Arts & Entertainment

Rock Island Swing Bridge Inspires New Novel From Local Author Susan Koefod

Set somewhere south of the Twin Cities, the bridge in "Broken Down" may remind local residents of the Rock Island Swing Bridge that connected Inver Grove Heights and Newport.

Editor's note: The following is a release from local author Susan Koefod. 

Arvo Thorson and Christine Ivory are together again in local author Susan Koefod’s second mystery novel, Broken Down. 

Koefod—an Inver Grove Heights native—debuted her mystery series in September 2011 with Washed Up, which was praised by Library Journal as "a smashing debut with astute observations and gorgeous prose" and listed as a top 200 pick on Library Journal's debut novel list in October 2011.

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In Broken Down, the death of a swing bridge operator is clearly no accident and a troubled 15-year-old boy and the aging bridge are both under suspicion for murder.

Detective Arvo Thorson is having a breakdown of his own: a drinking binge makes him all too vulnerable to his ex-wife's treacherous charms, and may put the cork in his romance with social worker Christine Ivory.

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Meanwhile Christine is burnt out from too many years working with Mendota County's youngest crime victims and she's ready for a change, even if that means leaving Mendota County, and Arvo, for good.

Set somewhere south of the Twin Cities, Broken Down’s bridge may remind local residents of the Rock Island Swing Bridge that once connected Inver Grove Heights and Newport.

The double-decker bridge, built in 1895, provided a river crossing for both automobile and rail traffic until it fell into disrepair in the 1980s. A fire destroyed much of the remaining structure in 2010 as the bridge was being refurbished into a fishing pier.

The surviving remnants of the bridge now functions as a recreational pier and as inspiration for Koefod’s gripping mystery.

Koefod is planning appearances at the on Sept. 18 and the South St. Paul Library on Oct. 11. 


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