In Charles Cutter's debut novel, The Pink Pony, sailors finishing a well-known sailboat race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island celebrate at the local bar, The Pink Pony. Following a night of raucous drinking, one of the skippers sits upright in a chair by the bar with a string of Christmas tree lights wrapped around his neck. He is murdered.

Burr Lafayette, disposed head of litigation of a Detroit law firm and reluctant litigator, was at the Pink Pony that night and is drawn into investigating and defending the accused.

This novel has action, clever dialog, interesting characters and a killer plot. It takes place on Michigan's gem of an island, which the author describes as the investigation takes place.