“Hachey’s first novel serves up an eclectic and compelling cast of characters. Readers will be delighted with recently promoted, endearingly inept police chief Dexter Loomis, who could have been played by Jimmy Stewart...Here’s hoping that this promising first story is just the beginning of a long-running series.”
- Jenny, McLarin, Booklist, December 1, 2004

“The death of the mayor’s daughter upsets the tranquil life of new police chief Dexter Loomis in Hachey’s first novel, a by-the-numbers contemporary whodunit set in the small town of Higgins Point, WI.”
- Publishers Weekly, November 22, 2004

When Dexter Loomis accepts the position of police chief in the resort town of Higgins Point, he suspects that he may be in over his head. A week later, when he’s staring at the dead body of the mayor’s daughter, he’s sure of it.

Lacking any real police training, Dexter turns to an old friend, seasoned homicide detective Ann Summer, for guidance. Ann has her father’s recent suicide to deal with, but she also has a thirst for justice, and agrees to help.

Together they delve into the underside of the bucolic little Wisconsin town, uncovering a variety of suspects—along with blackmail, embezzlement, drugs, and murder—until the clues put Ann on the trail to truth about her father, while she and Dexter find themselves directly in the path of the killer.

Michael Hachey was born in Superior, Wisconsin and raised near Detroit, Michigan, where he obtained an engineering degree from Wayne State University. For the last fourteen years he has made his home in Hudson, Wisconsin, where he operates an engineering consulting business and sails on the St. Croix with his wife Kathie. He has attended writing classes and seminars at the Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis, and is a member of a small writer’s group.

A Matter of Motive is Michael’s first book for AVALON.

Avalon Mysteries by Michael Hachey:
MEANS TO AN END
A MATTER OF MOTIVE