Live Auction
Bid on a Mystery Dinner for you and a friend with authors Victoria Houston, Chuck Logan, Brian Freeman or William Kent Krueger!
Register online at or pick up an invitation at any library desk.
Can’t make it on the 4th? Proxy Bidding forms are available in the library’s Mystery Room or download a printable form here.
Victoria Houston writes fishing mysteries set in the fictional Wisconsin community of Loon Lake. One way or another, her characters solve the mystery through clues that center around the sport of fly fishing, a sport the author also enjoys.
Her heroine is a police chief who is also an ardent fly fisherman. With the help of a retired dentist, she solves murders. In Loon Lake, eccentrics are welcome, including Ray Pradt, a local guide and champion loon-caller who wears an earflap leather cap topped by an enormous stuffed trout.
Houston has written nonfiction, but she found her true literary calling in Loon Lake, with the publication of Dead Angler, the first in a series of 10 novels including Dead Hot Mama, Dead Jitterbug, and, most recently, Dead Renegade.
Houston lives in her hometown of Rhinelander, Wis., population 7,900 and home of the Hodag.
“Victoria Houston's love for her Wisconsin setting and her wonderful characters is evident on every page of her fine series. Loon Lake is a great get-away, even if it does keep me up at night.”
- - Laura Lippman, author of What the Dead Know
© 2006-2010 Victoria Houston
Chuck Logan is a local author best known for his novels based on the character Phil Broker, an ex-Minnesota police officer. From Hunter’s Moon, published in 1996 through South of Shiloh published in 2008, Logan has created powerful stories populated by powerful characters that are rich in their complexity.
His plots are recognized by critics and peers as among the most original and unpredictable in the mystery/thriller genre. Logan’s novels include The Price of Blood, The Big Law, Absolute Zero, Vapor Trail, and Homefront.
His first four novels received consecutive starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, which also called his novel, After the Rain – the fifth featuring protagonist Broker – “An unbeatable combination: a smart, well-honed plot, fascinating characters and a writer with an original voice and the prose skills to tie it all together.”
His latest book, the stand-alone South of Shiloh, received a starred review in Library Journal, which called the novel “a tightly woven, low-key thriller that is fascinating for its historical theme, attention to detail, and analysis of the opposing psyches of North and South. An intensely gripping story of greed, manipulation, family dysfunction and murder; highly recommended.”
After completing Shiloh, Logan cooperated, with his friend John Sandford, in writing Sanford's novel, Heat Lightning. A Vietnam War veteran, he lives with his wife and daughter in Stillwater.
© 2010 Chuck Logan
Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended
Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged
timber, worked construction, tried his hand at free-lance journalism, and eventually ended
up researching child development at the University of Minnesota.
He currently makes his living as a full-time author. Krueger writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota. His protagonist is
Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe.
He’s been married for over 35 years to a marvelous woman who is an attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves. Krueger does all his creative writing in a small coffee shop in St. Paul.
His work has received a number of awards including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. The ninth book in his series, Heaven’s Keep, was released in September 2009.
© 2010 William Kent Krueger
Brian Freeman is an international bestselling author of psychological suspense novels featuring Lieutenant Jonathan Stride. His books have been sold in 46 countries and 18 languages and have appeared as Main Selections in the Literary Guild and the Book of the Month Club.
Brian’s debut thriller, IMMORAL, won the Macavity Award and was a nominee for the Edgar®, Dagger, Anthony, and Barry awards for best first novel. IMMORAL was chosen as International Book of the Month by book clubs around the world, a distinction shared by bestselling authors such as Harlan Coben and Karin Slaughter.
He published his second novel STRIPPED to widespread critical acclaim in 2006. STRIPPED hit the Globe and Mail bestseller list in Canada and was named one of the top 10 mysteries of the year by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The novel was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award.
The Library Journal review of his third novel, STALKED, noted that “Freeman just keeps outdoing himself with each book.” The Chicago Tribune called STALKED “a perfect blend of psychological suspense and crime fiction.” His fourth book, IN THE DARK (called THE WATCHER in the UK), was released in 2009. Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review, calling it Brian’s best book yet, “harrowing and heartrending.”
He credits two unusual sources for his career: his grandmother and his eighth grade composition teacher. Brian's latest thriller, THE BURYING PLACE, is due out soon around the world.
© 2010 Brian Freeman
You can also bid on a Young Authors’ Writing Session with childrens’ book author Bob Katula. Groups of kids ages 5-12 will have a great time going through the basics of creating a story.
Bob Katula is a freelance writer and author of Larryboy and the Awful Ears Wacks Attacks, a chapter book in the popular Veggie Tales series. He also wrote Reflections from Terry Redlin, a biography of one of the country’s most widely collected painters of wildlife and Americana.
Bob is a board member of the Stillwater Public Library Foundation and is committed to maintaining this treasure for our community. He finds inspiration in the surroundings of Stillwater, his wife and two daughters, and their historic home on the North Hill.