Turkey Trot Murder

We are living in a very turbulent  political climate right now and it was interesting to read a light, entertaining mystery novel that seems to cover all the topics that are in the news on a daily basis.
It surprised me that author, Leslie Meier would jump in with both feet and cover both the opioid crisis and the very negative and disturbing immigrant prejudice that we are experiencing in the United States today.

But then that is what made this mystery novel so interesting for me to keep reading.  The mystery plot itself was very light and I found it seemed a bit far-fetched.  The first inconsistency is that it is a few weeks before Thanksgiving and the first frost is mentioned and yet the pond already has a layer of ice on it. 

But incredibly there is discussion of young people and the drug epidemic, when twenty something Alison is found having fallen through the ice.  Also there are so many comments "ripped" as they say from the headlines in this story including immigrants from Mexico and drugs. 

Lucy Stone, the local newspaper reporter and amateur detective, is covering a court case involving three young men accused of drug trafficking.  As she leaves the courthouse, she comments on the verdict and that they were not local kids and they were causing a lot of trouble for the town.
"When she stepped outside she realized there was another dimension to the case.  A group of demonstrators had gathered on the grassy area in front of the courthouse and were holding signs that read BUILD A WALL!! DEPORT THE DRUG DEALERS! and AMERICA FOR AMERICANS!"

These are all sentiments that have been shouted and tweeted by the top political figures of the US government.  Just as in this novel, these statements build up resentment and lead to trouble and people getting hurt.  There is also another point in the book where Meier quotes liberally from the news media,   "Great. That is what we want.  We want folks to realize that these immigrants, these Muslims and Mexicans and Somalis, are taking our country away from us.  It's white people like you and me that built this country and now folks like us can't get jobs.  All the jobs have gone overseas to places like Bangladesh and China.  ....It's crazy the way we're letting these Mexicans flood the country with drugs, and they are sending us their criminals too."  There is no question where these ideas are coming from, the Republican party in Washington DC.

So I think though Meier is not coming out and really taking a political position, she just includes these characters in this mystery novel, she has taken a risk writing this novel and must really want to speak out about what is happening in our country.