Wilderness Vacation by Todd Borg

 

First Line: Josie Strong was holding a fork when it slipped from her fingers and clattered to the floor.

 

UCLA Medieval History professor Josie Strong is one of the few Black women professors in the country. She's made a success of her career, but when her daughter Samantha's friend is murdered and Samantha is thrown into an emotional tailspin, Josie certainly doesn't feel like a success as a mother. 

Josie books a wilderness vacation out of cell phone range to bond with her daughter. What she doesn't realize is that a killer will follow them into the wilderness, and the only thing she has to protect her daughter and herself is her knowledge of medieval weaponry.

~

Since I am a huge fan of Todd Borg's Owen McKenna series set in gorgeous Lake Tahoe, I immediately pre-ordered Wilderness Vacation as soon as I heard about it. Although it took me some time to warm to medieval history professor Josie Strong and her fourteen-year-old daughter, Samantha, I now know that I'm going to enjoy this series.

After all, who wouldn't like a book featuring an out-of-shape medieval history professor whose glasses are always fogging up? Josie is an intelligent woman. She's made a success of her classes by bringing in medieval weaponry to wake up her students and interest them in history; however, I do question her decision to book a vacation in a remote Canadian wilderness area. Neither she nor her daughter has the slightest knowledge of canoeing or how physically demanding it is to carry a canoe and supplies from one lake to another. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

Borg is a master at writing thrilling, fast-paced action scenes, and as Josie and Samantha tried to escape a very determined killer through rough terrain, I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. The author also has a fondness for dogs-- one that I share-- so it was good to see that these two women soon collected a canine companion. Another thing that I really appreciated is the behavior of the sheriff in the wilderness area. So many authors, in the same circumstances as this sheriff, would have Josie and Samantha treated as prime suspects. Not Borg. His sheriff is intelligent enough to gather all the facts and trust the two-- even though what they did was incredible.

And as the action returns to Los Angeles, another character joins the cast. Cumberland Durand, a former student of Josie's as well as a computer hacker, is an unlikely hero, but his skills shone when he teamed up with Josie and Samantha.

Strong characters, thrilling action, a vivid setting... bring on the next book!

Wilderness Vacation by Todd Borg

eISBN:  9781931296755

Thriller Press © 2024

eBook, 285 pages

Thriller, #1 Josie Strong

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

You Light Up My Death by Mary Jane Maffini

 

First Line: It would have been the honeymoon from hell, if we'd actually had a wedding.

 

Ottawa lawyer and victims' advocate Camilla MacPhee has finally agreed to elope with her long-time partner, Sergeant Ray Deveau. Loaded down with gifts from her bossy sisters to family members in the Cape Breton area as well as a smelly dog and a little calico cat, Camilla should be on her way to Happily Ever After, right?

For some unknown reason during the 1,000-mile journey, Ray's attitude changes, and Camilla finds herself abandoned with a dog and a cat... but without a vehicle, luggage, wallet, or fiancé.

When Ray's brand-new car is found an hour away with the keys still in it, and his phone is found on the street, Camilla bottles up her anger and begins a desperate search along the spectacular Cabot Trail with the help of a collection of eccentric relatives and locals. People are dying, and Camilla is determined that Ray is not going to be one of them.

~

I've been brave in the past few years and have begun jumping midstream into mystery series with generally favorable results, but after reading You Light Up My Death, I would not suggest doing that with this one. With no former knowledge of Camilla MacPhee and her fiancé Ray Deveau, I found myself thoroughly disgusted with Ray's behavior, and not too fond of Camilla either. But I soldiered on because I trust Mary Jane Maffini, and once I was able to overcome my lack of series familiarity, Maffini delivered as I knew she would.

Maffini made me want to travel the Cabot Trail (under better weather conditions), and the helpfulness of the area's residents reminded me of the area where I grew up. Camilla's wacky relatives, Donald Donnie and Auntie Annie chief among them, made me laugh, and the mysteries surrounding Camilla's mother and Ray's disappearance kept my little grey cells busy. If only the book's title didn't constantly remind me of an earworm from decades past! 

Did my rocky beginning with Camilla MacPhee sound a death knell to the entire series? No. Mary Jane Maffini saved the day, as I knew she would, and I have a feeling that Camilla and I will meet again.

You Light Up My Death by Mary Jane Maffini

ISBN: 9781990896019

Ottawa Press & Publishing © 2022

Paperback, 272 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #7 Camilla MacPhee mystery

Rating: B+

Source: the author, in exchange for an honest review.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk

 

First Lines: From the first spin of the lock, she knew she wouldn't be able to open the safe. What does a librarian know about safecracking?

 

Liesl Weiss is content working behind the scenes in her job at the university library. She has become adept at performing all the tasks the head of department can't be bothered with. But when he is incapacitated by a stroke, Liesl finds herself taking over his job. 

 

The first thing she learns is that the department's newest and most prized book is missing. She wants to waste no time in alerting the police, but the president of the university and several others repeatedly tell her to keep quiet. That keeping the doors open and the donors happy is more important than finding a manuscript that costs half a million dollars. 

So Liesl conducts her own investigation, and it doesn't take her long to discover someone working in the department has to be responsible. 

~

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections comes alive when describing precious manuscripts and the donors that make their appearance on university library shelves possible. The characters, on the other hand, don't shine nearly as brightly.

Liesl Weiss has spent so many years working in the shadows behind unreliable men that she tends to be gray and lackluster-- except when she fights to protect a fellow librarian's reputation. Each time she tries to do the right thing, especially when it involves having the police brought in to find the thief and the missing book, she's slapped down. The university president would rather whitewash everything that might make the donors unhappy.

It doesn't take much to deduce who is responsible for the missing book. No, what I am taking away from Jurczyk's book is her decidedly jaundiced view of donors. Of how much time must be spent in massaging their fragile egos. Of how a university's infrastructure can be geared toward reaping donor money than it is to keep the buildings themselves standing. Of how, when one university went so far past its goals it had to tear down a perfectly good building and build a new one rather than spend the extra money on badly needed maintenance and other programs because, well, everyone knows how donors love to see their names plastered all over buildings. As you can see, my own view of rich donors tends to be a bit jaundiced, too. 

As a mystery, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is relatively easy to solve. As a character study, it's done in varying shades of gray. But come to life it does when describing wonderful old books and what must be done in order to have them on a university's shelves. I'm glad I spent some time with Liesl Weiss. She and I see eye-to-eye on many things.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections by Eva Jurczyk

eISBN: 9781728238609

Poisoned Pen Press © 2022

eBook, 336 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, Standalone

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson

 

First Lines: Hudson Bay, Manitoba, Canada. As Rex Tildesen stared in amazement at the sonar image, he had no idea of the danger that surrounded his find.

 

Wildlife biologist Alex Carter can't believe her luck. Just as she's finishing up her study of wolverines in Montana, she lands a position in the Canadian Arctic studying an endangered population of polar bears. This time, instead of working alone she's with a small team of researchers. It means that she has to get used to working with other people again, but she loves what she's doing and thrives on her work.

 

She's spending her days tracking polar bears by air, hanging out of a helicopter with a tranquilizer gun until she can get on the ground to examine these magnificent creatures. As the data she collects grows, things begin to go wrong. The helicopter pilot quits. Equipment goes missing. The lab is broken into and her samples are stolen. It's obvious that someone doesn't want her to complete her study, but Alex isn't about to stop.

Alex finds a replacement pilot, but the helicopter catches fire and she and the pilot are forced to land out on the ice, miles from any sort of help. Surviving in those conditions is hard enough, but there are armed assailants on snowmobiles tracking them. Alex is going to have to rely on all her skills in order to make it back to civilization to complete her mission.

~

Learning that the main character in Alice Henderson's A Solitude of Wolverines was a wildlife biologist-- and that Henderson herself is one-- made this first book in the Alex Carter series a must-read and a very good one at that. A Blizzard of Polar Bears is even better.

The scenes in which Alex tracks the polar bears by air and then lands to examine them are wonderful. I felt as though I was with her, and I learned so much about the animals as well as the things that are used to track them, whether it's Burr on Fur or the Whiskerprint Project. Let me tell you, this mystery series is perfect for those readers who love wildlife.

Moreover, if you're a wildlife lover who also enjoys a high-octane thriller, you really need to read A Blizzard of Polar Bears. Wow! Surviving a helicopter crash and being forced to shelter and travel across the ice-- I was freezing right along with these two. Fortunately, Alex and Cody, the helicopter pilot, know how to take care of themselves because the weather isn't the only thing they must contend with. There are killers on snowmobiles after them, and they mean business. The fact that the business isn't just simply stopping the polar bear study gives armchair sleuths a little extra to cogitate on. 

If I had any misgivings at all about this book, it was my unease about Cody the pilot. I can't get into why I was uneasy about him without doing spoilers, and that I will not do. I also felt that the bad guys were just a tad over the top, but at the same time, they certainly had my pulse racing as I read those scenes. 

As I've already stated, this is a series perfect for lovers of wildlife and thrillers. Henderson has the knack of being able to put her readers right in the middle of the action alongside the characters she's created, and that's no small talent. I really can't wait to see where Alex's work will take her next.

A Blizzard of Polar Bears by Alice Henderson

eISBN: 9780062982124

HarperCollins © 2021

eBook, 336 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Alex Carter mystery

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Ancient Dead by Barbara Fradkin

First Line: Beneath the dry, cracked soil, the tufts of sage and prairie wool, lay the graveyard of the ancient dead.

 

A photographer finds human bones deep in Alberta's dinosaur country. Not far away, Amanda Doucette sees an abandoned farmhouse that reminds her of a photo hanging on her aunt's wall. When Amanda asks her aunt about the photo, she learns that she had an uncle who disappeared in Alberta thirty years before.

 

While doing work for her charity, Amanda learns about the human bones. Could they possibly belong to the uncle who disappeared so long ago? When she begins searching for answers, mounting questions soon outweigh them. Determined to learn the truth, Amanda encounters a person who will stop at nothing to force her to abandon her investigation.

 

~

 

I read the first two books in Barbara Fradkin's Amanda Doucette mystery series about three years ago. I loved the first book, Fire in the Stars, but rapidly fell out of love with the main character in the second book, The Trickster's Lullaby. I wish I'd remembered that before reading this fourth book in the series, The Ancient Dead.

Author Barbara Fradkin knows how to write a strong, compelling mystery, and her settings create vivid mental pictures as you read. I felt as though I were in the Alberta badlands as Amanda searched for answers. No, the plots and the settings aren't the problems for me in these Amanda Doucette mysteries. The problem is Amanda herself. 

She is the type of person who can drive me up the wall without her breaking a sweat. Being with her is like being held captive in a room with thousands of ravenous mosquitoes. In "her relentless drive for answers," Amanda has no filter. She badgers the grieving. She has no shame, thinking nothing of insisting that people put themselves in danger or abuse their positions and possibly lose their jobs in order to give her the answers she requires. Amanda Doucette is the squeaky wheel who demands the grease, and she will not stop until she gets it.

Amanda is a former international aid worker who narrowly escaped with her life from a nightmarish situation in Africa. Now she has PTSD, and her canine companion Kaylee is my favorite character in the book. Amanda's behavior may have been necessary to care for people in her former line of work, but having personally had to deal with countless people like her in my line of work, I can do without being in her presence.

If characters like this don't bother you, please, go ahead and read this mystery series because it is very well crafted. You can even say that Fradkin's art of characterization is powerful as well because Amanda Doucette certainly comes to life. However, for the sake of my blood pressure, The Ancient Dead is the last time I'll be spending time with her. Goodbye, Amanda. I do wish you well.

The Ancient Dead by Barbara Fradkin

eISBN: 9781459743830

Dundurn Press © 2021

eBook, 344 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #4 Amanda Doucette mystery

Rating: B-

Source: Net Galley

The Bone Seeker by M.J. McGrath

First Line: That Friday afternoon in late July was the last time Edie Kiglatuk saw Martha Salliaq alive.

Teaching summer school in the Canadian Arctic, Edie Kiglatuk is shocked when her favorite student, Martha Salliaq, is found dead in nearby Lake Turngaluk. Edie promises the Inuit girl's family that she will uncover the truth and enlists the aid of Sergeant Derek Palliser of the Ellesmere Island Native Police. While they begin their investigation, lawyer Sonia Gutierrez is working hard to overcome obstacles concerning the cleanup of Lake Turngaluk, but she's beginning to think that there is a larger conspiracy involved. What the three of them don't realize is that, while they're unearthing long-buried secrets, they're also putting their lives at risk.

 

M.J. McGrath's Edie Kiglatuk series ended at three books, but as far as I'm concerned it could have continued for much, much longer. The three books (White Heat and The Boy in the Snow are the first two) not only have absorbing mysteries to solve, they also give readers a vivid, fascinating picture of life in the Arctic Circle and of the Inuit culture. (Please do not call them "Eskimos" because that word means lice in another language.)

It's summer in the Arctic, and one of the things McGrath has her characters show us is how people deal (or don't) with twenty-four-hour-a-day sunlight. Camp Nanook is a summer military encampment not far from the village where Edie is teaching, and I was shocked to learn that "...thirty per cent of Arctic postings returned to the south with some kind of mental disorder." Scary stuff, right? The mystery is a good brain teaser for armchair sleuths since it involves the history of the Distant Early Warning line formed by Canada and the U.S. during the Cold War. Not only are there Inuits involved in Martha Salliaq's murder, but readers also have to navigate suspicious governmental goings-on.

The investigation is hampered, as always, by the government consistently giving the Inuit the short end of the stick. Edie and Sergeant Palliser have to wait days to receive extra help such as the most basic forensics equipment, and all the while, officers in nearby Camp Nanook are working in the shadows to find out what Edie and Palliser know-- and how to prevent them from learning anything more. 

The Bone Seeker benefits from an exceptionally strong cast of characters. Derek Palliser, derisively called "Lemming Police" by the locals, finds himself upping his game in light of Edie's passion for the truth even though he's hampered by insomnia. Edie's hunting skills translate well into a homicide investigation, and well, she's just a force of nature. "Only set of rules I know is mine...And I don't have any." A welcome addition to the cast is the lawyer Sonia Gutierrez from Guatemala. She has her own shadowy past, and after working for years on a lawsuit to force the government to clean up this area of Ellesmere Island, scarcely anything gets past her razor-sharp intellect and unflinching gaze. Whatever you do, don't mess with Edie and Sonia!

There's more than meets the eye to the title of this book, and when you come to that part (as I hope you will), you may find a chill running down your spine and a tear in your eye. The Bone Seeker works well as a standalone, but if you love mysteries with strong unconventional characters and learning about other cultures, I highly recommend that you read all three books in order. Then you will join me in wishing Edie Kiglatuk would appear to solve another mystery up at the Arctic Circle.

The Bone Seeker by M.J. McGrath

ISBN: 9780143127475

Penguin Books © 2014

Paperback, 368 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #3 Edie Kiglatuk mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.

Rogue Wave by Jane Thornley

First Line: The bitter Nor'easter shoved me downhill.

Knitwear designer Phoebe McCabe is at a bit of a loose end when the company she works for closes, but then she learns that she might have a chance to locate her missing brother and a lost treasure in Bermuda, and she jumps at the chance. In no time at all, she finds herself up to her neck in danger.

This is a quick, light mystery that I found alternately fun to read and exasperating. A centuries-old lost treasure? Sign me up. An old house in Bermuda with all sorts of secret passages? I'll be right there. And-- there's something about a hero who picks up her knitting to calm down and think that appeals to me. But that same hero was the reason I often found the book exasperating. Emotionally, Phoebe McCabe is all over the place. One minute she's wisecracking and making me laugh, the next she has tears streaming down her face. One second, she's highly intelligent, the next she's too stupid to live.

Other reasons why Rogue Wave was rather hit-or-miss with me? It was way too easy to figure out whodunit, and... the editing was atrocious. Superfluous words, missing words, awkward wording-- too many instances that made my eyes do a little hiccup and go back to make their own edits. The series has promise, and reading Rogue Wave was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon, but I doubt that Phoebe and I will be meeting again.

Rogue Wave by Jane Thornley

ASIN: B07JYZHTNR

Riverflow Press © 2018

eBook, 238 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Crime by Design

Rating: C+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

Among the Departed by Vicki Delany

First Line: "I hate you."

Constable Molly Smith has a personal connection to a case concerning the remains of a missing person found on a mountain outside of Trafalgar, British Columbia. Fifteen years ago, she had a sleepover at her best friend's house. The next morning, Molly's mother picked her up, and shortly afterward her best friend's father went for a walk and never came back. Are the recently discovered remains those of Brian Nowak?

A tentative identification is enough for Sergeant John Winters to re-open the investigation. What he finds is sobering. The Nowak family is shattered beyond recognition. Having fallen out of touch with her friend, Molly is shocked by the changes in the family, too. But while Winters and Smith dig through the old case, one of the Nowaks has brought a brand-new threat to the small Canadian community of Trafalgar.

I'm probably the type of reader that drives some authors wild. I'll find a mystery series that I really like and instead of keeping current with it, I'll save it for when I need a 100% guaranteed good read. Vicki Delany's Constable Molly Smith series is one on that special list. The writing is so good that it doesn't matter how long I go between books, I always know exactly where I am in the lives of the characters. Well, I needed a genuine, dyed-in-the-wool good read, so I picked up Among the Departed, the fifth book in the Constable Molly Smith series. I wasn't disappointed. (Hey, that's why this series is on my list!)

From the crackerjack opening involving a lost child, the pace never falters. Once you start learning about the characters involved in the investigation, it's not difficult to piece together whodunit. The real question is how was it done, and Delany certainly knows how to keep us guessing while she advances the lives of her main characters.

Molly and her mother are still grieving over the loss of someone dear to them, but the two women are going through the process in different ways-- which definitely suits police officer Molly and her tie-dye Hippie mother, Lucky. Another interesting character is John Winters' wife who is an aging fashion model. Not only is the marriage a weird pairing-- police officer and high fashion model-- the beautiful Mrs. Winters is turning into a much more delineated character than I'd originally expected. Readers are treated to the daily lives of police officers and, in addition, how a model's life changes once she begins to age. Plus, what's happened to each member of the Nowak family is quite sobering.

Yes indeed. Delany has created a series with a perfect setting, strong stories, and memorable characters. As I was reading Among the Departed, I kept getting the nagging feeling that this series reminded me of another author's. Finally, it came to me: Elly Griffiths and her Dr. Ruth Galloway mysteries. Does that make some of you sit up and take notice? Good! I'd hate for you to miss out on some fine reading.

Among the Departed by Vicki Delany

ISBN: 9781590588895
Poisoned Pen Press © 2011
Paperback, 277 pages

Police Procedural, #5 Constable Molly Smith mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.


 

Journey by James Michener

First Line: When on 17 July 1897 the steamship Portland docked at Seattle, bringing belated news and hard evidence that an enormously rich strike of gold had been made the summer before along the Klondike River on the extreme western border of Canada, the world was startled by a felicitous sentence scribbled in haste by an excited reporter who visited the ship.

Back in the day, I was a huge James Michener fan, and I thought I'd read all his books. Somehow or other, Journey slipped through the cracks, so I was eager to read it-- especially since it takes place during the Klondike Gold Rush during the late 1890s.

As Michener states at the end of the book, Journey was originally a chapter in his novel, Alaska, and it had to be cut from the final edition. He liked the story so much that he kept it, and it was published as a novel in 1989. (Only someone like Michener could cut one chapter from his book and have it be long enough for a 200-page novel!)

The story follows four English aristocrats and an Irish servant as they take the arduous overland route through Canada, chosen because the leader of the expedition hated America so much that he refused to let even his little toe cross the border into the U.S. In true Michener fashion, I was hooked by the story, the setting, and-- last but not least-- the characters. The U.S.-hating Lord Luton is a supreme example of his class and era, and it's a miracle my eyes didn't lock in the back of my head due to all the eye-rolling he caused me. It's hard for me not to get involved as I read a Michener novel, and Journey was no exception.

If you love historical fiction that not only teaches you about history but also tells a wonderful story, you can't go wrong by reading this book-- especially since it's several hundred pages shorter than a standard Michener novel. Who knows? You may get hooked and start reading those Michener "doorstops," too. The man certainly knew how to tell a multi-generational tale, and few authors can even come close.

Journey by James Michener

eISBN: 9780804151542

The Dial Press © 2014

Originally published 1989.

eBook, 201 pages

Historical Fiction, Standalone

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

Among the Ruins by Ausma Zehanat Khan

First Line: Esfahan is half the world.

Esa Khattak is on much-needed leave from Canada's Community Policing department, connecting to his cultural heritage on a trip to Iran. He is finding peace within the country's beautiful mosques and gardens, but a Canadian government official cuts that short. Now he is expected to look into the death of a renowned Canadian-Iranian filmmaker, Zahra Sobhani, who was murdered in Iran's notorious Evin prison where she'd been seeking the release of a well-known political prisoner.

In no time at all, Khattak finds himself under surveillance and embroiled in Iranian politics, but when the trail he's following leads back to Zahra's family in Canada, he needs the help of his partner, Detective Rachel Getty.

Getty uncovers a conspiracy linked to the Shah of Iran and the decades-old murders of a group of Iran's most famous dissidents, and it is she who realizes that Zahra's murder may not have been a political crime at all.

Ausma Zehanat Khan's series continues its strong characterizations, intricate plots, and fine storytelling. As Esa Khattak finds it increasingly difficult to sidestep the people in Iran who are keeping him under surveillance, and as I learned more about Iran's turbulent history and the fate of its political prisoners, I was struck forcefully by one thing: the powerful sense of entitlement I was born with and so seldom fully realize that I have. Millions of people around the world will never know the freedom of what it's like to be white and American. Don't get me wrong: I do not believe that everyone needs to be white and American, but everyone does deserve to live under the seemingly inviolable umbrella of protection that I was. Moreover, people like me need to be strongly reminded by books like Among the Ruins of just how lucky we are.

This book isn't a mere tale of political injustice in another country, however, although the occasional chapter told from the point of view of an unidentified political prisoner brings that into painful focus. No, we get to see how good a team Khattak and Getty are when they are forced to work thousands of miles apart-- and it is fun to watch Getty put the clues together from the information Khattak manages to sneak out of the country.

There is also a heightened sense of tension as Khattak is being followed by people who wouldn't bat an eye if they killed him-- and this says nothing about the effects of torture on those who must physically endure it as well as on their loved ones who work for their release. The mystery takes on more twists and turns: the Shah of Iran, the legendary crown jewels of Iran, smuggling, historic letters... Among the Ruins is often a feast for the eye and a feast for the mind of the armchair sleuth (as well as giving a cautious note of hope for Iran's future). I certainly look forward to the next book in this series!

Among the Ruins by Ausma Zehanat Khan

ISBN:  9781250096739

Minotaur Books © 2017

Hardcover, 368 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Getty & Khattak

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet


 

The Trickster's Lullaby by Barbara Fradkin

First Line: The stranger who hammered on the door made no apologies or introduction.

As a part of her Fun for Families charity tour, Amanda Doucette leads a group of teens on a camping trip into the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. In no time at all, one of the boys turns up dead, and another (who is suspected of having terrorist links) disappears. Amanda and her friend Chris Tymko of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are desperately trying to find the missing boy while also needing to stay more than one step ahead of a killer.

Barbara Fradkin's first Amanda Doucette mystery, Fire in the Stars, was one of my Best Reads last year, and this second book is a strong follow-up. Through reading these mysteries, I'm learning about parts of Canada that I previously didn't know a thing about, and I always enjoy that, especially since Fradkin does a marvelous job with her setting. The mystery itself is fast-paced and multi-layered, doing an excellent job of keeping readers guessing what's going on and who's responsible.

As in the first book, Amanda Doucette takes center stage. Retired from her humanitarian aid work in remote countries, she's now trying to manage the Fun for Families charity tour which takes disadvantaged youth on adventure trips that provide brief escapes from the daily struggle of their lives. For this particular trip, the teens are Muslims whose parents are refugees from a variety of countries, and it's interesting (and a bit frustrating) to read about the obstacles Amanda has to overcome in order to make this trip happen.

It's a good change of pace to read about a character who leads with her heart, a character who always wants to do good, a character who cares more about the welfare of others than she does her own life. That being said, reading about such a character can be exhausting and a real emotional roller coaster. Although she's firmly on the side of good, Amanda is a fanatic, and she always feels as though she's the one who has to be the savior of the day. The further I read, the more exasperated I got with her character until-- by the time I'd reached the end of The Trickster's Lullaby-- I knew that I didn't really care to read any more about Amanda.

Please be advised that your mileage can certainly vary. I like Fradkin's writing and will search out her other books. I just don't care to spend much time with fanatics. If they don't bother you, then you should enjoy this very well-written book.

The Trickster's Lullaby by Barbara Fradkin

eISBN: 9781459735422

Dundurn Press © 2017

eBook, 336 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #2 Amanda Doucette mystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.


 

The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton

First Line: When the phone rang, Ava woke with a start.

Ava Lee works for a mysterious businessman she calls "Uncle." Uncle's business is tracking down large sums of money that have disappeared, and he relies on Ava because she's very, very good at what she does. As a forensic accountant, she can track down money anywhere and get it back, usually without violence (which is something she's almost got Uncle trained not to resort to).

This time, one of Uncle's friends has requested help for his nephew, who needs to recover five million dollars from a business deal that went sideways. Ava steps in and finds herself on a journey from Seattle to Hong Kong to Bangkok to Guyana and the British Virgin Islands. In Guyana, she might have met her match: Captain Robbins controls the police, the politicians, and the criminals-- and he's decided that he wants the lion's share of Ava's five million dollars.

Over the past few years, I've kept hearing rave reviews about this series from a very trusted source, and I finally decided that now was the time to sample Ian Hamilton's wares. Shall I just say that I'll be back for seconds, thirds, fourths, and more? I've always been a fan of heist books and films, especially when the loot is being stolen from despicable algae masquerading as human beings. That's exactly what Ava does here, and not only from the original thief, but also from Captain Robbins who has an idea that Ava Lee is really good at what she does, but he still thinks he can keep the upper hand on this pretty little lady.

Besides being a top forensic accountant, Ava Lee is also a martial arts expert. Do not mess with her. She's super-intelligent, she's cool, she's unattainable, and if she needs to, she will take you out. What I liked about her is that she usually took people out without using violence. When television and movies began showing women being able to win knock-down drag-out fights with men, I was happy and did a little bit of cheering, but those fight scenes get really old, really quick. Don't get me wrong, I do like a good fight now and then, but I prefer intelligence over physical strength. Ava does, too. The only thing that I didn't care for is the fact that every man who met Ava started drooling and wanting her to go out with him. Show some self-respect, guys! (Besides, you're drooling up the wrong tree; Ava is gay.)

Hamilton's story is fast-paced, with unexpected flashes of humor, and plenty of tension and suspense. An added bonus that I loved was the fact that Ava Lee is an excellent tour guide. I felt as though I were in each of those countries with her, and I was just as happy to leave Guyana as she was. Yes indeed-- character, story, setting... they all make this a book to savor. Now I'm going to begin savoring the rest of the series!

The Water Rat of Wanchai by Ian Hamilton

APA The Deadly Touch of the Tigress
ISBN: 9781250032270

Picador Books © 2014

Paperback, 400 pages

Private Investigator, #1 Ava Lee mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


 

Fire in the Stars by Barbara Fradkin

First Line: Amanda didn't begin to worry in earnest until a hint of land glimmered through the early morning fog. 

After surviving horrific events in Nigeria, international aid worker Phil Cousins finds that he just can't settle to life back in his native Canada. Thinking that a camping trip in the wilds of Newfoundland will be just what he needs, he asks fellow aid worker Amanda Doucette to join him. But when Amanda and her dog Kaylee arrive at the agreed-upon meeting place, Phil isn't there. 

Phone calls and questions lead Amanda to discover that Phil left his cell phone at home and took his young son Tyler with him. Both are missing, and Amanda is becoming frantic because all signs point to Phil suffering the effects of PTSD and depression. Teaming up with RCMP Corporal Chris Tymko, Amanda is in a race against time to find her friend and his son in the vast and forbidding wilderness of the Great Northern Peninsula.

I'm always interested in crime fiction that is set in places around the globe that I've never visited, and Barbara Fradkin's Fire in the Stars fulfilled this part of my mission beautifully. Without going into long, lyrical descriptions of the landscape, Fradkin still brought the Newfoundland wilderness to life-- both its mountains and its small fishing villages clinging to the edges of the sea. In fact, the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland should be considered as a member of the cast of characters. 

Speaking of characters, Amanda is the strong, beating heart of the story. Her work as a humanitarian aid worker has taken her all over the world, but her experiences in Nigeria were so horrible that she decided to return to her Canadian homeland. She travels by motorcycle, pulling a trailer that contains her camping gear and her Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Kaylee. Amanda has her own problems with PTSD, and when the book begins, she throws herself into the search for Phil and Tyler to such a degree that she's infuriating-- even though readers know everything she does is done for all the right reasons.

But as the story continues, Amanda's behavior becomes quite admirable for Fire in the Stars is a mystery built on shifting sands. It begins as a missing persons case. This changes subtly when a man's body is hauled up in a fishing net, and then it becomes an all-out fight for survival. Fradkin does a superb job of jerking the rug out from under the reader. Just as I thought I had a grip on what was going on or who did what, Fradkin added another piece to the puzzle, everything shifted, and I found myself back at square one.

When I'm reading about a strong, intelligent woman who always tries to do the right thing, and this woman is in a superb natural setting with her best canine buddy, I love it when an author can keep me constantly reevaluating the evidence. Barbara Fradkin drew me right into the middle of her story and wouldn't let me leave. I certainly look forward to meeting Amanda again.
 

Fire in the Stars by Barbara Fradkin

eISBN: 9781459732414

Dundern © 2016

 eBook, 328 pages

Amateur Sleuth, #1 Amanda Doucette mystery

Rating: A+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

 

Ragged Lake by Ron Corbett

First Line: The cabin had been built by the headwaters of the Springfield River, not far from Five Mile Camp where the Cree who worked for O'Hearn Forest Products once lived.

A tree-marker makes a gruesome discovery in a squatter's cabin in a remote area on Canada's Northern Divide: an entire family has been murdered. Detective Frank Yakabuski, an army veteran who successfully led a task force that took down an infamous biker gang, is sent to solve the family's murder. He chooses Ragged Lake, an almost abandoned village as headquarters for himself and his two men.

No one in town wants to talk to him, so he rounds up everyone in a fishing lodge to wait out a bad storm, thinking that close proximity will force someone to talk while giving him the chance to investigate the area. In no time at all, Yakabuski is fighting to solve the crime, to stay alive, and to protect the innocents living there in the woods.

The strongest character in Ragged Lake is the bleak, remote, and frozen woods of the Northern Divide. The land has helped to shape the people living there into self-sufficient individuals who are used to doing for themselves and keeping what they know to themselves. The man sent to investigate the murders, Frank Yakabuski, is a big man who knows how to handle himself. After taking one look, very few people want to mess with him. As a lead investigator, I found him to be a bit inconsistent. Sometimes he wouldn't take risks because they were dangerous and unlikely to succeed, yet at others, he took equally dangerous risks that also had very little chance of success. I have to admit that I found it difficult to warm up to him or any of the other characters.

The pace of the book is a bit uneven, mainly due to some digressions that--although crucial to the plot-- could've been more smoothly introduced. The strongest parts of the book are the setting, which I mentioned earlier, and the mystery itself, which kept me guessing at motives throughout. However, the body count in Ragged Lake was much too high for my liking. If I'd known one major detail (which is left out of the synopsis), I probably would not have chosen to read the book.

Ragged Lake by Ron Corbett

ISBN: 9781770413948

ECW Press © 2017

Paperback, 320 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Frank Yakabuski mystery

Rating:C+

Source: Amazon Vine

The Language of Secrets by Ausma Zehanat Khan

First Line: The snatch of poetry caught at Mohsin's thoughts, making a mockery of thousands of burnt-out stars flung wide against the banner of the sky.

When minority-sensitive cases come to the attention of any level of law enforcement, it's up to Detective Esa Khattak of Canada's Community Policing Section to take care of them. Since he is still under the microscope for the way his last case was handled, he's surprised when the national security team (INSET) calls him in on another politically sensitive case.

For months, INSET has been investigating a local terrorist cell which is planning an attack on New Year's Day. Their informant within the cell, Mohsin Dar, has been murdered at the cell's training camp just weeks before the planned attack. INSET wants Khattak to give the appearance of investigating Mohsin's death because they can't risk exposing their operation. But Mohsin used to be a close friend, and Esa knows that he's not going to be able merely to go through the motions. So Khattak sends his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, undercover into the mosque that houses the terrorist cell. As Rachel begins developing relationships with the people of the mosque and of the terrorist cell, the reasons for Mohsin's murder only seem to multiply-- and time is running out.

Ausma Zehanat Khan's The Unquiet Dead was one of the best books I read in 2016, so I was looking forward to reading the next book in her Rachel Getty and Esa Khattak series. The Language of Secrets is another splendid entry in the series which had me leaving my comfort zone and entering the world of terrorist cells. 

It was clearer to me in reading this second book that Khattak has so many enemies within the police force that-- unless something happens soon-- it's going to be almost impossible for him to get anything done. The author also plays the differences between her two lead characters to perfection. Those who are familiar with the interpersonal relationships within Muslim families are going to understand Esa Khattak, while those who aren't are going to gravitate toward Rachel Getty. This is certainly true in my case because I find Khattak behaving as though he's the protector and savior of all those whom he cares for to get a little old. In real life, I might behave like his one rebellious sister who will purposely do the exact opposite of what he expects almost every single time. 

There is an excellent rapport between the two leads. They are rapidly learning each other's strengths and weaknesses as well as how each will react in any given circumstance. Khattak is an old pro while Getty needs a lot more experience-- some of which she certainly gets while going undercover.

Although I had my suspicions about a certain character and thus wasn't completely surprised when all was revealed at the end, I did find parts of this absorbing book to be fascinating-- in particular, the ways terrorists try to avoid detection in their communications with each other. This problem of communication has meant that entirely new secret languages have been devised which can twist words of beauty into hatred and death.

After this second page-turner, I'm looking forward to seeing where Getty and Khattak go in the next book in this series. Khattak may annoy me from time to time, but I do like his very different perspective on things.
 

The Language of Secrets by Ausma Zehanat Khan

ISBN: 9781250055125

Minotaur Books © 2016

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Khattak and Getty mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Book Outlet.


 

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

First Line: Armand Gamache sat in the little room and closed the dossier with care, squeezing it shut, trapping the words inside.

At first thought to be an oddity, an old hand-drawn map found in a wall of the bistro in Three Pines winds up in the hands of Armand Gamache as he begins his new job as head of the Sûreté Academy. There the map will lead Gamache to secrets. To four young cadets. And to a dead professor.

The time has come for a great reckoning.

Not having been a fan of Penny's last book, The Nature of the Beast, (and feeling like an abject traitor) I was thrilled to read A Great Reckoning and see that she's back on track with her siren-like magic.

Although the books in this series can be read as standalones, each book is actually a chapter in one long story arc. This means that the books will have a much greater impact on readers if they are read in order, beginning with Still Life. 

Corruption in Quebec's police force has been a long-running subplot, and in A Great Reckoning Gamache heads to the Academy to finish the task of "cleaning house." You can get rid of dishonest cops from positions of power in government and from the streets and patrol cars, but if you don't go to the source-- the Academy-- and clear out the bad teachers and cadets, you're never going to solve the problem in its entirety. This is the task Gamache has set himself, and he is well aware that it means he will have to do things that he does not wish to do. 

The investigation into the professor's murder, the significance of the old map, the true identity of a cadet named Amelia Choquet... all these things and more combine to make a page-turning narrative that tugs at the mind and the heart. And, I'm happy to say, the citizens of tiny, idyllic Three Pines are back to being their vibrant selves-- especially Ruth.

I know that Louise Penny has a specific ending in mind for this series, but I sincerely hope we can all look forward to a few more trips to my favorite village in Quebec.
     

A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

eISBN: 9781250022127

Minotaur Books © 2016

eBook, 400 pages

Police Procedural, #12 Armand Gamache mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from Amazon  

Negative Image by Vicki Delany

First Line: Rachel Lewis knew she was pretty, but she also knew that being merely pretty wasn't good enough.

Winter is slowly leaving the mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia when a famous photographer arrives to do a feature on tourism. Although he's accompanied by his talented assistant and a sexy young wife, this photographer is more interested in reconnecting with the woman who left him twenty-five years ago. 

When the photographer is found dead in his hotel room, no one is more surprised than Sergeant John Winters to discover that one of the principle suspects in the murder is his own wife. With the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in charge of the investigation, Winters must decide which is more important to him: loyalty to his job... or loyalty to his wife. While he's deciding, he's going to discover that he doesn't know his wife nearly as well as he thought he did-- and there's very little that Constable Molly Smith can do to help. Her own plate is filled with a series of B&Es, a boyfriend who's causing more problems than he's solving, and a tragedy that will strike right at the heart of her own family.

Vicki Delany's Smith and Winters mysteries are a perfect combination of characterization and story. Molly Smith is the rookie who's learning the job. Her parents have a difficult time dealing with her chosen occupation. Molly's boyfriend Adam wants to be the most important person in her life and is causing her nothing but trouble on the job. Fortunately, she has someone like Sergeant John Winters to mentor her. Winters is a wealth of knowledge and common sense, and he sees Molly's potential. He's also emotionally stable-- or he was until his wife becomes the prime suspect in a murder.

It's interesting to see how Winters reacts to learning about his wife's past. He may be a hero, but heroes don't always react the way we want them to, and Delany reminds us of this more than once. Molly's life is tied up in knots with career decisions, gossip, and a stalker. She takes this all on by herself because of the way her fellow officers are treating her. Being a female police officer is certainly not easy.

Speaking of certainties, Delany really knows how to ratchet up the suspense. Investigations are being conducted by officers who have their own agendas. Bad things are happening to good people right and left in Negative Image, but the author shows that good police work relies on the boring stuff: going back time after time to ask the same people the same questions and observing every little nuance of behavior. Delany has created a solid mystery that keeps readers guessing. Not only that, but she's created wonderful characters that live and breathe on the page. So much so that fans will have their hearts in their throats through sections of this book.

If you haven't read one of Vicki Delany's Smith and Winters mysteries, I urge you to do so. Please start at the beginning with In the Shadow of the Glacier so you don't miss one single bit of her character development (or any of the mysteries).    

Negative Image by Vicki Delany

ISBN: 9781590587904

Poisoned Pen Press © 2010

Paperback, 261 pages

Police Procedural, #4 Smith and Winters mystery 

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen