When it turns out that the victim is actually from their own community, it starts to hit real close to home. They need to solve this one.
Both Shana and Tim are concerned that the monster from Shana’s past, serial killer, Blake Bram, may be back to playing his old games. It’s far from cut and dry though, there’s a lot of other possibilities.
I was so happy to be returning to this series. Wegert always does a great job of pacing her mysteries and this one is no exception. I was interested and engaged from start-to-finish.
These books are layered as well, which I appreciate. There’s always the main crime that is being investigated, but additionally, Shana has a super intriguing past and that has been incrementally revealed over the course of these first three books.
This one had some local politics involved, hidden secrets and family drama. What elevates it for me though, is the shadow of Blake Bram lurking around every corner. That element ups the stakes and makes it all feel a bit more dangerous.
While I would normally say that most Adult Mystery series can be read in any order, or even as standalone novels, I would highly recommend reading this series in order. I feel that’s the most impactful way to take these stories in.
Shana and Tim are both fantastic main characters to follow. I am hoping this series lasts for a long time, but I’m not sure how many books are actually slated for the series.
Thank you so much to the publisher, Severn House, for providing me a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity!