Synopses & Reviews
A clever and fast-paced murder mystery full of wit, suspense, and fly fishing.
When a fishing guide reels in the body of a young man on the Madison, the Holy Grail of Montana trout rivers, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects foul play. It's not just the stick jammed into the man's eye that draws her attention; it's the Royal Wulff trout fly stuck in his bloated lower lip. Following her instincts, Ettinger soon finds herself crossing paths with Montana newcomer Sean Stranahan.
Fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective, Stranahan left a failed marriage and lackluster career to drive to Montana, where he lives in an art studio decorated with fly-tying feathers and mouse droppings. With more luck catching fish than clients, Stranahan is completely captivated when Southern siren Velvet Lafayette walks into his life, intent on hiring his services to find her missing brother. The clues lead Stranahan and Ettinger back to Montana's Big Business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime.
Review
"Keith McCafferty has pulled off a small miracle with
The Royal Wulff Murders—a compelling Montana-based novel that will please both mystery readers
and discerning fly-fishers. A terrific debut that rings with authenticity and style." —C. J. Box,
New York Times bestselling author of
Back of Beyond and
Force of Nature
Review
“Sportsmen will find the one-of-a-kind novel captivating, intelligent, and at times uproarious." —
Field & Stream
Review
"The Royal Wulff Murders hit all my buttons: mystery, flyfishing, Montana, the Madison River, beautiful women, and whole pickup loads of authentic Montana characters, many of them wonderfully quirky. Keith McCafferty is one terrific writer."---Patrick F. McManus, author of The Bear In the Attic and The Huckleberry Murders
Review
“Blue Ribbon is what they call a trout stream of extremely high quality and that’s what I call Keith McCafferty’s
The Royal Wulff Murders—the debut of a frighteningly knowledgeable and wonderfully entertaining series.” —Craig Johnson,
New York Times bestselling author of
The Cold Dish and
Hell is Empty
Review
“A fish story with a homicidal hook . . . An entertaining debut.” —
Kirkus Reviews
Review
“[A] thoroughly entertaining debut . . . McCafferty blends plenty of fly-fishing lore with a host of intriguing characters . . . Only the sharp-eyed observation of the medical examiner suggests the body was a murder victim rather than an accidental drowning. The eventual identification of the victim helps link Stranahan’s task to that of the sheriff. The vivid Montana setting is a plus.” —
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Review
"What fun it is to visit my favorite fishing spots , not in a guide- boat but in a wonderful murder mystery."
Review
"The dead man whose eye is skewered with a stick and who has a trout fly hooked into his lip sets the tone for this muscular, original first novel. McCafferty is one of the country's most convincing writers on survival and life in the wilderness, and this mystery is an impressive foray into fiction---taut, often highly amusing, filled with memorable characters like the lady sheriff and the former private eye who paints and fly fishes---and it's a real page turner."
Review
“Keith McCafferty hits a bull's eye with Sean's story in his debut novel,
The Royal Wulff Murders . . . like bacon and brownies—Stranahan's odd mix of painter, P.I. and fly fisher
works. . . . A good fit for enthusiasts of Nevada Barr who have read through all the Anna Pigeon novels. Packed with wilderness action and starring a band of stalwart individualists,
The Royal Wulff Murders will have readers begging McCafferty for more.” —Tom Lavoie, Shelf Awareness
Review
"What a fine and thoroughly satisfying debut novel! There’s so much to enjoy here—a fresh sense of place, a cast of compelling characters, and a plot line with as many twists and turns as a Montana trout stream. Even if you know nothing about fly fishing, you’re going to love this book. Mark my words: From this day forward, you’ll be buying everything Keith McCafferty writes." —William Kent Krueger, author of
Northwest Angle and
Iron Lake
Review
"Keith McCafferty's The Royal Wulff Murders is the mystery fly anglers have been waiting for. Finally, an author who knows the crucial difference between 2X and 4X tippet! But it's not just the fishing details that make this novel so enjoyable: it's the rich characters, the robust sense of humor, a sadly topical plot, and a writing style that is as gin-clear as a Montana trout stream."
Review
"The last time I fished the Madison River it was high, fast, and dirty—words that come to mind for parts of McCafferty’s tangy debut mystery. But there are also episodes of angling wonder and Montana beauty, rendered in prose so gorgeous they make this book a truly rare catch, the page-turner that doubles as a poetic meditation. (Now how about taking me out on the river, dude?)"—Mark Kingwell, author of Catch and Release: Trout Fishing and the Meaning of Life
Review
“An impressive debut . . . the people here are all solid creations, sometimes prickly but always engaging, characters readers will be more than happy to see again.” —
The Houston Chronicle
Review
“Two chapters in and you know you are in for an interesting read . . . Each scene is set up with a fisherman’s patience, with the wind, water and wildlife of Montana becoming as important as the human characters we follow . . .
The Royal Wulff Murders should be on any outdoorsman’s reading list.” —
Suspense Magazine
Review
“This is a truly wonderful read. In an old and crowded field, Keith has created characters fresh, quirky and yet utterly believable, then stirred them into a mystery that unfolds with grace and humor against a setting of stunning beauty and danger. Stranahan, the fisherman sleuth, breaks free of the old cliche's and delights with his humanity, vulnerability and love of cats. Yes, cats. Keith has written a book that speaks to women and men regardless of color or background. The only downside of this book is that we must wait a year for the next one.”—Nevada Barr,
New York Times bestselling author of the Anna Pigeon Mysteries
“McCafferty skillfully weaves Big Sky color, humor, and even romance (in the form of Seans stunning new girlfriend, Martinique, whos bankrolling veterinary school by working as a bikini barista) into the suspenseful plot as it gallops toward a white-knuckle…climax.”—Publishers Weekly
“Think big-city CSI teams have it tough? Their examinations of crime scenes are hardly ever interrupted by a grizzly bear like the one that sends Deputy Harold Little Feather to the hospital…Irresistible.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Populated by well-drawn characters…This series will appeal to fans of Nevada Barr and C.J. Box as well as to fly-fishing devotees.”—Booklist
“Youll find yourself obsessed with the story.”—Oprah.com
Review
Praise for
The Royal Wulff Murders by Keith McCafferty
“Sportsmen will find the one-of-a-kind novel captivating, intelligent, and at times uproarious.”—Field & Stream
"Keith McCafferty has pulled off a small miracle with The Royal Wulff Murders — a compelling Montana-based novel that will please both mystery readers and discerning fly-fishers. A terrific debut that rings with authenticity and style."—C. J. Box, New York Times bestselling author of Back of Beyond and Force of Nature
“An impressive debut… the people here are all solid creations, sometimes prickly but always engaging, characters readers will be more than happy to see again.”—The Houston Chronicle
“Keith McCafferty hits a bull's eye with Sean's story in his debut novel, The Royal Wulff Murders… like bacon and brownies--Stranahan's odd mix of painter, P.I. and fly fisher works. It helps that McCafferty, an editor at Field & Stream, really knows his trout, and life in Bozeman has obviously acquainted him with the ways of Montana. He writes with both a love of nature…common in the outdoorsman. Add the backwoodsy feminism of Sheriff Martha Ettinger, and the mystery is a good fit for enthusiasts of Nevada Barr who have read through all the Anna Pigeon novels. Packed with wilderness action and starring a band of stalwart individualists, The Royal Wulff Murders will have readers begging McCafferty for more.”—Tom Lavoie, ShelfAwareness.com for Readers
“[A] thoroughly entertaining debut…McCafferty blends plenty of fly-fishing lore with a host of intriguing characters…Only the sharp-eyed observation of the medical examiner suggests the body was a murder victim rather than an accidental drowning. The eventual identification of the victim helps link Stranahan’s task to that of the sheriff. The vivid Montana setting is a plus.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Blue Ribbon is what they call a trout stream of extremely high quality and that’s what I call Keith McCafferty’s The Royal Wulff Murders—the debut of a frighteningly knowledgeable and wonderfully entertaining series.”—Craig Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of The Cold Dish and Hell is Empty
“The descriptive scenery writing is good, and the places he writes about are a pleasure for the armchair traveler to visit…The main characters are all likable except, of course, the bad guys.”—San Diego Union-Tribune
"What a fine and thoroughly satisfying debut novel! There’s so much to enjoy here—a fresh sense of place, a cast of compelling characters, and a plot line with as many twists and turns as a Montana trout stream. Even if you know nothing about fly fishing, you’re going to love this book. Mark my words: From this day forward, you’ll be buying everything Keith McCafferty writes."—William Kent Krueger, author of Northwest Angle and Iron Lake
“What fun it is to visit my favorite fishing spots , not in a guide-boat but in a wonderful murder mystery.”—Henry Winkler, author of I’ve Never Met an Idiot on the River
“The Royal Wulff Murders hit all my buttons: mystery, flyfishing, Montana, the Madison River, beautiful women, and whole pickup loads of authentic Montana characters, many of them wonderfully quirky. Keith McCafferty is one terrific writer.”—Patrick F. McManus, author of The Bear In the Attic and The Huckleberry Murders
“Two chapters in and you know you are in for an interesting read…Each scene is set up with a fisherman’s patience, with the wind, water and wildlife of Montana becoming as important as the human characters we follow…The Royal Wulff Murders should be on any outdoorsman’s reading list.”—Suspense Magazine
"Keith McCafferty's The Royal Wulff Murders is the mystery fly anglers have been waiting for. Finally, an author who knows the crucial difference between 2X and 4X tippet! But it's not just the fishing details that make this novel so enjoyable: it's the rich characters, the robust sense of humor, a sadly topical plot, and a writing style that is as gin-clear as a Montana trout stream."—Paul Doiron, author of Trespasser and The Poacher’s Son
Synopsis
Buffalo Jump Blues is the fifth novel in the Sean Stranahan mystery series, and is coming from Viking on June28,2016
The Royal Wulff Murders is the first novel in the clever and fast-paced Sean Stranahan Mystery Series, for fans of C. J. Box, Craig Johnson, and Carl HiassenAngling is a multibillion dollar business, and no one knows that better than Keith McCafferty, the award-winning survival and outdoor skills editor of Field & Stream magazine and resident of Montana, home to the world's most fanatical fly fishing community.
In McCafferty's compelling debut, a young man is found dead with a Royal Wulff trout fly stuck through his lip. Sheriff Martha Ettinger's investigation leads her to cross paths with fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective Sean Stranahan. As the water temperature rises, the clues point them both toward Montana's big business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime.
"
Synopsis
The first novel in the clever and fast-paced Sean Stranahan Mystery Series
When a fishing guide reels in the body of a young man on the Madison, the Holy Grail of Montana trout rivers, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects foul play. It's not just the stick jammed into the man's eye that draws her attention; it's the Royal Wulff trout fly stuck in his bloated lower lip. Following her instincts, Ettinger soon finds herself crossing paths with Montana newcomer Sean Stranahan.
Fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective, Stranahan left a failed marriage and lackluster career to drive to Montana, where he lives in an art studio decorated with fly-tying feathers and mouse droppings. With more luck catching fish than clients, Stranahan is completely captivated when Southern siren Velvet Lafayette walks into his life, intent on hiring his services to find her missing brother. The clues lead Stranahan and Ettinger back to Montana's Big Business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime.
Synopsis
The first novel in the clever and fast-paced Sean Stranahan Mystery Series. Buffalo Jump Blues, the latest installment, is now available.
When a fishing guide reels in the body of a young man on the Madison, the Holy Grail of Montana trout rivers, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects foul play. It's not just the stick jammed into the man's eye that draws her attention; it's the Royal Wulff trout fly stuck in his bloated lower lip. Following her instincts, Ettinger soon finds herself crossing paths with Montana newcomer Sean Stranahan.
Fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective, Stranahan left a failed marriage and lackluster career to drive to Montana, where he lives in an art studio decorated with fly-tying feathers and mouse droppings. With more luck catching fish than clients, Stranahan is completely captivated when Southern siren Velvet Lafayette walks into his life, intent on hiring his services to find her missing brother. The clues lead Stranahan and Ettinger back to Montana's Big Business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime.
Synopsis
The first novel in the clever and fast-paced Sean Stranahan Mystery Series.Cold Hearted River, the sixth in the series, is forthcoming from Viking.
When a fishing guide reels in the body of a young man on the Madison, the Holy Grail of Montana trout rivers, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects foul play. It's not just the stick jammed into the man's eye that draws her attention; it's the Royal Wulff trout fly stuck in his bloated lower lip. Following her instincts, Ettinger soon finds herself crossing paths with Montana newcomer Sean Stranahan.
Fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective, Stranahan left a failed marriage and lackluster career to drive to Montana, where he lives in an art studio decorated with fly-tying feathers and mouse droppings. With more luck catching fish than clients, Stranahan is completely captivated when Southern siren Velvet Lafayette walks into his life, intent on hiring his services to find her missing brother. The clues lead Stranahan and Ettinger back to Montana's Big Business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime."
Synopsis
The first novel in the clever and fast-paced Sean Stranahan Mystery Series, for fans of C. J. Box, Craig Johnson, and Carl Hiassen Angling is a multibillion dollar business, and no one knows that better than Keith McCafferty, the award-winning survival and outdoor skills editor of
Field and Stream magazine and resident of Montana, home to the world's most fanatical fly fishing community. In McCafferty's compelling debut, a young man is found dead with a Royal Wulff trout fly stuck through his lip. Sheriff Martha Ettinger's investigation leads her to cross paths with fly fisher, painter, and has-been private detective Sean Stranahan. As the water temperature rises, the clues point them both toward Montana's big business: fly fishing. Where there's money, there's bound to be crime.
Synopsis
Montanas favorite fly fisherman detective is back on the case in the second installment of the Sean Stranahan Mystery Series.
When the graves of two men are discovered on Sphinx Mountain, Sheriff Martha Ettinger suspects murder. But with the only evidence a hole in a skull that might or might not have been caused by a bullet, she once more finds herself turning to private investigator Sean Stranahan for help. Stranahan already has a case, having been hired by a group of eccentric fly fishermen called The Madison River Liars and Fly Tiers Club to find a valuable fly that they suspect has been stolen. Could the disappearance of a vintage Gray Ghost from a riverside cabin in the Madison Valley be connected to the gray ghosts who haunt Sphinx Mountain? Stranahan will cross paths, and arms, with some of the most powerful people in the valley to find out, in a novel that is sure to capture new fans for one of the mystery genres rising stars.
About the Author
Keith McCafferty is the award-winning Survival and Outdoor Skills Editor of
Field & Stream. He has written articles for
Fly Fisherman Magazine,
Mother Earth News,
Gray’s Sporting Journal, and the
Chicago Tribune. He lives with his wife in Bozeman, Montana. His first book was
The Royal Wulff Murders.