DETECTIVE FICTION – A.M. Potter | AUTHOR SITE and BLOG
Ontario Morning Book Column, Wednesday, January 15, 2025. CBC Radio’s Nav Nanwa invited me to talk about Silver Moon Rising and Detective Ivy Bourque.
Click here to listen to the interview (Duration: 7 minutes).
Synopsis: Author A.M. Potter delves into North Noir. Potter’s latest novel, Silver Moon Rising, the second in the Detective Ivy Bourque series, has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Original Paperback) and ITW Award (Best Series Novel).
Silver Moon Rising (Detective Bourque #2) by A.M. Potter. Stark House. ISBN 979-8-88601-100-5
Publishers Weekly Review: Potter’s atmospheric second procedural featuring Lt. Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is even better than its predecessor (The Color Red). At the outset, Bourque is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry to help locate Daniel Fitzgerald, the handsome young scion of a powerful New England dynasty, who vanished during a nighttime ferry crossing. After investigators find Daniel’s body, knifed in the heart, Ivy learns that he had recently severed ties with his family and devoted himself to various social causes, including cleaning up the Appalachian Trail, fighting climate change, and protecting whales. His protest methods occasionally got him in trouble with the law and courted controversy. When more people — some linked to Daniel — are stabbed to death, Ivy must figure out which of Daniel’s enemies, including Massachusetts politicians and corporate whaling interests, are angry enough to kill. Potter spends worthwhile time illustrating how Ivy’s background in organic chemistry benefits her investigative work, and evokes his brackish, blood-soaked setting with aplomb. This series continues to impress. – Publishers Weekly, Sept 2024
To purchase Silver Moon Rising, click here for information.
SILVER MOON RISING, Book Two in the Det. Ivy Bourque Series, has been nominated for an Edgar Award (Best Original Paperback) and an International Thriller Writers (ITW) Award (Best Series Novel). I’m over the moon – the silver moon. 😉
Click here for sales information.
Review of Silver Moon Rising by Ken Haigh, Author of Under The Holy Lake and On Foot to Canterbury
“Book Two in the Lieutenant Ivy Bourque series gets off to a quick start: a sudden violent death on a moonlit ferry crossing on Cape Cod. The victim, Daniel Fitzgerald, is the son of a prominent New England political family turned eco-activist. His abusive social media posts have earned him many enemies, but as Bourque investigates, the potential culprits multiply, and she begins to wonder if the motive for Fitzgerald’s murder is personal rather than political. Bourque is a likeable sleuth, a clever, fair-minded detective operating in a man’s world.
The author, who grew up in Nova Scotia, is particularly good on descriptive detail, capturing the weather and mood of the east coast setting. Potter is also very good on the details of the police investigation. Readers who like police procedurals will enjoy following Bourque as the bodies and the forensic clues multiply. The book is well-plotted, and the story will keep the reader turning pages until the solution is revealed. This is Potter’s third book (the first, also a mystery, was set in Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula region), and each book is better than the one before. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series.”
Silver Moon Rising, Book Two in the Detective Bourque series, will be released by Stark House Press on September 4, 2024
Review by James White, Author of Cisco and Giants:
A.M. Potter’s new crime suspense novel, Silver Moon Rising, the second episode in the Detective Lieutenant Bourque series, features the picturesque towns of Cape Cod. But it’s not all picturesque for Bourque, and her partner, Detective Eller. Potter does a masterful job drawing the reader into his fast-paced story with interesting technical details about police work, coupled with engaging interludes describing the region’s climate and colorful inhabitants.
Bourque and Eller soon get bogged down with leads and hunches that go nowhere. It seems every Person-Of-Interest (POI) has an air-tight alibi. Forensics helps identify the murder weapon, but that’s all Bourque and Eller have to go on. The perp remains on the loose.
Finally, painstaking detective work provides a glimmer of evidence that sets Bourque and her SWAT team off on a rapid-fire chase to catch the killer before another body washes up in Vineyard Sound. Silver Moon Rising will keep you turning pages. Potter weaves a tangled web of characters and plot twists, culminating in an ending you’ll never expect.
Kudos for Silver Moon Rising from the American Library Association (ALA):
“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective, giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the ALA
Kudos are coming in for Silver Moon Rising, Book Two in the Detective Bourque series.
Release Date: September 4, 2024 | Publisher: Stark House Press, USA
Lieutenant Ivy Bourque of the Cape & Islands Detective Unit is called to a Martha’s Vineyard ferry at midnight. The estranged son of Massachusetts’ most famous political family is dead. A tangled web leads to Cuttyhunk Island off Cape Cod.
What critics and advance readers are saying:
“Silver Moon Rising, Potter’s sequel to The Color Red (2023), portrays Bourque as an increasingly confident, intuitive detective … giving plenty of room for this burgeoning series to grow.” – Booklist, the best book reviews for libraries, the best books for book clubs, published by the American Library Association
“A.M. Potter continues to redefine murder mysteries. Silver Moon Rising pulls readers deeper into Cape Cod with pepper-paced dialogue and richly relatable characters. The new Bourque novel is another engaging read I couldn’t put down.” – Bill Arnott, author of the Gone Viking travelogues and A Perfect Day for a Walk
“Silver Moon Rising is beautifully-written, a whodunit infused with intrigue, hubris, and loss. Put the Detective Bourque series on your watchlist.” – Mystery Maven Reviews
“If you haven’t read the first novel in the Detective Bourque series (The Color Red), you’ll want to after reading the second (Silver Moon Rising). Silver Moon Rising is well-plotted, set in inviting East Coast outports and hideaways, and with truly exceptional writing chops that leave a great many other formulaic bestsellers in the dust. Or the salty wake, more appropriately.” – Caroline Woodward, Author of Light Years: Memoir of a Modern Lighthouse Keeper
“Detective Ivy Bourque shines again. Silver Moon Rising is a compelling and thought-provoking sequel to The Color Red. Don’t miss this series.” – P.W. Tilley, former RCMP Detective
“Silver Moon Rising’s gripping narrative carries you compulsively forward as it delivers intriguing details of detective procedures and Cape Cod history. Potter’s rich descriptions make me want to go there.” – Jane Bwye, author of Breath of Africa
“Silver Moon Rising is a smart, action-packed police procedural whodunit that ranks among the best in this genre. The story grabs you at the outset, immersing you in the life and trials of Det. Bourque as she methodically tracks down the killer. This is a great read!” – David Hoath, PhD, X-Cop & Police Psychologist (Ret.)
North Noir 