When novelist Margaret Mizushima moved from Colorado to Jefferson County, the heroine of her novels followed suit, at least for one story.

“Gathering Mist,” the ninth and latest installment in Mizushima’s mystery series, has seen her recurring protagonist, K-9 Deputy Mattie Wray (née Cobb) being summoned from her home in Timber Creek, Colorado, to the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, as part of a search-and-rescue mission for a celebrity’s missing child.

Mizushima herself, who now resides roughly “between Port Townsend and Chimacum,” will be discussing and signing copies of “Gathering Mist” at the Jefferson County Library, at 620 Cedar Ave. in Port Hadlock, at 6p on Wednesday, Sept. 18.

Mizushima moved to the local area in October of 2022 to be closer to her children and extended family out here, following her husband’s retirement as a veterinarian, and she was struck by both the commonalities and differences between her former home in the Colorado “high country” and the less arid, more densely forested terrain of Western Washington.

Although both regions boast mountains formidable enough to challenge even avid hikers like Mizushima, the rainforest climate of the Olympic Peninsula not only presented her with what she regards as a unique beauty, but she realized it could also present her mystery novel protagonist with new tests of her High Rockies-honed sleuthing skills.

“The setting of a story can be as much of a character as any of the people who inhabit that world,” said Mizushima, who relishes writing mysteries because it allows her to construct puzzles that rely upon her knowledge of a number of distinct subjects, from K-9 handling and veterinary medicine, to navigating and tracking through wilderness areas.

“Both Washington and Colorado offer rugged country to explore,” Mizushima said. “But this part of the Pacific Northwest also sports misty, foggy air, ground that’s mossy and moist and even icy enough to make it easy to lose your footing, and thick foliage,” the latter dense enough to hinder a search, or even simply finding one’s way out of the trees.

Mizushima recalled how impressed she was by her initial drives through the Olympic Peninsula’s woodlands, which appeared so overgrown that they seemed “impenetrable” to her,  in a contrast to the relatively spare forested areas of Colorado high country.

Mizushima briefly alluded to how a protagonist’s allies and adversaries alike can serve as red-herring suspects for such mysteries, in addition to generating interpersonal conflicts.

At the same time, Mizushima is always eager to weave together the clues she seeds throughout her stories, developing and resolving her primary and secondary plots along the way.

Library Journal’s starred review of “Gathering Mist” stated, “The story of the search, and the setting, are beautifully developed in a mystery that builds in intensity and suspense.”

Mizushima looks forward to going into further detail about her inspirations, including her knowledge of German Shepherds such as her protagonist’s K-9 partner, Robo, during a question-and-answer period with her audience at the Jefferson County Library, where she’ll also be giving away copies of “Gathering Mist.”

This event is free and open to the public, but if you miss it, Mizushima invites everyone to attend another such event at the Port Townsend Public Library on Thursday, Nov. 7, also at 6 p.m.

Signed copies of “Gathering Mist” can also be ordered at Imprint Books, at 820 Water St. in downtown Port Townsend.

For more information, visit margaretmizushima.com.