I love stumbling onto a debut novel, especially when the book is set in the great State of Maine…my home. Therefor the anticipation for Alice Openshaw‘s On The Killer’s Trail was high, luckily what lays between the covers of this debut novel lived up to the hype, delivering on a thrilling detective story that had me guessing until the end.
Thirty-one-year-old Police Sergeant Penny Maclean has fallen into a routine at work. Speaking at school assemblies, chasing runaway dogs—it’s all beginning to feel stale. So when the popular wife of a local doctor is found dead on Halloween night, Penny jumps at the chance to investigate.
But the more she knows, the more unsettled she becomes. She and the murdered woman have a lot in common; they even share a love of rural life and animals. Still, unremarkable as the victim’s life appears at first glance, Penny can’t shake the feeling that the woman had a secret. After all, Penny has her own complicated past.
As she hunts the killer, Penny unearths secrets that pull her into the dark side of rural Maine. She only knows one thing for certain—she must discover the truth before the chain of violence claims another victim.
Okay, full disclosure, I stumbled upon On The Killer’s Trail after the author reached out to my day-job email at Orono Brewing Company. Openshaw was in the final edits stage of the novel and was making sure Orono Brewing would be okay with our name being used in the book as a location for Penny to visit for dinner and drinks. As some who loves to read and a nearly 10-year employee of Orono Brewing, this was a no-brainer, and said of course! Not to mention it gave me even more reason to read the story.
All that aside, On The Killer’s Trail is a fantastic crime detective story set in Maine. Having places such as Orono Brewing, but also other Maine-specific locations, allowed me to really feel immersed in the story as a Mainer myself. Openshaw adds this little easter-eggs of sorts just enough to feel like we are in Maine, but not too much as to turn off anyone who has never stepped foot in our beautiful state. Alice crafts a story that uses Maine as another character, similar to how I feel when Paul Doiron writes the next Mike Bowditch mystery, where the state places a role, but is not the entire story.
Penny as a character is crafted in a way that also feels real. She is not the seasoned detective that has it made in the shade, but a police officer that is still learning the ropes and filled with a ton of self-doubt. If she had been a veteran hard-nosed detective, this tale wouldn’t have hit as hard and felt a bit more overplayed. Penny wants to prove herself as an officer, even if it means making a few mistakes along the way. She has what it takes, but needs to follow it through until the end. Penny is the highlight character here, as she should be, and while the support characters are well-written, it’s Penny who steals the show.
There is a sense of mystery, crime-solving, and murder, but On The Killer’s Trail is also filled with emotional moments that tug at heart strings as well as make you think about your own family and surrounding community. Losing a wife is hard on a husband, especially when he might be the top suspect. Not to mention the other members of the family and how they are reeling from the loss, the community around them and who has the finger also pointed at them. But it’s the resolution of this story that is really emotionally resonate, leaving you in awe after closing the final page.
On The Killer’s Trail is a debut novel that strikes a chord and has you guessing until the end. Alice Openshaw delivers on a thrilling mystery that will not only have you guessing, but also tug at your emotions along the way. On The Killer’s Trail might be best read while sipping on an Orono Brewing Tubular IPA, but I am really bias when it comes to that, so do as you wish.
On the Killer’s Trail hits bookstores everywhere on November 17, 2026 from Crooked Lane Books.
