Readers new to the Windflower mysteries and those returning will experience the joys of a close-knit community that thrives on the simpler things in life…
Author: Mike Martin
Pages: 318
Format: Paperback, eBook, Free on Kindle Unlimited
Genre: Mystery
As Winston Windflower, his police colleagues and their families gather in Marystown, Newfoundland, to celebrate those being promoted up the RCMP ranks, a sophisticated heist by international mobsters and local biker gangs unfolds in multiple cities and towns throughout the province, robbing banks and businesses of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Mounties soon realize more than money is being lost.
In this, the sixteenth novel in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, author Mike Martin continues to craft intrigue in the cultural and geographical setting unique to Newfoundland and Labrador. Readers new to the Windflower mysteries and those returning will experience the joys of a close-knit community that thrives on the simpler things in life: por’ cakes, a lighthouse in serious need of a facelift, TV movie nights and the warmth of get-togethers with family and friends.
Friends are Forever is available at Amazon.
Book Excerpt
Sergeant Winston Windflower couldn’t be happier for his friend and colleague Eddie Tizzard. On Windflower’s recommendation and with the approval of the big boss, Superintendent Ron Quigley, Tizzard was being promoted to sergeant in the Mounties, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. But in terms of being proud, Windflower might have to stand in line because in the crowd that was gathered at RCMP Headquarters in Marystown, Newfoundland, were Tizzard’s partner, Carrie Evanchuk, and his dad, Richard Tizzard. Both were beaming from ear to ear as they juggled Eddie and Carrie’s two children in their arms.
Carrie had the easier task as little Sophie had been fed and was now snoozing in milk heaven. Hughie, on the other hand, would try and make a break for it every now and then, so Richard had to hang on tightly. He finally gave in and handed the little boy over to his Aunt Brenda, who was sitting farther back in the audience with the rest of Tizzard’s extended family.
Eddie looked down over the assembled RCMP officers and his family and smiled when he saw Hughie trying to get up closer towards him. He could also hear Hughie yelling “Daddy, Daddy” whenever the little boy got pulled back into the crowd. He smiled again as his superintendent called him to the podium and asked him to take off his corporal’s uniform jacket. Ron Quigley then handed him his new jacket with three chevrons pointing down and a crown on top on the right sleeve of his dress uniform, the RCMP’s famous red serge.
There were no speeches. That wasn’t the RCMP’s style. So, the two men shook hands, and Tizzard walked back to his place to thunderous applause from his fellow officers and family. Next on the agenda was the promotion of Windflower’s assistant in Grand Bank, Constable Samira Gupta, to corporal. This time Windflower did the honours, and Gupta exchanged her old uniform for one with two chevrons pointing down that indicated her new rank. She didn’t have any family in the crowd but was very popular with the troops, given the nice round of applause that she also received.
Some of those were special cheers from Windflower’s wife, Sheila Hillier, and his daughters, Stella and Amelia Louise, who had come over from Grand Bank for the occasion. All three loved Sam Gupta. They loved Eddie Tizzard, too. But they all had also made a strong connection with Windflower’s new sidekick and now brand new corporal.
There was a small reception afterwards with coffee and a large cake with the RCMP insignia on it. Both girls had a large piece of cake while Windflower and Sheila visited with Richard Tizzard and Carrie. It was a great celebration day for the Force, as the members called it, and there was plenty of good cheer all around.
But while the Mounties and their families were celebrating, something far more sinister was happening a short distance from the hotel where they were eating their cake.
A group of men had ambushed an armoured truck, and two of them had managed to somehow get inside and now had both armed guards hostage. They ordered the guards to undress, took them to another vehicle, a large panel van, and shoved them inside. As someone else drove them off, the first two men stripped and put on the security guards’ uniforms.
As the reception continued at the hotel, the fake security guards resumed the route that the real guards had been on and made stops at a number of local businesses before making one last visit to the bank in the shopping mall. They looked like the real deal as they walked into the branch. But instead of making their usual stop at one of the tellers, they asked to speak to the manager. A few minutes later the manager was left tied and muffled in the safe, and the false security officers walked out through the bank’s main doors with bags of loot from their efforts.
By the time the alarms were sounded and the bank manager released from the safe, the robbers were long gone. Gone from the bank and gone from Marystown. The real security guards were found out on the highway where they had walked to after being dumped in a deserted area. The day after, when the police started looking for suspects, they were not only off the Burin Peninsula, but they were waiting for a flight at the airport in Gander to take them completely out of the province. Of course, none of that would be known for days as the investigation into the boldest crime in Marystown history began.
– Excerpted from Friends Are Forever by Mike Martin, Ottawa Press and Publishing, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.
He is the award-winning author of the best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 16 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Friends are Forever.
A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. All That Glitters was shortlisted for the LOLA 2024 Must Read Book of the year award.
Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest Darkest Before the Dawn was released as an audiobook in 2024. All audiobooks are available from Audible in Canada and around the world.
Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Capital Crime Writers.
Interview
Where are you from?
I was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland on the easternmost tip of Canada.
Tell us your latest news?
Friends are Forever, book 16 in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series has been described as “an intriguing and complex book that keeps you turning the pages until the very end.”
This time around, the good Sgt. Windflower interacts with various different law agencies in various locations in the province, which provides the reader with an unusual and fascinating look at multi-departmental police procedures. The crime to be solved grows almost by the chapter, both in scope and intensity, and the reader is swept along for the ride. Balancing out the intensity are the familiar times between Windflower and his family, his cultural practices, as well as his interactions with his friends.
When and why did you begin writing?
I was an early reader and loved, loved, loved books. That made me want to be a writer and in my early days I wrote a lot of small things like stories and poetry that I seldom shared with anyone.
When did you first consider yourself a writer?
I became a writer when one day I decided I was a writer. That day I sent a piece to an editor and it got accepted. I think I got paid $25 and thought it was wonderful.
What inspired you to write your first book?
I always wanted to write a fiction book and finally found the genre and the style that suited me. When I was ready the characters appeared and I started writing down their story. 16 books later I still do the same thing
Do you have a specific writing style?
I am a pure pantser. I write from what I call the creative flow or current. That’s where all stories lie and my job is to connect to the flow so that I can write. Mostly, the characters come to me and tell me the story and I just write it down. The best part about being a pantser is that I don’t know how the story will end. I find out just like the reader.
How did you come up with the title?
The titles always come last for me. Friends are Forever refers to the deep relationship that Windflower has made with several of his friends. One who will no longer be physically with him.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I don’t have big messages other than good always wins in the end. I hope that people enjoy the books and come away feeling satisfied that reading it was time well spent.
How much of the book is realistic?
It is pretty realistic, other than some dream work that is pure imagination. The setting is real and the crimes are fictional, but the police work is pretty close to a true depiction.
Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
No.
What books have most influenced your life most?
My favourite books are The Lord of the Rings and almost anything by Charles Dickens. I love his unique characters and story telling style. I go back and read these books often. For pleasure and inspiration.
What are your current projects?
I am writing a new book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series and I have a new Christmas-themed Windflower book coming out in October, 2025
What would you like my readers to know?
I would like readers to know how important they are to writers. Without readers there would be no books. Writers are kind of yelling out into the canyon, hoping that there will be an echo back. Readers are that echo and I want to thank them for reading any book.
Website & Social Media:
Website ➜ https://sgtwindflowermysteries.com/
Twitter ➜ https://www.x.com/mike54martin
Facebook ➜ https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkerOnTheCapeReviewsAndMore
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