The Turtle Catcher

"Haunting. . . . [and] difficult to put down. Exudes the confidence of a seasoned storyteller." —Mankato Free Press

In the tumultuous days after World War I, Herman Richter returns from the front to find his only sister, Liesel, allied with Lester Sutter, the "slow" son of a rival clan who spends his days expertly trapping lake turtles. Liesel has sought Lesters friendship in the wake of her parents deaths and in the shadow of a dark secret of her own. But what begins as yearning for something of a human touch quickly unwinds into a shocking, suspenseful tragedy that haunts New Germany, Minnesota, for generations. The Turtle Catcher is a lyrical, vibrant, beautifully wrought look at a fascinating piece of American history—and the echoing dangers of family secrets. "A moving portrait of difficult times and vividly realized characters." —Booklist

"A great, rattling, breathless mystery composed in rolling musical cadences. The temptation is great to call this story ‘Faulkner in the Upper Midwest." —Scott Simon, host of NPRs Weekend Edition Saturday Nicole Helget grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, a childhood and place she draws on in her writing. She received her BA and an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She is the author of the memoir, The Summer of Ordinary Ways.

A standout fiction debut by a prize-winning young writer whose memoir, The Summer of Ordinary Ways, was a favorite of critics and booksellers, Nicole Helgets fierce and lyrical memoir of growing up on a Minnesota dairy farm received widespread acclaim.

People magazine hailed the young authors ability to “take the messiest of lives and fashion something beautiful.”Here, in her first novel,Helget turns her extraordinary sensibility to a haunting love story with a heinous crime at its core.

In a rural Minnesota town of German immigrants in the tumultuous days ofWorldWar I, The Turtle Catcher brings together two misfits from warring clans. Liesel, the one girl in the upstanding family of Richter boys, harbors a secret about her body that thwarts all hope for a normal life.Her closest friend is Lester, the “slow” boy in the raffish Sutter family, a gentle, kind soul who spends his days trapping turtles in the lake. Yearning for human touch in the wake of her parents deaths, Liesel turns to her only friend—leading her brother, just returned from the war, to an act that will haunt not only both families but the entire town.

Helgets novel is a story of loyalty and betrayal that, like her earlier book, proves her uncommon understanding of the natural world and human frailties. Both moving and heartfelt, The Turtle Catcher confirms this young writers exceptional talent.

In the tumultuous days after World War I, Herman Richter returns from the front to find his only sister, Liesel, allied with Lester Sutter, the "slow" son of a rival clan who spends his days expertly trapping lake turtles. Liesel has sought Lesters friendship in the wake of her parents deaths and in the shadow of her own dark secret. But what begins as yearning for something of a human touch quickly unwinds into a shocking, suspenseful tragedy that haunts the rural town of New Germany, Minnesota, for generations.

Woven into this remarkable story are the intense, illuminating experiences of German immigrants in America during the war and the terrible choices they were forced to make in service of their new country or in honor of the old. The Turtle Catcher is a lyrical, vibrant, beautifully wrought look at a fascinating piece of American history—and the echoing dangers of family secrets.  

Born in 1976, NICOLE LEA HELGET grew up on a farm in southern Minnesota, a childhood and place she drew on in the writing of her memoir, The Summer of Ordinary Ways. She received her BA and an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Based on the novels first chapter, NPRs Scott Simon awarded The Turtle Catcher the Tamarack Prize from Minnesota Monthly.