By that time I was still working long hours each week and felt I was missing out on enjoying my children’s teen years. I had launched the company during the late eighties, and by the mid nineties it had grown to offer multidisciplinary services to both children and adults, including speech, occupational, and physical therapies as well as social work and counseling services. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?Īround 1995 I was working hard as a speech pathologist in my own Medicare/Medicaid certified rehabilitation agency. Margaret, appreciate you joining us today. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below. I read it through in a day and already am hoping for another installment.Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Margaret Mizushima. The setting and character array are rich and well developed, and the pace of this novel is excellent.

Mizushima seems like a comfortable, natural born storyteller as seemingly random plot threads not only eventually knit together in an effective denouement, but also serve to illustrate the realities of police work in a small town. The scenes with the vet at his clinic and at his home, where he’s adjusting to a new divorce and juggling his busy practice with the care of two children, are especially well done. There are some great supporting characters as well, most importantly a vet who is asked to help out when an injured dog is found at the scene of the blood spill. For this novel it’s enough to know that she’s been raised in foster care and that it colors her view of different events in the book. In no way does Mattie have the hard edge of a Kate Shugak or an Anna Pigeon, but she has a rich backstory and there are many signs through the book that it will be explored further. He and Mattie are called out in the opening scene for a “blood spill” and a bravura scene later, they’ve uncovered a body. Whether or not you like dogs, I defy you to not be interested in Mizushima’s descriptions of Robo uncovering various things throughout the novel starting, of course, with a dead body. I don’t always like animals being a part of a mystery but a K-9 dog is actually doing the work of a police officer and the feel for the dog on the part of the author makes this book a standout. That trust issue plays into the storyline in a major way. Newly paired up with Robo, Mattie is dealing with a bit of sexism and a bit of resentment on the part of her fellow deputies, and she’s also learning to trust Robo as a partner. Set in rugged Timber Creek, Colorado, the main characters are deputy Mattie Cobb and her K-9 partner, Robo. If you’re a fan of Dana Stabenow or Nevada Barr, you’ll gobble this one up with a spoon. This is the first title I’ve read by new publishing house Crooked Lane and I have to say it was a knock-out.

Killing trail margaret mizushima