The Light Keeper's Legacy
Chloe Ellefson Mystery #3
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.
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 custom 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!
Related Blog Posts
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: a fascinating human history, a stunning location, an impressive and beautifully restored structure. My husband Scott and I have done stints as live-in docents for the past five years, so we know it well.
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 the same phrase.
Researching The Light Keeper’s Legacy
This article explores examples of how technical research and photographic documentation were used to help Kathleen write the award-winning third book in her Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites mystery series.
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 featured prominently in the story, linking the historical timeline to the modern one.
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. The owner, Ken Koyen, is the only full-time fisherman left on the island. Three fish tugs are in the water this year, but the other men fish part-time.
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 a proposal for two more, starting with a book set at Pottawatomie Lighthouse in Rock Island State Park, Wisconsin.
Cast Iron and Memories
Pottawatomi 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 Ellefson mystery, The Light Keeper’s Legacy.
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 bitters. I’d somehow missed the iconic tradition during my visits. But when I decided to place a scene at Nelsen’s in the third Chloe Ellefson Historic Sites mystery, The Lightkeeper’s Legacy, I had to remedy that omission.
Where to buy the 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 publisher Tantor Audio. Listen to a sample of the story below.
Author signed and personalized trade paperback copies can be also requested through our Contact Us Form.
