August 7, 2026
It gives us great pleasure to present Season 11, Episode 28: Dean Klinkenberg!
Dean Klinkenberg shares The Frank Dodge Mystery 4: Murder On The Mississippi. We discuss writing noir in a contemporary setting, bringing an amateur sleuth life, and looking at a 40 year race murder. Then we look at the radical choice to trust the world with his upcoming travel memoir Better Safe Than Sorry?
Follow and support:
Mentioned in this episode:
- Frank Dodge Mystery #4:Murder on the Mississippi at Dean’s site
- Better Safe Than Sorry? at Dean’s site
Bio:
Dean Klinkenberg writes crime fiction carved from the currents of the Mississippi River. He’s the author of the Frank Dodge mysteries, where a restless writer keeps stumbling into trouble in river towns from Minnesota to New Orleans—cold secrets, crooked deals, and the kind of neighbors who smile while they lie.
The river isn’t just a backdrop for Dean; it’s the engine of the stories. He chases its history and characters, then turns what he finds into twists, suspects, and places you can smell and feel. Along the way, Frank Dodge wrestles with the same things the rest of us do—who we are, what we owe, and how to hold on to the people we love when the current gets rough.
Dean grew up in the Midwest, first fell for the Mississippi in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and now lives in St. Louis, a short drive from Old Man River. When he’s not sending Dodge into danger, he’s roaming river towns, filling notebooks, and taking photos for the next mystery. If you like noir with a strong sense of place, start the Frank Dodge series and come see what the river is hiding.
