Book 1

Dead Angler

by Victoria Houston

Published 31 December 2000
In Wisconsin's Northwoods, fishing is a way of life -- and when the muskies are biting, life couldn't be better. But when Doc Osborne catches more than he bargained for, he winds up in the middle of a murder mystery -- and only Chief of Police Lew Ferris can get him out of it.

Book 2

Dead Creek

by Victoria Houston

Published 7 November 2000
When Doc Osborne up in the middle of a murder mystery, only Chief of Police Lew Ferris can get him out of it.

Fishing aside, there's nothing Doc likes better than helping Chief of Police Lew Ferris, a world-class fly fisherman in her own right, delve into Loon Lake's criminal underworld. He's looking for any excuse to spend time with the only woman he knows who likes to fish as much as he does. So bloodthirsty killers and backwoods bandits be damned, Doc will take the quiet risk.

Book 3

Dead Water

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 June 2001
Police Chief Lew Ferris hits a snag while investigating a double murder--and pursuing a killer more slippery than any muskie she's had her hands on.

While out kayaking, Paul Osborne discovers the grisly remains of a woman--whose shoulders bear mysterious bite marks. And just as Lew begins her investigation, another body turns up... The second victim was a successful businesswoman from Kansas City, and the evidence indicates she was in Loon Lake for a rendezvous with an ex-lover--a con man who had tried to get his hands on her money. Now, Lew's got two confusing cases--and a killer who may be more elusive than any fish...

Book 4

Dead Frenzy

by Victoria Houston

Published 4 February 2003
Between a fishing tournament and a biker convention, Doc Osborne and Police Chief Ferris are spending less time catching bass and more time catching crooks...

For fishing pals (or are they more than just pals?) Doc Osborne and Police Chief Lew Ferris, Loon Lake, Wisconsin, is usually a great place to seek out some mutual solitude in the trout stream. But lately, the town has been teeming with competitive bass fisherman and bikers, too many less-than-savory characters. Meanwhile, there's an old murder case Doc's bent on solving even as he himself is stalked by a mysterious visitor.

Book 5

Dead Hot Mama

by Victoria Houston

Published 2 March 2004
As ice-fishing season arrives in Loon Lake, Police Chief Lew Ferris finds himself dealing with the bodies of two snowmobilers pulled out of Two Sisters Lake and a beautiful woman's corpse found in a snowdrift.

Book 6

Dead Jitterbug

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 April 2005
With the murder of a well-known advice columnist, Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris has her hands full with all the potential suspects.

Everyone knows the name Hope McDonald--and not just the couple thousand folks in Loon Lake. Her advice column is syndicated worldwide to about eighty million readers. When the wise old woman is found murdered in her home, Chief Lew Ferris can think of more than a few suspects--and calls on Doc Osborne for help. Since Hope was dealing with some desperate souls, Doc and Lew will have to think of the perfect bait to net a cold-blooded killer...

Book 7

Dead Boogie

by Victoria Houston

Published 7 March 2006
Doc Osborne knows there are plenty of fish in the sea, but only police chief Lew Ferris qualifies as his catch of the day.

Just as the summer is heating up, the town gets turned upside down by the bizarre triple homicide discovered on a backcountry road... Peg Garmin was not Loon Lake's most beloved citizen. Considering her "calling" in life, no one was completely surprised when she was found murdered in the company of two exotic dancers...no one, that is, except for Ray Pradt, Peg's dearest friend.

As the team digs into the mystery of her past, they discover some startling connections to one of the wealthiest families in Chicago and to the buried secret that could destroy them. Now Lew, Osborne, and Ray must root the skeletons out of the Garmin family closet before Peg's killer becomes the one who got away...

Book 8

Dead Madonna

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 April 2007
Whoever thought life in the Northwoods could be this dangerous?

When the body of a lovely young woman is found floating beneath a party pontoon on a popular lake in northern Wisconsin on the same morning that a prominent widow is found bludgeoned in her gracious home, Loon Lake Police Chief Lew Ferris is caught short-handed.

This is not a problem for Doc Osborne, whom she deputizes to act as coroner and to assist with the investigation. Fishing aside, there's nothing Osborne likes better than helping Lew--a world-class fly fisherman in her own right--delve into Loon Lake's criminal underworld. They're joined in their efforts to untangle two seemingly unrelated murders by walleye-expert, talented tracker, and teller of really bad jokes, Ray Pradt.

A charming resort town on the surface, life in Loon Lake turns murky as bank officials soon discover that both victims' accounts have been looted--along with a dozen others. One grisly development after another further links the two murders even though the victims did not know each other. Wealthy Chicagoans, visiting entrepreneurs, and the young denizens of "Party Cove" complicate the scene.

Book 8

Dead Madonna

by Victoria Houston

Published 15 April 2012

Book 9

Dead Hot Shot

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 May 2008
Murder never takes a holiday...or so Loon Lake learns one wintry Thanksgiving Day.

Chief of Police Lew Ferris, short-handed thanks to an AWOL coroner, never even gets the turkey stuffed before the bodies start to surface. By the end of the day, credit card theft and dysfunctional families have so muddied the waters that not even expert tracker and dedicated fishing guide Ray Pradt can hope to fish the final day of muskie season. And while retired dentist Doc Osborne had counted on sitting by the fire with Lew (out of uniform) and planning a fly-fishing trip to Wyoming, the unexpected arrival of Gina Palmer, former investigative reporter turned forensics database expert, ramps up the action with her pursuit of a Canadian link to the theft of merchandise from stores across the upper Midwest. Dead Hot Shot, ninth in the Loon Lake Mystery series, is a heady mix of murder, mayhem, and fishing in the northwoods of Wisconsin.

Book 9

Dead Hot Shot

by Victoria Houston

Published 15 April 2012

Book 10

Dead Renegade

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 November 2009
As Lew investigates, uncanny coincidences accumulate like snow on the frozen, deadly surface of Loon Lake...

It's late January and Loon Lake is hosting an International Ice Fishing Festival. Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris and her limited team are busy with the usual headaches and then some, and Doc Osborne is busy studying fly-casting videos in an effort to impress Lew come spring.

But a panicked call from Rob Beltner leads to a sad discovery: his wife, Kathy, is dead of a gunshot wound. Lew barely begins to investigate the shooting before she's sidetracked by the imposing figure of Patience Schumacher, president of Wheedon Technical College--and she's certain she's being stalked.

Book 11

Dead Deceiver

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 February 2011
A string of crimes in Loon Lake, including a shooting on a ski trail and the stalking of a former nun, occurs during an international ice fishing festival, and Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris must investigate.

Book 11

Dead Deceiver

by Victoria Houston

Published 30 May 2014

Book 12

Dead Tease

by Victoria Houston

Published 14 February 2012

Book 15

Dead Rapunzel

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 June 2015

Book 15

Dead Rapunzel

by Victoria Houston

Published 1 May 2015

Book 17

Dead Spider

by Victoria Houston

Published 23 May 2017
"A lovely Sunday afternoon in late June and the annual Loon Lake Youth Fishing Tournament is coming to a close. People are happy, kids full of ice cream and teenagers setting off firecrackers so loud no one hears the gunshot. But when the crowd thins out an attractive young wife makes a grisly discovery: A single bullet to the brain has killed her much-older husband -- the richest man in Wisconsin. Just as Loon Lake Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris gets the murder investigation underway, her good friend and deputy coroner, "Doc" Osborne, is alarmed to hear his oldest grandchild, fifteen-year-old Beth, has been caught in a drug sting. And Loon Lake's idyllic summer is further shattered when numerous elderly patients in Loon Lake's nursing home discover they have been robbed"--

Book 19

Dead Big Dawg

by Victoria Houston

Published 11 June 2019

Dead Lil' Hustler

by Victoria Houston

Published 15 May 2014
It's mid-July in Loon Lake, and Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris has her hands full with the discovery of the skeletal remains of a missing bank executive and the murder of graduate student. To complicate matters, both victims were discovered on a hidden river deep in the national forest--a place that just so happens to be a dangerous wolf rendezvous site. Lew recruits her close friend and fellow flyfisherman, retired dentist "Doc" Osborne for his forensic and interrogation skills. But Doc has his own set of problems to worry about: his grandson is hospitalized with a grave illness, and now Lew seems to be getting too interested in the father of the murdered student--a well-to-do widower who is teaching her the Japanese art of tenkara flyfishing.