THE SILENCE OF THE LOONS--Commentary

THE SILENCE OF THE LOONS ISBN: 1-932472-36-3 A 2005 release from Nodin Press Frankly, I have personal interest in this collection of short stories from Minnesota authors. One of the thirteen tales of mystery is one I wrote. Minnesota is an active place with many well-known and talented writers and my fellow members of the Minnesota Crime Wave decided to bring more of them to public awaareness. Our local publisher agreed. So, I will not offer a critical assessment of the stories because of my apparent prejudice. I do however want to note that several well-regarded authors, including Janet Rudolph and Laura Lippman have contributed accolades for the stories herein contained. Thirteen tales of mystery all based in a limited environment. Yes, when we invited Minnesota authors to submit we required tales of murder, mystery and crime set, of course in Minnesota. But we also set another requirement. We created a list of eight clues or elements and we required the writers to use at least four of the eight clues or elements in their story. The creative minds of our author friends were immediately engaged and we were intrigued. The result was this anthology of Minnesota mysteries. The collection is easily and widely available. And, oh yes, here are the required Clues: A headless barbie doll; a page torn from a dictionary; footprints in the snow; the sound of a train whistle; a temporary tattoo; the scent of Obsession; a wig; a soiled ballet slipper.