Manitou Murder

ISBN: 1-978-1-930922-07-5 Softcover, 5.5"X8.5", 456 pages Price: $14.95 Publisher: j-press Publishing 4796 126th St. White Bear Lake, MN 55110 Phone/fax: 651-429-1819 email: sjackson@jpresspublishing.com Distributed by Ingram Book Co. and Baker & Taylor Books Orders may be made directly through internet (jpresspublishing.com) or by phone	Manitou Murder by C.C. Canby In the northern town of Trane, Minnesota, Sigrid Quill a clairvoyant, has a vision of a murder and drops a letter in the mail notifying the local police. Although she does not know this exactly, Sigrid’s vision portends the murder of an upper middle class couple (George and Sophia Lunzer) and the abduction of their married daughter Jacqueline Bideau. In the meantime, Derek Lunzer, the Lunzer’s son, returns from an all-night party to find his parents dead, his sister missing. He calls 9-1-1. The mansion has been ransacked from top to bottom. The body of a black man is found floating in the lake nearby with a diagram of the Lunzer home in his coat pocket. The emerging theory is that a burglary has gone tragically wrong, leaving three victims dead and a fourth victim missing. Detective Sergeant Richard Lanslow and his new partner, Detective Leonard Wilenski, must find the murderer or murderers and, hopefully, find the missing daughter. There are several suspects, first and foremost of which is the son, Derek, who will inherit millions of dollars upon his parents and sister’s death. Also, as the detectives eventually discover, there is a Mexican maid who has been fired for stealing Mrs. Lunzer’s jewelry and who has lied to her husband-to-be about why she is not returning to work, telling him that George Lunzer tried to take her to bed. The husband is furious and may have sought revenge. Then there is George Lunzer’s business partner who has been dipping into the company till and is afraid his partner will find out. Gradually, the detectives come to believe that this is more than a burglary gone wrong. Unanswered questions remain: who killed the black man, and why? And, why is the daughter missing? The search for the answers to these questions, and why Mr. And Mrs. Lunzer were killed, leads the detectives into a tangled knot they cannot untie. Eventually the case grows cold, but through a bizarre event, Lanslow and his partner are on the trail again
Reviews As he did with the first White Bear Lake Police Department case (see Masks of Murder), C. C. Canby has written a fascinating regional police prodedural filled with various suspects besides the obvious two described above; each has differing motives. The characters are realistic and remain consistent throughout as they behave according to their core motives. Lanslow works overtime to solve the case especially motivated to find the missing sister, [for] whom he already had feelings [about] before the deadly home invasion occurred. Manitou Murder is a multifaceted complex whodunit filled with red herrings and false leads; it looks like the caseis headed for the cold case file in spite of a dedicated, desperate good cop’s efforts.—Harriet Klausner Senior Reviewer for the Midwest Book Review C.C.Canby's latest mystery novel, Manitou Murder, is a fast paced book that would capture readers accustomed to the creative mind such as renowned mystery novelist Steve Thayer. Canby's plots and characters weave in and out confusing and yet delighting avid mystery aficionados. He captures the essence of MN's verdant natural beauty of woods and waters as the book journeys from White Bear Lake to the upper Minnesota's Gunflint Trail country. The book and story can remind the reader of the popular murder mystery film, Fargo. Once started, this book will cause the reader to move on page on page to its surprising finale.— Edwin M. Nakasone, author of "The Nisei Soldier," 3rd ed, U.S. Army colonel, ret.
About the Author C. C. Canby, a pseudonym, is a retired professor of sociology and social/psychology. He holds B.S. and M.S., degrees from Central Mo. University, and a Ph.D from Iowa St. University. He taught various courses in sociology and social psychology at Century College for over 35 years. He has written an introductory sociology textbook, Sociological Science, and published articles in scholarly journals. Canby retired from teaching in 1999 and finished his first mystery novel, Masks of Murder, in 2004. Masks of Murder received the Blether Gold Award with a rating of 10: “A truly exceptional read, the finest example of a genre, a book with which the reviewer can find no fault, and which will usually have universal appeal.” Canby lives in White Bear Lake Minnesota with his wife of 40 years. They have two grown children and one grandchild. He is presently at work on another mystery novel, a sequel to Masks of Murder and Manitou Murder.