Jonas Kirk Mystery Series

Can Jonas Kirk, a wealthy, white, middle-class, twenty-something orphan find a purpose in life? Thoughtful detective work appeals to him, especially when it solves homicides that seem to puzzle the local police in Woodland Park, Minnesota. In Click, Kirk reaches out to Sergeant Chester Devlin, sharing an insight that solves a case, creating a working confidence that matches the distant, clean, and tidy Kirk with the ambitious, messy, dogged Devlin.

Jonas Kirk discovers murder on the Empire Builder, as quiet a train death as one might imagine. Even Kirk’s notable sense of a murder scene becomes muddled amid his dreams and his new resolve to redefine himself. Lieutenant Chester Devlin becomes skeptical of Kirk’s cues, even as they seem to solve a homicide.

Woodland Park loves the acreage attached to the home of Miss Jane Oswald. Children explore it, play games on its turf. Their parents picnic on it and watch caretaker Arne Arneson manage it. When Miss Jane decides to sell the Acres, it sets off a chain reaction which leads to a deadly surprise. Suddenly, things don't pass the smell test.

A casual visit to St. Mark’s Catholic Church, leads Kirk to discover murder. The clues to solve murder in the pews lie in the confessional. Blocked by the conscience of a priest and the bluster of a bishop, Kirk and Lieutenant Devlin use both theology and civic seduction to find a killer.

Jonas Kirk loves to walk, in the city, out in the countryside. He mulls his view of criminal justice, wondering what role he plays in seeing that the scales of right and wrong are balanced. Impressed with the skill of a passing biker, he finds the same rider in parts and pieces 15 minutes later. He wonders about causes.

Christmas season brings parades and magic. It also brings a poker session with four fine citizens of Woodland Park. Jonas Kirk deals the cards, sees the cheats, lives with the outcome. When one player turns up dead the next day, Kirk has ideas. Devlin's not too alarmed, but Kirk's explanation seems to clear things up...and then confuses the issue even more. Devlin is befuddled. Kirk is reconciled. Justice denied?

When the Woodland Park Locusts take on the Stillwater Frogs, it’s not just the football game that burns new memories. Coaches provide. Players collide. Fans threaten homicide. Lydia shows a violent mentality, and Kirk sorts through habits and eccentricity to give Devlin final answers.

Hello Geraldine Wright! The local maven of conformity spends her days reviewing and correcting shop owners and their business habits. Kirk follows her through the Rubber Ducky Car Wash and finds her new car on a collision course to death. Can Geraldine find a way out? Can Devlin help calm a community nuisance? Does Kirk know as much as he thinks? Whose business is it, anyway?

A midwinter bicycle race brings hometown enthusiasts into contact with serious-minded gamblers. When suspicions circulate about the race being fixed, it infects all of Woodland Park.

Life in a small town creates understandings...and suspicions. When Mike Carraday has a near-death experience, he calls on Jonas Kirk to help him sort through the evidence. Mike gets answers, and Kirk gets insight.

Sharon Cunningham, a widowed Catholic, finds romance at the altar rail, an emotional commitment that takes her to India. In time, death comes to her priest, a half-world away. How? Jonas Kirk speculates.

In Woodland Park, lazy nights and weekly movie mysteries build a new audience. When film plots link themselves to homicides in the Rivoli parking lot, Lt. Chester Devlin is perplexed. Jonas Kirk is curious. They, along with local attorney, Roger Blaisdell, and newbie cop, Oliver Grant, search for connections. An athletic couple, the Gordons, grapple with their crumbling marriage while Kirk and his romantic partner, Sharon Cunningham, speculate on likely motives for a series of violent deaths.