Blue November Storms [Novella]

Blue November Storms is one of the Brian Freeman shorter pieces of psychological suspense, with the Minnesota crime writer working in novella form. The plot involves a quiet Minnesota small-town setting, a missing-person case that has been gradually accumulating pressure on a small community, and the kind of seasonal-atmosphere writing Freeman has been developing across his career.

Freeman's strength in Blue November Storms is the Minnesota weather and the careful interior work on his small ensemble. The November atmosphere is rendered with the kind of regional precision that Freeman's longer Jonathan Stride novels have been delivering. Fans of William Kent Krueger's Cork O'Connor novels or of John Sandford's Prey series will recognize the careful Minnesota crime tradition.

The novella form means the resolution arrives quickly. The atmospheric texture is the primary pleasure.

Three stars. A useful Freeman sampler. The Blue November Storms novella works as a first encounter with his voice for readers new to his work. Freeman's longer Jonathan Stride novels (Immoral, Stripped) are the stronger introductions for series-oriented readers.