Tracking the Beast: A Steve Martinez Mystery

In Kisor’s nicely plotted fifth mystery featuring Sheriff Stephen Two Crow Martinez of Porcupine County in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (after 2013’s Hang Fire), someone is murdering preteen girls and disposing of their bodies in disused railroad cars. Det. Sgt. Alex Kolehmainen of the Michigan State Police alerts Martinez to the first body. Since the search for additional victims is difficult given that a single town stores hundreds of railroad cars, Martinez calls on the local tribal police and other agencies for help. While the FBI assumes nominal control of the cases, Jack Adamson, the special agent in charge in Detroit, wants Kolehmainen and Martinez to continue investigating. The work is slow and meticulous, but it’s Martinez who helps identify a suspect by following him on the Circle Tour of Lake Superior and then adapting a famous WWII ruse to flush out the killer. Kisor’s intimate, appreciative view of the sparsely populated, richly historic Upper Peninsula is a plus. (Dec.)