Mike Martin

Mike Martin

Mike Martin is the Canadian author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series set in Grand Bank, Newfoundland.

Mike was born in St. John’s, NL. He began writing short stories as a child and always wanted to become an author. His love of literature came about thanks to his older sisters (two of whom were teachers), who would regularly bring him to the library, which became his favourite place.

He pursued a writing career as a freelancer and has had his articles and essays appear in newspapers, magazines, and online across North America. He said, “My first published article was an opinion piece I wrote for the local newspaper on the dangers of caffeinated beer. They paid $25 and I thought I was rich. Thousands of articles and 14 books later I think I’m a better writer. Although the pay is still not great.”

He was inspired to write Sgt. Windflower by the town of Grand Bank. “My partner is not from Newfoundland,” said Martin. “I found out her father was and that he was from Grand Bank and we started going out there regularly about 15 years ago. One night as I was walking around down by the wharf, through the fog, it just hit me. The idea for Sgt. Winston Windflower. The character had just come to me.”

Mike writes a new Sgt. Windflower book every year. Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award, and Darkest Before the Dawn won it in 2019. Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organisation promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers, and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild, Ottawa Independent Writers and Capital Crime Writers.

Mike currently lives in Ottawa, Canada.

Recommendations For Mike Martin

Recommended by Kasey Hughes

I love Sgt. Windflower. The books keep getting better and better and I am thoroughly invested in all

Recommended by Kayla Price

I picked up the Sgt. Windflower Mysteries by Mike Martin thanks to a suggestion from someone in this

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Books By Mike Martin

Too Close for Comfort: The Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series

Better Safe Than Sorry: A Sgt. Windflower Mystery

Christmas in Newfoundland Memories and Mysteries: A Sgt. Windflower Book

Christmas in Newfoundland Memories and Mysteries 2: A Sgt. Windflower Book

All That Glitters: A Sgt. Windflower Mystery

Tips and Resources From Your Mike Martin Book Club Friends:

Fans of Mike Martin’s Sgt. Windflower mysteries are captivated by the picturesque life in the small town of Grand Bank, Newfoundland, located on the east coast of Canada. The series follows Sgt. Winston Windflower, an RCMP officer and Cree from Northern Alberta, who is stationed in the town. There, he finds love, friendship, good food, and, of course, crimes to solve. Beyond the mysteries, the series explores the lives and friendships of people within the community.

Mike Martin is pleased with his choice of Grand Bank as the setting. “Grand Bank itself is a wonderful little place,’ he told Crime Writers of Canada. ‘It has a long history as a place where people went out to sea and travelled all over the world. It was an international centre of what’s called the Grand Banks Fishery, and they built schooners that travelled the whole world. It was a small community with a big international flavour.”

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