When it comes to angling writing, books and stories are full of catch phrases, puns and trite lines.  Writers use them to lure anglers into their tales. Sometimes they work well, but most of the time they fail like five year-old 6x.  I hope you're getting my drift.

 The phrase "hook, line, and sinker" falls into this category.  A common phrase, this word play led me to great disappointment as a boy.  One rainy Saturday afternoon I thought I was going to pass the time away by watching a two-hour fishing show.  I certainly was not expecting the wacky ways of a Jerry Lewis movie.  To this day, those four words cause anxiety.

Thus, when the title " Hook, Line & Sinister" came across my desk I was  wary.  The title was another play on words.  The next line on the dust jacket was "Mysteries to Reel You In,"  more of the same.  The following line did catch my attention: "16 Original Stories." 

  I like not only the word original but all things original. In a world where everything is rehashed in a 30 minute news cycle, original things are harder and harder to find, but "Hook, Line & Sinister offered 16.   I flipped the hardback over to read the names of 16 best selling mystery and suspense authors including T. Jefferson Parker, (the books editor) William Tapply, Michael Connelly, Ridley Pearson, Dana Stabenow and other award winning writers.   I was "hooked."

Hooked, Line & Sinister is published by Countryman Press of Woodstock Vermont.  A hardbound volume of 319 pages, the price is $23.95, with all sales royalties going to fly fishing charities, Casting for Recovery which deals with woman cancer survivors and Project Healing Waters which helps returning veterans.  Supporting those two charities alone is worth the price not to mention the enjoyment of the stories.

 The stories vary in length from author to author but average 30-40 pages in length.   Titles such as "Dead Drift," or "Mr. Brody's Trout" will appeal to the fly angler but titles like "The Blood-Dimmed Tide" or Cherchez La Femme" will charm the suspense reader.

Combining murder and mayhem with fishing may not seem like a congenial pairing- although in many ways they go hand-in-hand.  Catching fish has always been a mystery to me.  Why are fish rabid for a fly one day and catatonic the next?  I have no bloody idea.   Fishing is suspenseful as well.  Will the bugs come?  Does the next run hold a fish that will cause cold sweats and night mares for years to come?   We can only hope.

Hook, Line & Sinister is a book of stories that features spurned women and hit men, good cops and villains but most of all, fish.  Fish in rivers as well as the deepest seas, and it's the fish that give these mysteries the most shinning characters.

 I will grant that on a warm June evening, the rivers of West Michigan are full of mystery and suspense and that going fishing is always better than reading about fishing. But on those nights when you are not on the water, this title will provide enjoyment and chills without the aroma of insect repellent.

Glen Blackwood  

To purchase this book from Glen please drop him a note or give him a call at Great Lakes Fly Fishing Company at 616.866.6060 or toll free at  (800) 303-0567.