Deadly Turn: A Mystery in Maine

Ready or not, trouble finds Patton Conover…

In Deadly Turn, Patton and her wayward dog Pock are hired by a research firm to collect dead birds and bats at wind power generation sites. When a turbine explodes, she stumbles over the body part of an unknown man whose death implicates both her and her dog.

Under a brutal fall heat wave and the unblinking scrutiny of the game warden who is another mystery in her life, she’s drawn into a battle with wind power developers and environmental activists.

Adopted by a teenage trapper who moves into her cabin as he illegally raises an eagle to hunt over the dangerous wind site, Patton is, once again, offered only outlaw solutions to fight for a disappearing world while she tries to clear her name.

Deadly Turn gives the forest a voice. I haven’t read a book from cover to cover in years, but this novel delivered two days of nonstop suspense. Powerful human relationships intermingle with accurate descriptions of forests, ponds, rivers and streams; birds and the people who care about them become symbols of strength and resilience. From the opening sentence to the last, despite crimes perpetrated against it, Neily captures Maine’s Northern Forest with fierce love and inspired storytelling. - Michael J. Good, Down East Nature Tours, Bar Harbor, Maine

I loved everything about this novel as it weaves a murder mystery around a destructive wind project in one of Maine’s most beautiful places. Sandy’s characters are very real, and she includes lots of great stories about birds, wildlife, and life in rural Maine. I guarantee, once you start reading, you won’t be able to stop. - George Smith, conservation/environmental advocate