Karen Engstrom:

Praise for The Fox:

"The writing is at turns luminous and spot on. This tale is a perfect autumn read for these ever-darkening Minnesota days. A shining debut for a talented writer - Karen Engstrom is one to watch."

~~Sarah Stonich (author of The Ice Chorus, and Vacationland)

Karen Engstrom’s The Fox opens with a dramatic scene and raises the questions: who is the victim and who is his killer? Engstrom weaves together an engaging tale, set in both post WWI and WWII. She highlights lives of immigrants, primarily in and around Lake Vermillion in Northern Minnesota. Carl and Elsa Swanson spend summers there, and love to recreate and fish on the  lake. Ike left his wife and former life and lives in near seclusion by Vermillion. Other characters are mingled into their stories. In the background, a developer had gone missing years before, and an old map found in Ike’s house reveals his whereabouts. It opens an investigation that brings long held secrets to light. Enjoy the trip back in time!

~~Christine Husom (author of the Winnebago County Mysteries and Snow Globe Shop Mysteries)

Atmospheric, suspenseful, and deeply moving, The Fox is a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end—and leave you longing for your own cabin in the woods.

~~JD Trafford (author of Little Boy Lost and the Dark River Series)

It is such a treat to read a novel that makes you feel as if you’re walking alongside the characters. Engstrom does a masterful job of weaving true events and locations along with story lines of fictional characters, and you suddenly realize you’ve been reading long after you should have gone to bed. I could hear the waves lapping against the sides of the boat and smell the piney forest. Toss in a murder and a long-unsolved mystery, and I was hooked.

~~Lynn Garthwaite (author of Starless Midnight)

A leisurely stroll down memory lane… right into a murder. Karen Engstrom’s debut novel, The Fox, reads like historical fiction and feels like a thriller. From the battlefields of the First World War, to the bustle of Chicago, to the bucolic setting of the Lake Vermilion area of northern Minnesota, Engstrom weaves a tale that draws you in and makes you feel as if you were there, looking over the shoulders of Carl and Elsa when they discover a body and a treasure map. Their treasure hunt leads them to truths they would rather not know and to the question: is the treasure real, or just a curse upon those who seek it? The Fox leaves you guessing, right up to the finish. A superb first novel, and, as the author’s acknowledgments suggest, we hope she writes “another one.”

~~Rob Jung (Best-selling author of The Reaper and producer/host of Minnesota Mystery Night)

Practically every Minnesotan is raring to head "Up North" once the temps rise above freezing. Karen Engstrom does an amazing job bringing the true flavors of  "up north" to life in her killer debut. Resort cabins, campfires, lakes, and millions of acres of forest abound, along with a little murder and mayhem. Deftly entwining history, mystery, and murder, Engstrom takes us back to the late 40s and spins a tale sure to capture hearts and devious minds alike. 

~~Jessie Chandler (author of the Shay O'Hanlon Caper Series)

This is a love letter to Lake Vermillion in northern Minnesota, wrapped inside the story of a mysterious murder that took over twenty years to solve, and a treasure hunt for gold that may or may not be connected to a recent murder or the cold case.

Engstrom’s debut novel captures the rugged, small town resort life of post-World War II, and the hardiness of even the moneyed gentry who chose to “rough it in style” in the camping, boating, and fishing paradise found at one of the largest lakes in Minnesota. She adds details that bring the era to life: small town celebrations, Hamm’s beer, the top radio shows of the era, Al Capone visiting the area at least once, and the most popular fishing lures of the time. Her style is fluid and polished, indications of a competent storyteller.

Carl and Elsa, the protagonists who are the catalysts for the entire mystery, are a charmingly simple and likable couple who become amateur sleuths after they find the body of a friend floating in the lake.

Engstrom also does a commendable job of prefacing several chapters with historical references, including local landmarks and the ups and downs of the northern Minnesota economy going back to the first European settlers. Those tidbits enrich readers’ understanding of what life was like for the characters in the story who live, work, and visit the Lake Vermillion area.

An enjoyable read for fans of Minnesota crime fiction.

~~Chris Norbury (Award-winning author of the Matt Lanier mystery-thriller series)