Thursday, February 12, 2009

Forgotten Books: K.J. Erickson


Spanning just four books, this mystery series didn't receive the attention it should have. K.J. Erickson's main character, Marshall "Mars" Bahr, is a divorced dad struggling to do the right thing for his eight-year-old son, Chris. He's also the Minneapolis police detective that gets called on to solve the Twin Cities' toughest crimes. Erickson has a deft hand with nicely convoluted plots and brings in just enough background and history to the setting to make it come to life. Where Erickson really shines is with his characterization of Mars and his son. Of all the mystery series I've read, I'd be hard pressed to think of another one with such an engaging and memorable relationship.

The four books in the series are:
  1. Third Person Singular (2001)
  2. The Dead Survivors (2002)
  3. The Last Witness (2003)
  4. Alone At Night (2005)
Erickson's website has not been updated since 2006, when the first chapter of a yet-to-be published book was posted. Although the reason for the abrupt end to this series is unknown, at least the author wrote four books that I really enjoyed, remember and recommend. One of these days, I hope to read that a new K.J. Erickson novel has been published.


3 comments:

  1. That's true re: the relationship with a son. Children seldom play a major role. Peter Robinson has his detective's children in it a bit. And perhaps Rendell has Wexford's kids. But not to this degree.

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  2. I love this series so much that I haven't read the last title :). With some series, I don't read the most recent book until I know the next title is coming out--goofy, I know. Well, I kept waiting and waiting, and there's been no new book coming, and then I packed to move to AZ. Most of my books are packed away, but I'll dig these out and read the last one, possibly rereading the others first. Thanks for reminding me of this Forgotten Book!

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  3. Patti O--I'm glad I reminded you of them!

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