Mike Martin Books In Order

Publication Order of Sgt. Windflower Mystery Books

Mike Martin is a Canadian author who is known for writing the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series of books. He is also the author of Change the Things You Can: Dealing with Difficult People. In addition to his book writing, Martin is a long-time freelance writers and has written articles and essays that have appeared in multiple publications, including newspapers and magazines, across his home country of Canada. In addition, his writing has also appeared in other publications in the United States and New Zealand. His short story writing is prolific as well with his stories appearing in Canada in Canadian Stories and Downhome Magazine.

Martin has said that he wanted to be a writer for as long as he could remember. At first, he didn’t know how to go about doing that and it didn’t seem like a viable career option when he was younger. He found careers around writing as he wrote correspondence and also did some policy writing. That work led to both speechwriting and editorial positions in his future, but none of that would do the job of actually writing myself. So one day he decided to start writing. His first success was a short piece that got picked up by a magazine for $25.00 which was all the encouragement that he needed to keep going. Freelance writing was not an easy way to make a living, but he did his best to make it work and now has thousands of articles in print and online with his name as writer since that time.

The Sgt. Windflower Mystery series debuted with The Walker on the Cape and it was Martin’s first full-length fiction book. He has continued to release books in the series and as it has grown, it has grown in recognition. A Long Ways from Home was shortlisted for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award as the best light mystery of the year. Martin has said that the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series came from a desire to “write stories that reflected the people, culture and customs of Newfoundland, the most easterly province in Canada.” That is where Martin was born and he says the character of Sgt. Winston Windflower came out of the fog one night and started telling him stories that he turned into his books.

In the series, there are of course crime and mysteries that Sgt. Windflower, a Canadian Mountie, has to investigate and solve, but Martin says that the series is much more about family, friends, good food and good times. The series features a collection of recurring characters that help Windflower through each of his adventures. Chief among them is the love of his life, Sheila Hillier who keeps him well-fed and grounded in reality. There is also his fellow Mountie Corporal Eddie Tizzard who has been known to help him solve a case. The great thing about the character of Windflower is the way that he brings his native background and traditions with him and finds ways to use them to help himself and his friends through difficult times. Many fans will say that their favorite character in these books is actually Lady, Windflower’s per Collie, who manages to get in adventures of her own in these books.

The Walker on the Cape is the first book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series. The book starts with a man’s body found on the Cape in a small fishing community. The early reports see the man as suffering from a heart attack or a stroke, but it is then discovered that he was actually poisoned. As for finding out who did it or their motive, that job falls on the shoulders of Sergeant Winston Windflower of the RCMP and his trusted sidekick Eddie Tizzard. As the two investigate, they find that there are more secrets in this hidden community than one would expect and there are some powerful people who hope to keep things that way. Finding out answers won’t be easy.

While working, Windflower finds out some things for himself as well: he loves living in a small community as it is completely different from his own upbringing at a remote Indian reserve, and he also founds that he may have found the woman who could be the love of his life. He sees the good and bad of the East Coast, the food and hospitality as well as the crime and corruption, as he attempts to solve the case of this man’s death.

The second book in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery series is called The Body on the T. A body washing ashore near Grand Bank, Newfoundland starts the story this time around. The body has no identification and there are few clues to identify who the person was or even where they might have come from. Sgt. Winston Windflower of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his partner Corporal Eddie Tizzard are assigned the case.

Before they get to work on this case though, they find that there is much more going on. There is another suspicious death that they have to deal with as well as a devastating car crash on the highway. Plus, a rogue police officer and an international drug ring operating in the waters on the coast. Windflower really has his work cut out for him as his idyllic, peaceful life is turned upside down.

The case will take Windflower to the scenic town of Burin where Captain Cook once patrolled the waters looking for French mercenaries, and to historic St. John’s where he’ll have to face down an armed suspect on the roof of a parking garage. This is as action packed as it gets for Windflower who is a long way from his Cree home in Northern Alberta.

Much like in previous books, Windflower manages to find time to enjoy the food and home-style hospitality of this part of the world as he eats cod tongues, scallops, and figgy duff. Once again, Windflower finds himself a new place to love living in the fog of Newfoundland.

One Response to “Mike Martin”

1. Helen Logan: 1 year ago

   Read all your windflower books, really enjoyed them. Are you writing anymore?

   Reply