Debut author Amy Pease combines the lush, idyllic scenery of northern Wisconsin’s lake region with the brutal reality of the opioid epidemic in NORTHWOODS, a breathtaking combination of police procedural and personal redemption.

A good day for Eli North means getting drunk on his shift as a police officer in his small Midwestern town and not having to respond to yet another domestic violence or noise disturbance call. When the sheriff is your mother and the whole town knows about your spectacular fall from grace, you can do these sorts of things…at least for a while. But when readers meet Eli, his failure act is growing old, and his most recent call is proof of that.

Eli is floating drunkenly on Shaky Lake when he is called to a noise disturbance at a cabin at Beran’s Resort, a picturesque group of split-log cabins with red roofs and screened porches, firepits and Adirondack chairs. It’s not uncommon for things to get a little feisty at the resort, but when Eli pulls up to the cabin in question, he finds it suspiciously empty, despite the sound of Etta James blaring from the open windows. He investigates the house in a drunken haze, but it is not until he arrives at the lot’s dock that he sees it: a boat with a dead teenager inside.

"Written with a taut plot, scintillating dialogue and a sharp eye for detail, NORTHWOODS is the kind of debut that readers dream of: the announcing of an exciting new talent and the promise that more is to come."

The sight would shock anyone, but for Eli it’s a one-way trip to a panic attack. You see, Eli isn’t just a drunk; he's a veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Alcohol is not merely a vice, but a medicine that keeps him from vivid memories of Afghanistan, the loss of his career after his deployment, and the subsequent dissolution of his marriage.

When Eli is able, he calls his mother, Marge, who quickly arrives on the scene with other (ahem) more sober police. The town of Shaky Lake is small, but given its status as a resort destination, there are newcomers every week. So Eli is not surprised that he doesn’t recognize the dead boy, but Marge clearly does. Ben Sharpe was known to her as the son of a seriously addicted woman who frequented the lakeside town. She had had several dealings with him as he fought to keep his mother safe by procuring her clean needles and learning to administer Narcan. In short, Ben is not the type of boy who would get into trouble, and Marge certainly didn’t expect to find him dead outside an abandoned cabin. Unless, of course, something extremely dark was going on.

As the investigation ensues, it is revealed that Ben had been spending a lot of time with another teenager, Caitlin Wallace, a visitor at the resort. In addition to Ben being dead, Caitlin is nowhere to be found, turning this murder investigation into a missing minor case as well. This attracts the attention of the FBI, who sends agent Alyssa Mason to help the understaffed and underwhelming police force of Shaky Lake.

Marge is urged to remove Eli from the case, as he now requires four fingers of whiskey just to start the day on even footing. But something about Ben and his death reminds her of her own son. Eli is entirely cut off from the sweet, ambitious man he used to be, and she puts him to work interviewing (among others) Caitlin’s mother, a known former opioid dealer. Forced to show up and remain at least somewhat sober, Eli feels his instincts awakening and starts to see this investigation as a chance at redemption. But there is far more to Shaky Lake than even Ben’s death suggests.

As Eli, Marge and Alyssa start to probe Shaky Lake’s locals and its wealthy guests, an alarming coincidence starts to emerge. Not only does it seem that every single visitor to Shaky Lake has been touched by the epidemic, the true tourism of the area, including those who frequent the lakes and hiking trails, has died down. Eli learns that Beran’s Resort, once known for keeping the town afloat financially during the summer months, has begun preparations to transition to a rehabilitation clinic --- not one, of course, that would allow “those kinds” of addicts, but the wealthy ones for whom privacy and health care are not just accessible but easy to secure.

This revelation, combined with the fact that the local country club has numerous charges from a famous pharmaceutical company, hints at a larger conspiracy. The FBI’s interest in the missing girl could be just a distraction as they investigate something much more impactful. Torn between his demons and his desire for redemption, Ei must dig through layers of doublespeak, dangerous alliances and his own love of his small town to get to the heart of what really happened to Ben and why.

Written with a taut plot, scintillating dialogue and a sharp eye for detail, NORTHWOODS is the kind of debut that readers dream of: the announcing of an exciting new talent and the promise that more is to come. Amy Pease balances numerous timely and complex themes --- post-traumatic stress, addiction, small-town life and the trappings of wealth --- with ease, and her characters absolutely leap off the pages. Eli is a lovable, relatable antihero with a heart, the perfect protagonist to root for. But even the supporting characters are remarkably and assuredly well written, with Pease paying special attention to the bonds between mothers and their children in a way that is tender and heartfelt yet not overly sentimental. She writes with tremendous compassion, but she is also brave and unflinching in her portrayals of difficult themes and situations, and her control of her pacing, plotting and tension is masterly.

NORTHWOODS is a rich novel full of mystery and searing takedowns of current events, but also hope and affirmation. Readers of Andre Dubus III, William Kent Krueger and Amy Jo Burns will relish the chance to meet Eli, Shaky Lake and, especially, Amy Pease, who promises to be an exciting new author to watch.