THE MIDA by Lyle Ernst and Kimberly Sigafus

The Mida by Lyle Ernst and Kimberly Sigafus, according the the back-of-book blurb, takes place in 1952. However, it's not historical per se. Other than the subtle absence of cell phones and computers, the story would fit into most any time period.

The book tells the story of a time-traveling circus headed up by an Ojibwa woman and the trouble it faces in the current, as-of-the-story, time and through time itself. There are numerous characters and the story is written in the third person omniscient point-of-view. The main characters seem to be Mesa, the carnival owner, and Tony. But it's hard to tell if that was the authors' intent as many of the characters are central to the story.

It took me awhile to catch on to who-was-who, but I was able to do so as the tangled mysteries unfolded. (To help, the authors might consider a free character guide download.) These mysteries involve murder, the carnival's existence, romance, and family ties. It has something for just about everyone: twists, betrayal, loss, violence, superheroes, and witches. I can't pigeon-hole it into just one genre - it's part fantasy, part murder-mystery, part romance. But once I was able to get over the hump of learning the characters, I found myself hooked in the story and wondering how it would turn out. I can't say the ending was a complete surprise - but only because I had no suspicions about "who done it." There's really no more I can say without the risk of giving away spoilers...

I enjoyed Lyle's and Kimberly's writing. The book contained lots of good dialogue, interesting phrases, subtle humor, and fresh ways of describing scenes.

The Mida is a good read. On a can't-put-it-down-scale of one for I couldn't even finish it to ten for I was up until the we hours, I give it a seven and a half.

(P.S. I've received insider information that a sequel is in the works and I'm looking forward to seeing what trouble these characters get themselves into next.)

Source: Ernst, Lyle & Sigafus, Kimberly. (2014). The Mida. McIver Publishing: Freeport, Illinois.