Title: Tollund Man by Jeff Esterholm

Publisher / Publication Date: Cornerstone Press (October 2026)

Language: English

Format / # of Pages: Trade Paperback, 196 pages

Genre: Crime Fiction

ISBN: 978-1-968148-70-6

Reviewed by: Cayce Osborne

The rough on the diamond, not a diamond in the rough

The stories in Tollund Man burrow deep into the underbelly of Wisconsin’s Lake Superior region, uncovering checkered pasts and revealing surprising twists. Esterholm’s characters are authentically flawed, their family dynamics tangled and fraught. They make mistakes—of every type, criminal, personal, social, familial—which is why they feel so very real.

In The Maureen Bogg Sessions, a young man is infatuated by an older goth girl, until she does the unforgivable. In The Return of the Norseman, a legendary, long-lost resident returns to town to reckon with the reputation he left behind. And in The Two-for-Sixty Plan, a landmark birthday takes a shocking turn. These stories rank among my favorites, but there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Their craft and specificity are what make them special: the cars, the houses, what they eat and how they dress, and at every turn, the way Esterholm uses language to create his own worlds.

As a Wisconsinite, to read these stories is to recognize the people you grew up knowing—the loner from your high school, that weird guy your uncle used to hang out with (or maybe your uncle was the weird guy), that woman your dad used to date after he divorced your mom. Esterholm’s tales sparkle, even as they detail the dirtiest of deeds. Most people look for the diamond in the rough, but in this collection, the rough parts themselves are the real treasure.

Cayce Osborne writes mystery and suspense about Midwestern women. Learn more at cayceosborne.com.