Death Stalks Door County (A Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery)

I loved this book from beginning to end. I usually figure out who the culprit is halfway through the book, but this time I didn't. I don't understand the people trashing this book. I challenge them to write a better book if they think they can. I recognize every single place she talks about (she changes their names). I lived in Sturgeon Bay for many, many years and I thought she did a great job describing the scenery and the places she mentions. Miltons is obviously Wilsons. She took poetic license, so what? Don't most authors do that? I thought the book was a little dark, but then it would be with someone who is grieving a loss like his. I read the book in one day and am going to get started on the next in the series. Keep up the good work Patricia Skalka!

In the 8th grade, my class went from door to door in attempts to get the local people to possibly subscribe to a magazine. I actually sold a lot, and my Mom was the first buyer. She got me a subscription to Reader's Digest, and while it was for me, it was also for her friend, Pat Skalka, who she was roommates with before I was born. Pat could write, no doubt about it, and was highly popular as a freelancer, and the readers of Reader's Digest ate up her work, just because she was that good. Now she takes a crack at writing fiction, and her main man, Dave Cubiak, is a doozy!

Door County is this man's territory, and while he used to be a detective in Chicago, he prefers to be left alone, especially in light of his wife and daughter's death. Alcohol and cigarettes are now his best buddies. But in Door County, what used to be a vacation spot for innocent people wanting to spend money, it is becoming hazardous to many people. People are showing up murdered like you wouldn't believe, and things are getting ugly!

Did I mention that Cubiak prefers to be left alone? But sometimes when you're born to be a detective, sometimes you just can't help yourself. Before everybody knows it, Cubiak's on a trail like a bloodhound, and the hunt for a killer is on!

When I talked to Mom, she told me I'd better not say ONE THING BAD about Patricia Skalka, or she'd be just devastated for her friend. Well, I don't think that Mom can feel too bad about "Death Stalks Door County," because Pat sure made a great debut. I sure hope that St. Martin's Press would see such a talent, because she's got some stories worth telling!

Do you ever google people from your past? I do. Recently when I discovered that Patricia Skalka, a fellow Chicagoan, came out with her first work of fiction last year, I decided that I had to read it despite the fact that I now prefer memoirs to mysteries.

But this is a mystery with heart. Dave Cubiak, a veteran of the Chicago police force and widower who lost both a wife and daughter tragically, has been called to Door County, Wisconsin, a Midwest vacation mecca, to help solve a murder. Before he knows it, there is a string of murders to solve. His primary problem is his lack of caring--he can't develop the determination to solve the crimes until he can replace at least some of his hurt with empathy for the people of Door County. He feels ready to return to Chicago when a chance encounter--a tender experience if you will--leads to his determination to solve the crimes that plague the residents of this formerly peaceful town.

This story has all the elements that mystery story readers love--detailed discussions about proximity of suspects to the murder scenes, investigations of the methods used to end the lives of the victims where physics comes into play, and juicy stories from the suspects--tales of revenge, betrayal, and feuds. I actually got out of my box and put my mind to solving the mystery. But Skalka has a perfect surprise ending--quite shocking--with another juicy story to be told by the perpetrator of the crimes.

The icing on the cake for me was the emotional connection I didn't expect to feel. I cried when Cubiak had his tender experience. I was moved at the end when he was beginning to heal. Then I cried again when I read the flyleaf and saw that Patricia Skalka dedicated her book to "Ray" in his memory. According to the back jacket, Ray supported her greatly through the writing of this book. As a widow, I felt connected to both her and Cubiak. I understand that she has more Dave Cubiak stories in the works. Sounds like a plan to me!

I've read a lot of very poor reviews about this book from people who obviously read a lot of mysteries and tear it apart. I however don't usually read mysteries but love this book and its sequel simply because I love Door County and it is very refreshing to read about places that you can picture in your mind cuz you been there. It's a very nice easy read ,pleasant, cared about the characters and there was nothing scary or tense about it which I appreciate. This just a pleasant refreshing read. I loved it so much I went to the library and checked out the sequel. It may not be the greatest mystery for true mystery aficionados but for someone just looking for a pleasant read it was perfect.

A real mystery thriller. Stayed up all night to finish it. Looking forward to more Dave Cubiak stories and maybe even a visit to Door County.

A wonderful novel for lovers of mystery! Skalka's direct, eloquent storytelling takes us into some dark, personal conflicts lurking just below the surface of the Midwest's prime vacation destination. Through new-comer, Dave Cubiak's eyes we get to know the official and cultural leaders of Door County, and to see the beauty of the peninsula as it blossoms into summer. But sudden violent deaths keep happening, threatening the summer tourist boom. And Cubiak slowly realizes he is the only one around with the skill and impartiality to root out the killer.
Can't wait for the next in the series!

Ordered for my sister and she was happy!!

Quickly tired of "hero" who could barely stop feeling sorry for himself enough to take in tragedies around him, yet doing a better job at detecting than anyone else. All this while drinking on the job which was, of course, okay for this chain smoking "hero." Didn't finish the book.

Death Stalks Door County: A Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery by Patricia Skalka is the first book in a multi book series. Published in 2004, author takes readers to the peninsula that juts out between Lake Michigan and Green Bay.

Dave Cubiak is a man living with incredible grief. His wife and daughter were killed and he knows that he is responsible for their deaths. Not directly, but indirectly, and that grief is all encompassing and wide ranging.

“He found it unsettling how quickly life returned to normal for those on the outskirts of loss. For a week after Lauren and Alexis died, he’d failed to pick up the morning newspapers from the front porch, not because he forgot but because everything commonplace seemed superfluous. His perspective had been so altered by death, he could not comprehend a world in which someone would continue to drop a daily paper at his door. He was only beginning to understand that for those not directly touched by it, death was a transient event (pages 60-61).”

The former Chicago homicide detective left the force and came up to the Door County to be a park ranger. He promised his former homicide partner he would give the job a year and he intends to uphold that promise despite the grief, the massive alcohol intake, and the ongoing annoying stupidity of others including his boss, Otto Johnson.

He wanted to leave death behind. At least, that was the plan. Then three months into the job, in late June, he hears a sharp wail nearby while out running one morning as he tried to flush the toxins from his system. He investigates and finds his boss, Park Superintendent Otto Johnson, at the base of Falcon Tower. It appears that somebody took a header off the multistory fire watch tower.

It soon becomes clear that the deceased is Lawrence Wisby. As Cubiak is forced to explain to his boss, Sheriff Halverson, and Doctor Bathard, the deceased is the brother of the man that killed his wife and daughter by driving drunk and running them down with a car. That makes him a suspect as far as the Sheriff is concerned.

An intense and highly atmospheric story, Death Stalks Door County: A Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery by Patricia Skalka is a complicated and often intense read. Grief plays a major role in the book almost to the point of an actual living and breathing character. Issues related to that aspect of the book leads to considerable backstory as well as a deep resonance with this reader. The ongoing current day mystery is complicated and far ranging and resulted in a considerable surprise when the killer was finally revealed.

Intense, complicated, and very atmospheric, Death Stalks Door County: A Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery by Patricia Skalka is a very good read.

Material supplied by the good folks of the Dallas Library System.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021

Essential elements of a good mystery for me include a detective I care about, several absorbing puzzles to solve, a rich and authentic setting, and fine writing. Death Stalks Door County has all that, and more. Dave Cubiak, a sad and depressed former Chicago cop, has been coaxed into a low-pressure job as a park ranger in Door County, Wisconsin, aka the Cape Cod of the Midwest. A young man’s death in the park, then a string of apparently unconnected murders draw Cubiak into crime solving and back to life. Cubiak’s personal journey drew me in and Skalka’s sharp observations of the people, culture, and land of Door County, made this a satisfying read. This book is the first in a series. I’m looking forward to reading the next and the next.