Still, the relationship is rocky and at one point they are clearly estranged. She is the kind of woman he normally would shun, but Cate carries her own burdens and Cubiak finds himself strangely drawn to her.

Cate Wagner - an internationally regarded photographer, who comes from privilege and wealth, Cate represents all that Cubiak is not. Cubiak increasingly relies on Bathard's insight and wisdom as well as his knowledge of the people and history of Door County to help in sifting through evidence and theories. He is the first person on the peninsula to befriend the sullen, moody Cubiak, forging a bond that slowly grows stronger between them. Bathard is Door County coroner in the first book and retired coroner and friend from that point forward. Evelyn Bathard - physician and lifelong resident of Door County, Bathard is an erudite, cultured man who represents the opposite of Cubiak's drunken, bitter father. Familiar with the urge to avenge a wrong, he is not without empathy for those who commit the most heinous crimes. He's the kind of lawman who looks beyond the obvious, doesn't hesitate to bend the rules and digs deep to uncover and understand the relationship between the victim and the killer. By the second book, Death at Gills Rock, which was released in June 2015, Cubiak is the new sheriff, an office he will continue to hold as the stories unfold. But death is all around and Cubiak must face up to his own demons before discovering the how and why and by whose hand of the murders. In Death Stalks Door County (published in 2014), he moves from Chicago to the Wisconsin resort area, ostensibly to start a new life but really to escape death. Haunted by both grief and guilt, he drinks himself out of his police job and retrains as a park ranger. A former Chicago homicide detective, Dave is a tragic figure, a man burdened by the deaths of his wife and daughter who are killed in an accident he feels he could have prevented. From the start, my protagonist Dave Cubiak develops close relationships with two other characters, the coroner and an attractive freelance photographer, forming a triad that will continue through the series. I'm working on the third and have six planned altogether.

Patricia Skalka: The first two books of the Dave Cubiak Door County Mystery series are out.

Photo provided courtesy of Patricia Skalka

Omnimystery News: Introduce us to the principal cast of characters in your Door County mystery series. Patricia's second mystery in her series featuring Door County sheriff Dave Cubiak is Death at Gills Rock (University of Wisconsin Press June 2015 hardcover and ebook formats) and we recently had the chance to catch up with her to talk more about her books. We are delighted to welcome author Patricia Skalka to Omnimystery News today.

Death by the Bay by Patricia Skalka