The Other Side - by Mark Leichliter (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

How do you start an investigation when you have no evidence that a crime has been committed?

When a seventeen-year-old girl abruptly disappears, the ensuing investigation probes dead-ends seemingly as deep as Montana's Flathead Lake-the geographic and investigative center of The Other Side. The search to find her unearths crimes, but none that can explain her disappearance. When Detectives Steven Wendell and Stacey Knudson grow suspicious that Britany Rodgers has been murdered, they have scant evidence and no body.

Their investigation takes them into starkly contrasting environments, from spectacular lakefront mansions to gritty trailer parks, and into the lives of those who exhibit motivations as murky as the fog-choked Montana woods and mist-shrouded Flathead Lake bays.

Review Quotes

"The Other Side is a haunting procedural propelled by a smartly-developed cast of characters and rich descriptions of unforgettable landscapes. When Detective Steve Wendell tries to find a missing teen-ager, he must navigate the small, tourist-ridden towns of Northwest Montana to discover what happened to her while proving he's a resourceful and conscientious hero with a heart. You won't want to miss this perfect blend of atmosphere, mystery, and a protagonist you won't forget." - Christine Carbo, award-winning, best-selling author of the Glacier Mystery Series

"A chilling story, surprising twists...everything you'd want in a great crime novel." - Catherine McKenzie, bestselling author of The Good Liar and Hidden

"Sink into a gripping police procedural with solitary, cerebral Detective Steve Wendell as he struggles to find missing seventeen-year-old Brittany Rogers in the uncompromising wilds and beauty of Montana's Flathead Lake. Could she have fled the boredom of her small-town life? Or did she fall prey to a twisted human predator? As her father stokes resentments and burrows into conspiracy theories, Brittany's mother loses more than her daughter. Captivating characters and a landscape that simultaneously entices and menaces lure the reader into a page-turning novel of suspense and discovery." -Deborah Turrell Atkinson, author of the Storm Kayama suspense series and Feathers in the Soul: A Guide for Families Struggling with a Child's Addiction

"The Other Side is a taut and thrilling tale. Mark Leichliter knows Montana as well as he knows his characters' dark and hidden hearts. Steve Wendell is a masterful creation-a dogged and honest man who can't forget the faces of the victims he serves. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough." -Alyson Hagy, author of Boleto and Scribe

"Wow. Bravo to Mark Leichliter on his outstanding debut. The Other Side has more twists and turns than an alley in Venice, and detective Steve Wendell-committed, unrelenting, true to himself and his job-is exactly the man to uncover the devastating truth hidden below the waters of Montana's Flathead Lake." -Peter W. J. Hayes, Silver Falchion and Derringer Nominated author of the Vic Lenoski mysteries.

"Small town secrets and hidden lives turn deadly in Mark Leichliter's The Other Side. Richly drawn characters and vivid settings are reminiscent of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects and will pull the reader into an intricately plotted thrill ride." -James L'Etoile, author of At What Cost, Bury the Past, and Black Label

"Mark Leichliter's writing is strong and lyrical without calling attention to itself, brave and at the same time showing an admirable amount of restraint. He creates characters who captivate the reader. They surprise us, but in a way that ultimately feels right, inevitable." - Barry Kitterman, author of From the San Joaquin, Fiction Editor of Zone 3

"Mark Leichliter's writing is clean, crisp, entertaining at all times. His characters fascinate, the plot charges ahead, he makes the reader think without hammering a point of view into your head. He is a writer to be savored." - Tim Sandlin, author of Rowdy in Paris and Jimi Hendrix Turns Eighty

"Mark Leichliter is an accomplished novelist who portrays the breadth of human experience with intelligence and grace. His deeply affecting prose immerses readers in the lives of the lovelorn, the seeking, and the lost. His remarkable fictional worlds, diffuse with mystery, address the larger questions of life with beauty and sensitivity." - Marcelle Heath, author of Is That All There Is? (forthcoming from Awst Press 2022)