top of page

THE BOOKS

STERN COVER 2.jpg

Deadline for Lenny Stern is the sixth of the Michael Russo series.

Deadline for Lenny Stern

(A Michael Russo Mystery)

Lenny Stern’s life is in danger. The Petoskey crime reporter has received death threats after publishing a book that blows the lid off an infamous Chicago crime that Stern wrote about during his years covering the Mafia in the Windy City.

The book’s accusations of murder and bribery have gotten the attention of someone who wants Stern dead. All eyes focus on the Mob since the murderous tale began with the assassination of two Mafia bigshots. But sometimes the obvious is misleading.

Private investigator, Michael Russo, is hired to protect Stern during his northern Michigan tour to promote the book, and to discover who’s behind the threats.

From the summer heat of Petoskey and Harbor Springs to the cooling breezes of Mackinac Island, Russo and sidekick, Henri LaCroix, put their experience and skill to the test. Can northern Michigan’s top private investigators protect Lenny Stern from an assassin’s bullet?

Product Details

  • Series: A Michael Russo Mystery

  • Paperback

  • Publisher: Kendall Sheepman Company (2021)

  • Language: English

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

  • Price: $15.95

final-act.jpg

The Final Act of Conrad North is the fifth of the Michael Russo series.

The Final Act of Conrad North

(A Michael Russo Mystery)

“Conrad North is a murderer,” the caller said. “People are dead because of him.”

It had been two years since Conrad North got away with murder. Two years. The cops didn’t put him away for Camille North, the prosecutors didn’t make the case, but Michael Russo still thinks he’s responsible for a killer being on the loose.  

Then one day, like a ghost from the past, a phone call; “This is Patricia Geary,” the caller said to Russo. “Conrad North killed Annie, too. I want you to get him for it.”

Suddenly, the two years vanished. Russo takes the case and accepts the daunting task of helping to bring a killer to justice. He chases the elusive Conrad North from Petoskey to Harbor Springs, Gaylord and the streets of Traverse City.

“Conrad’s a smart man,” AJ reminds him. “He beat all of you last time. This is personal for you. What if Conrad beats you this time, too?”

 

Second chances don’t come easily or often. Russo understands the risks because it’s his chance to clear his conscience and put a murderer behind bars.

Product Details

  • Series: A Michael Russo Mystery

  • Paperback

  • Publisher: Kendall Sheepman Company (2019)

  • Language: English

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

  • Price: $15.95

Or visit one of your local independent booksellers!

Marabell 2018.jpg

Death Lease is the fourth of the Michael Russo series.

Death Lease

(A Michael Russo Mystery)

In 1922, Augustus Sanderson hired Charles W. Caskey, architect of Grand Hotel, to build a “majestic cottage” high on the East Bluff of Mackinac Island. The Sanderson family spent summers enjoying warm weather and cool breezes off the Straits of Mackinac. They hosted elegant dinner parties for friends around the island. Camille Sanderson, like her ancestors, assumed responsibility for the cottage when her turn came. The lease for the land was transferred to her name as was the family custom. “Mackinac is my home,” she often said.

The lease remained in her name even when she married the imperious Conrad North.  When Conrad filed for divorce, Camille was stunned to learn that her name had been removed from the lease, replaced by only one name, her husband’s.

Camille hired private private investigator Michael Russo to learn what happened. “He’s taken my home,” Camille said. “Get my home back.” So Russo began a journey awash in deception, forgery and murder as he attempted to untangle the web of lies that enveloped Camille’s life on Mackinac Island.

Product Details

  • Series: A Michael Russo Mystery

  • Paperback: 298 pages

  • Publisher: Kendall Sheepman Company (2018)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 0990310450

  • ISBN-13: 978-0990310457

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

  • Price: $15.95

Or visit one of your local independent booksellers!

Marabell 2016.jpg

Murder on Lake Street is the third of the Michael Russo series.

Devils are Here

(A Michael Russo Mystery)

GET THE LATEST RUSSO MYSTERY!  Michael Russo is back in Devils Are Here. Murder and mayhem rock the campus of Bannister College, one of Petoskey's most revered institutions. It’s summertime in Petoskey.

 

Michael Russo investigates the theft of a valuable collection of books from Bannister College, a small, elite Liberal Arts school on the outskirts of town. The case takes a dangerous turn when the Dean of Sciences is shot to death and fear stalks the campus. Faculty and administrators detest the disruption dropped on their quiet academic community by the police and the press. When Russo makes a surprising discovery that threatens Petoskey’s most revered institution, it’s unclear what the impact will be on Bannister, the community and Michael Russo himself.  Available from select northern Michigan bookstores and in both formats from AMAZON.COM.

“Hell is empty. All the devils are here.”

The Tempest, William Shakespeare

Product Details

  • Series: A Michael Russo Mystery

  • Paperback: 286 pages

  • Publisher: Heather's Mission Point Press (2016)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-13: 978-0-9903104-3-3

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

  • Price: $15.95

Or visit one of your local independent booksellers!

Marabell 2015.jpg

Murder on Lake Street is the second of the Michael Russo series.

Murder on Lake Street

(A Michael Russo Mystery)

“For such a small island, Mackinac sure is a busy place for bad guys.”

Michael Russo’s friend and mentor, Frank Marshall, is the target of an assassination attempt one damp autumn night in Petoskey. The case goes cold fast. The police have no suspects and no leads, so Russo begins his own investigation. It is quickly apparent that the attack was not a random shooting but a professional hit. Russo vows to hold those involved accountable by whatever means necessary. He tracks the shooters, tries to find out who ordered the hit, and manages to antagonize anyone who gets in his way. When violence threatens Russo, all roads lead to Mafia boss Joseph DeMio, an old nemesis from Mackinac Island. Along the way, he discovers more about himself as an investigator, as a friend, and most important, as a man.

Product Details

  • Series: A Michael Russo Mystery

  • Paperback: 274 pages

  • Publisher: Kendall Sheepman Company (March 31, 2015)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 0990310426

  • ISBN-13: 978-0990310426

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches

  • Price: $14.95

Or visit one of your local independent booksellers!

Marabell 2014.jpg

Murder at Cherokee Point is the first of the Michael Russo series.

Murder at Cherokee Point

(A Michael Russo Mystery)

A showdown with the Mob on Mackinac Island.

It’s summer in Northern Michigan. A wealthy and influential aristocrat is found dead at the secluded and private Cherokee Point Resort Association, north of Harbor Springs. Fearful of outside intrusion, Point members stonewall the investigation. The cops ask Petoskey lawyer Michael Russo for his help, and Russo agrees to speed the investigation along. An interesting assignment turns difficult and dangerous when a Chicago Mafia boss warns Russo off the case.

From the quiet streets of Petoskey to the nostalgic ambiance of Mackinac Island, Russo quickly finds himself embroiled in a world of political influence, old money, and what people will do to keep their dirty secrets hidden.

Product Details

  • Series: Michael Russo Mystery

  • Paperback: 244 pages

  • Publisher: Kendall Sheepman Company (April 23, 2014)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 0990310418

  • ISBN-13: 978-0990310419

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches

  • Price: $14.95

Or visit one of your local independent booksellers!

More Than a Body

“I can’t let Rick Morgan kill my brother.” “You could get caught in the crossfire. These are nasty people and that includes your femme fatale Clare Morgan.” “You’re probably right. But what am I supposed to do? Leave him out there to die?” It’s Chicago, the summer of 1992, and Frank Marshall, an investigator for a prominent Michigan Avenue law firm, helps his brother, Tom, out of a deadly fix that resulted from Tom’s affair with the blond and beautiful Clare Morgan.

 

Mafia tough guy, Rick Morgan, has vowed to get his wife back, kill Tom Marshall, and find out what happened to one million dollars in cash. Frank agrees to help because he doesn’t want to abandon his brother, and he sees a way to settle an old score with Morgan. Ellen Paxton, Frank’s longtime partner, is none too happy about either task. From the streets of Chicago’s North Side to a deadly confrontation at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, More Than a Body is a tense and sexy thriller.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 210 pages

  • Publisher: Kendall Sheepman Company (April 23, 2014)

  • Language: English

  • ISBN-10: 099031040X

  • ISBN-13: 978-0990310402

  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.5 x 9 inches

  • Price: $14.95

Or visit one of your local independent booksellers!

bottom of page