Book Boyfriends and More: MINING FOR JUSTICE Author Kathleen Ernst on Character Roelke McKenna

We welcome Kathleen Ernst, author of the Chloe Ellefson Mystery Series (and the latest release, MINING FOR JUSTICE), to Midnight Ink's blog today! Here she shares how one supporting character has quickly become readers' favorite (and...gasp!..a book boyfriend!).

The protagonist of the Chloe Ellefson Mysteries works as a curator at a large living history museum. She gets involved in crime-solving because her knowledge of the past is needed to solve contemporary crimes. Since Chloe is a reluctant sleuth, I knew from the beginning that I needed a recurring cop character to handle real police work.

What I didn't know was that Roelke McKenna, beat cop in the Village of Eagle, Wisconsin, would get more fan mail than Chloe does. One woman asked, "Can I have Roelke when Chloe is finished with him?" Another reader-friend has deemed Roelke her "book boyfriend." And one man drove two hours to a signing so he could tell me, "Whatever you do in this series, do not kill off Roelke." I love comments like these!

Roelke (pronounced Rell-kee) is not perfect. He has a temper, particularly when confronting a killer. He makes mistakes. He takes risks.

But Roelke also has a big heart. When he screws up, he tries to learn and move on. He wants desperately to be a good cop–to make his boss proud and do right by the citizens of Eagle. He has a sound sense of right and wrong, and holds himself to high standards. He's a strong character. He also has his vulnerabilities.

The eighth Chloe Ellefson Mystery, Mining For Justice, presents Roelke with a moral dilemma. His family is being threatened. As much as he wants to go beat up the guy responsible, he insists that the local cops must be left to do their jobs and handle the problem. But when justice is slow in coming, and the threats intensify, he faces an impossible choice.

How far would you go to protect the people you love?

Mining For Justice features other plotlines as well. Chloe is visiting a sister historic site in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, and struggling to solve murders past and present. A separate thread presents a young Cornish woman who settles in the area and sets off a chain of events that ripple into the future. I suspect, though, that Roelke fans will particularly enjoy his story.

What do you think? Is there a series where your favorite character does not have her/his name on the cover?

***

Digging Up Secrets Uncovers a Legacy of Peril

Chloe Ellefson is excited to be learning about Wisconsin’s Cornish immigrants and mining history while on temporary assignment at Pendarvis, a historic site in charming Mineral Point. But when her boyfriend, police officer Roelke McKenna, discovers long-buried human remains in the root cellar of an old Cornish cottage, Chloe reluctantly agrees to mine the historical record for answers. She soon finds herself in the middle of a heated and deadly controversy that threatens to close Pendarvis. While struggling to help the historic site, Chloe must unearth dark secrets, past and present, before a killer comes to bury her.


Praise:
"Richly imagined and compelling, Mining for Justice once again highlights Kathleen Ernst's prowess as a storyteller . . . Ernst is a master of reconstructing the past."—Susanna Calkins, author of the Macavity-winning Lucy Campion Mysteries




Kathleen Ernst(Wisconsin) is an award-winning and bestselling author, educator, and social historian. She has published over thirty novels and two nonfiction books. Her books for young readers include the Caroline Abbott series for American Girl. Honors for her children's mysteries include Edgar and Agatha Award nominations. Kathleen worked as an Interpreter and Curator of Interpretation and Collections at Old World Wisconsin, and her time at the historic site served as inspiration for the Chloe Ellefson mysteries. The Heirloom Murders won the Anne Powers Fiction Book Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers, and The Light Keeper's Legacy won the Lovey Award for Best Traditional Mystery from Love Is Murder. Ernst served as project director/scriptwriter for several instructional television series, one of which earned her an Emmy Award. Visit her online at KathleenErnst.com.