A Lonesome Place for Dying: A Novel by Nolan Chase takes the reader to Blaine, Washington, in this very good police procedural. Veteran Ethan Brand has been through some things. He came home, got off the drugs, got on the local police force, and is now 42 years old. He is also now the new chief of police for the town of just over six thousand. The Canadian Border is just north of town with Bellingham, and 90 miles away, Seattle, to the south.

It is April and so the tourists have yet to descend in mass. Things should be somewhat easy on his first day in the new job as he has been on the force for a number of years now and pretty much knows everybody. It also helps he grew up there.

There have been some strange things happening at his house. There is also the stress of being the new boss. Especially when Officer Brenda Lee Paige was skipped over by the former chief, Frank Keogh, when he recommended to the council they appoint, Ethan Brand. Frank’s son, Mal Keogh, also still works in the department and is clearly not ready to recognize Brand as his boss. Frank has also left him the pollical problem as to what to do Officer Cliff Mooney.

He is trying to smooth things over with Brenda Lee, at least a little bit, when Officer Ruiz calls in over the radio and requests assistance out at MO’s Scrapyard on the southeast side of the town. There is a body about a mile and a quarter from the scrapyard. Officer Ruiz was out at the yard on the vandalism call. The owner had thought it was kids and that they were still around on the nearby train tracks. They went looking to see if they could find the kids, or evidence tied into them, and found the body instead.

The deceased woman appears to be in her late twenties. It appears she was stabbed twice in her right side. It was raining until just after midnight and her clothing is dry. There is also no sign of anything around the body. Brand is left to wonder if she, somehow, came off of the train as it rolled by on the tracks a few feet away, or some other way.

What follows is a complicated police procedural that features a lot of world building. Rich and full small town characters including Brand, and a complicated mystery, are all at work here in A Lonesome Place for Dying. It takes familiar tropes, such as the veteran wounded and back home trying to stay sober, and turns them in new ways that reveal depth and nuance of characters. Those side excursions into backstory don’t slow the forward motion of the tale. Instead, they enhance the read.

Everything combines incredibly well together to create a mighty good read. One that hopefully is the start of a series. A Lonesome Place for Dying: A Novel by Nolan Chase is absolutely strongly recommended.


My reading copy was a digital ARC from the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, through NetGalley and was provided with no expectation of a review.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2024 ( )

A Lonesome Place for Dying by Nolan Chase

Perfect introduction to a new series…if indeed this IS a new series… This story is filled with small town people doing their best, and their worst, every single day of their lives. Ethan Brand, new on the job as police chief, is faced with a murder to solve. Will those he worked with and now is in charge of treat him with respect? Will he be able to live up to the job? How many will be against him and who will stand with him?

What I liked:
* Ethan Brand: ex-Marine, wounded in battle, fifteen years a policeman, just became police chief, separated from his wife and two sons who live on the East Coast, cool, calm, lethal, romantic, thoughtful, a good man with a few flaws – intriguing – would like to learn more about him
* The small-town community with all the typical issues to be faced by the police in such a town
* The police procedural aspects of the murder mystery and the way clues were unearthed
* That the characters felt believable and there were some I began to care about and would like to know more about
* Ethan’s ability to understand, do what is right, and help those he can – he has a big heart
* The hired assassin’s part in the story and wondering if he might show up in the future
* Wondering how Ethan will settle into being Police Chief and if he will find people to spend time with socially if this is a series
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* That the case was wrapped up – no cliffhanger
* Finding out that this author also writes under the name Sam Wiebe

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about how evil some of the characters were and how willing they were to commit the crimes they did

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars ( )

Ethan Brand is on his first day as sheriff for Blaine, Washington, and his first case is a murder. Ethan is an Afghan war vet who came home with a partial prosthetic foot which he has managed to keep quiet. He's separated from his wife who took their two boys back to Boston to live. He has recently had an affair with the wife of the local big land developer. But she's gone back to her husband to give their marriage another try.

Ethan was the first choice for sheriff in his mentor's - the previous sheriff's - eyes but a female lead deputy with similar experience also wanted the job and was courting members of the city council to get it. Ethan also has to deal with the mayor's nephew who was one of his deputies until he deliberately lost evidence when a local committed suicide. The previous sheriff left firing him to Ethan knowing that firing him with put him on the outs with the mayor.

Besides the turmoil in the small sheriff's department, a murder will really stretch their resources. It is only the third murder in Ethan's years as a deputy on the force. The body of the young woman was found near the train tracks. She was stabbed to death. With the possibility that she jumped or fell from the train, the investigation needs to widen to include the train and its passengers.

But, once identified, there are local suspects to investigate too. The local crime family, well known for smuggling into and out of Canada, is somewhat diminished with the eldest son in prison and the daughter going straight as a travel agent, but the youngest son is determined to carry on the family legacy of crime.

And while investigating Ethan has to deal with threats that indicate that someone wants him gone - or dead. A threatening note, an elk's heart left at his front door, and potshots taken at his truck keep Ethan on his toes and a little distracted from the investigation into the young woman's death.

This was an engaging and entertaining debut mystery. I liked Ethan and liked that he was coming to terms with his new life as a single man and sheriff. The setting was interesting too. ( )