THE LIGHT KEEPER'S LEGACY
CHLOE ELLEFSON MYSTERY #3
Trade Paperback
HenschelHAUS Publishing
Unabridged Audiobook
Tantor Audio
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Thus begins the third story in the award-winning Chloe Ellefson series, the twenty-fourth book by bestselling author Kathleen Ernst.
The Chloe novels combine history and mystery with a little romance. They are written for adults and mature teens who enjoy reading stories without explicit sex, gratuitous violence, or gore.
This page offers a rich mix of background information about the people, places, and the past that went into making The Light Keeper's Legacy.
Story Description
This book takes place in Door County, Wisconsin in September 1982, with an historical thread that is set between 1869 and 1906.
Museum curator (and reluctant sleuth) Chloe Ellefson jumps at the chance to spend time on Wisconsin’s Rock Island, a state park with no electricity or roads. She's there on temporary assignment from Old World Wisconsin to consult on restoring the island’s historic 1858 lighthouse. Solitude at last!
Chloe's research into the island's history turns up fascinating, tough-as-nails women from the past. But her tranquility is spoiled when a dead woman washes ashore. Is it an accidental drowning? Or have local tensions over tighter Lake Michigan commercial fishing regulations reached a dangerous boiling point?
When Chloe discovers a second body, she finds herself trapped alone with a killer on remote Rock Island.
Light Keeper's Legacy can be ordered as a 360-page trade paperback, as well as in multiple ebook and unabridged audiobook formats.
To see a partial list of vendors offering this story, click HERE.
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What Others Are Saying
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LOVEY Award for Best Traditional Mystery Love Is Murder Mystery Writers Conference LOVEY winners are chosen by the readers, writers, agents, and publishers at the annual Love is Murder conference in Chicago, the Midwest's premier mystery, romance, suspense, thriller gathering. |
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Jane Kirkpatrick New York Times Bestselling Author Where Lilacs Still Bloom and The Daughter's Walk "In the fashion of Barbara Kingsolver, Kathleen weaves contemporary conflicts of commercial fishing, environmentalists, sport fisherman and law enforcement into a web of similar conflicts in the 1880s... I ignored food so I could finish this third Chloe Ellefson mystery." |
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Kirkus Reviews "Combines a good mystery with some interesting historical information..." |
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Mystery Scene Magazine Review by Lourdes Venard "While the mystery elements of this book are very good, what really elevates it are the historical tidbits... Such rich historical details shine a light on a fascinating slice of American history." |
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Larry Meiller Host of The Larry Meiller Show Wisconsin Public Radio "I just love this book, and I'm pretty sure you're gonna enjoy it too. In fact I'd bet money on it." |
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Inland Seas' Journal Great Lakes Historical Society Review by Jacqueline Justice "...a story that is both suspenceful and engaging, gracefully weaving historic elements and contemporary concerns into the mystery." |
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Lori Caswell Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book Blog "Kathleen has a way of mixing historic times and places with bold characters to create wonderful mysteries...smart, well crafted and captivating." |
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Kirby Foss Rock Island State Park Manager (retired) "A fun and interesting read, with a great understanding of island history and the commercial fishing industry." |
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About the Author
Bestselling author Kathleen Ernst writes award-winning mysteries, historical fiction, and non-fiction for adults and young readers.
Her work has earned numerous honors, including two lifetime writing achievement awards, an Emmy for educational television, and an Edgar Allan Poe and multiple Agatha Christie mystery award nominations.
To date nearly 1.8 million audio, ebook, and print copies of Kathleen's thirty-eight published books have been purchased. more>>
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Related Blog Posts
Enjoy the author's insights about the story, characters, and settings.
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The Empty Meadow I had intended to write a novel “just” about Pottawatomie Lighthouse in Rock Island State Park. Why look any farther? Pottawatomie has it all... more>> |
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The Library Box What did the library box look like? The question came up last week when I visited a book group to discuss the 3rd Chloe Ellefson mystery, The Light Keeper’s Legacy. A library box is... more>> |
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When Past and Present Collide I’ve been a history junkie since childhood. My librarian-mom kept me supplied with historical fiction, and family vacations always included stops at historic sites and museums. As an adult... more>> |
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Danish Needle Lace Handwork in all its many forms is dear to my heart, as I’ve discussed here before in 2010 and 2011. I love featuring different types of crafts in my books. As a former museum curator, and... more>> |
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Cast Iron and Memories Pottawatomie Lighthouse, the oldest light station in Wisconsin, sits on top of a bluff on Rock Island, in lake Michigan. Rock Island is now a state park, and it provides the setting for my latest Chloe... more>> |
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Women at the Lights When Scott and I began serving as volunteer docents at Pottawatomie Lighthouse (Rock Island State Park, Lake Michigan, WI), I was delighted to learn that two of the Keeper’s wives officially served as Assistant Keepers... more>> |
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Water, Water Everywhere, Nor Any Drop To Drink So said Samuel Taylor Coleridge in his famous ballad, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. I suspect that some of the former light keepers at Pottawatomie Lighthouse (Rock Island, WI) muttered... more >> |
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Docent Duty My husband Scott and I are recently back from our 4th stint as docents at Pottawatomie Lighthouse in Rock Island State Park, WI. Rock Island is situated off the northern tip of... more >> |
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Ragna's Tale Ragna (pronounced Ron-yah) writes: "I didn't expect to become one of the best net makers on Rock Island. To my surprise, I did. Everyone says so. I need only three days to make..." more>> |
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Last Link in the Chain? Last week Scott and I vacationed on Washington Island, WI, off the tip of Door County in Lake Michigan. While having dinner at KK Fiske Restaurant, we heard something startling... more >> |
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Joining the Club People who live on Washington Island, off the northern tip of Door County, WI, have been known to tell newcomers that they won’t be true islanders until they stop at Nelsen’s Hall for a shot of... more >> |
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Researching Light Keeper's This article explores examples of how technical research and photographic documentation were used to help Kathleen write the award-winning... more>> |
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Light Keeper's - A Retrospective When publisher Midnight Ink picked up the first book in the Chloe Ellefson Mystery series, Old World Murder, I was given a two-book contract. After turning in the second book I wrote... more>> |
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CONTACT KATHLEEN |
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Author's Note
For eight years my husband and I had the great pleasure and privilege of serving as volunteer docents at the Pottawatomie Lighthouse, located in Wisconsin’s Rock Island State Park.
For one week each summer we lived in the beautifully restored 1858 lighthouse, giving tours during the day and enjoying Lake Michigan's many wild and peaceful moods in the evenings.
The island’s human history is fascinating; it was inevitable that I get Chloe there.
Large parts of the book were written at the lighthouse and nearby Washington Island. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did researching and creating it.
Visit the lighthouse and take a tour!
P.S. -- Below is a free PDF guide to help book groups discuss this story. Enjoy! (Caution: contains spoilers.)
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DISCUSSION GUIDE Questions to help spark a group conversation. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD |
People
Museum curator Chloe Ellefson and police officer Roelke McKenna are the two main characters in this series.
In The Light Keeper's Legacy the spotlight is mostly on Chloe. She heads to Rock Island, hoping that time away from Roelke will help clarify her feelings about him. What kind of relationship does she want?
Events intervene—it is a murder mystery, but by book's end Chloe and Roelke find a measure of contentment—for the moment.
At the heart of the mystery are a pair of strong secondary characters from the past: Emily Betts and Ragna Anderson.
Emily is a real person who was Assistant Lighthouse Keeper from 1872 to 1882. Ragna (pronounced Ron-yah), a Danish immigrant, is a fictional character. Their friendship connects the lighthouse to the island's fishing village.
Ragna brought from Denmark a recipe for Aeblekage (Apple Cake). This is a quick and tasty dessert, consisting of applesauce and sweetened crumbs layered in a dish. Help yourself to a copy of Ragna's recipe.
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DANISH APPLE CAKE Quick, easy, delicious. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD |
Places
My stories are set in places that I love. That's especially true for this book.
The settings in The Light Keeper's Legacy are real. Almost all of them still exist and can be visited. These two resources will help you discover them.
The interactive Google map below lets you virtually visit Washington and Rock Islands, where I set most of the story. Click on the map to begin.
The Locations Guide below was created to help you plan, and get the most out of, an in-person Chloe tour of the islands.
This guide contains lots of photos, maps, and descriptions. It also includes advice on when to visit, how to get there, and some of my favorite places to eat and stay.
Take this free, 13-page PDF file with you on paper or your mobile device.
Enjoy your visit to the islands!
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LOCATIONS GUIDE Discover the places where key scenes take place. CLICK TO DOWNLOAD |
The Past
History is a strong and essential element in each Chloe Ellefson mystery.
In The Light Keeper's Legacy, past events on Rock Island hold important clues that help Chloe solve a modern mystery.
While researching the novel I discovered a number of evocative historical documents, images, and objects. Some appear in the book, while others influenced the story.
The slideshow below contains some of my favorites. Click on any image to see larger size copies of the slides, with descriptions. (Caution: contains some spoilers.)
And More
Too often my research and writing duties preclude me from accepting invitations to speak with groups of mystery readers.
However, two wonderful radio hosts invited me to discuss the book. Thanks to their generosity, and the magic of digital media, you can listen to our conversations about Chloe and Roelke, Ragna and Emily, Rock Island, and the lighthouse.
Click the right-facing arrows to listen.
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Stephanie Lecci Milwaukee Public Radio 17 min. 08 sec. August 7, 2013. (Source) |
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Larry Meiller Wisconsin Public Radio 36 min. 41 sec. October 29, 2012. (Source) |
But wait, there's still more. I've created a Pinterest board about this book, which you can access by clicking on the logo below.
Buy This Book
You can order The Light Keeper's Legacy as a trade paperback from independent book stores and publisher HenschelHAUS.
It is also available as an unabridged audiobook from Tantor Audio. You can listen to a sample of the story below.
Author signed and personalized trade paperback copies can be also acquired directly from me by clicking HERE.
NOTE: Due to a change in publishers, eBook copies are not currently available; they will be re-republished.
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