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.


 

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 


 

Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany

First Line: They don't often get big snow storms in the Kootenay area of British Columbia.

Rich college kids enjoying some skiing over Christmas break come to tragedy when the car two of them are traveling in overturns, skids off the icy road, and ends upside down in the frigid river on Christmas Eve.

What's believed to be an accident proves otherwise during the autopsies of the two young men, and sends Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters on a search for the truth in a world of privilege and secrets.

Trafalgar is hit with the snowstorm of the decade, and Delany uses the weather and her setting to excellent effect. Molly even gets to ski several times, and the author took me right out on the slopes with her. 

Readers are faced with a story of wealthy, entitled people and how they can so easily and carelessly destroy lives. It didn't take long for me to see that Winter of Secrets isn't really a case of whodunit, but of why and how. 

As usual, Delany's excellent cast made me forget that I don't particularly care for books that prominently feature the rich and shameless. Constable Molly Smith has good instincts, but she's still learning and still making mistakes. These blunders can infuriate her mentor, Sergeant John Winters, but for the most part he is able to bite his tongue and count to ten. Why? Because he sees her potential as a police officer. Does Molly know when he's extremely angry? Yes. Does she know when she's done something stupid? Yes. But Winters is smart enough to know when to take a step back and let Molly castigate herself. Of course he's using that time to cool off, but at least he knows to back off! Something else that makes Winters stand out from the crowd is that he is happily married to a highly regarded model. Those two occupations in one marriage just don't seem to belong, do they? But this marriage has been working for years. I find Winters every bit as fascinating as I do Molly.

Molly's mother Lucky always seems to find her way into each investigation as well. This time the outspoken woman is trying to help Lorraine, a teenage girl whose parents care more for booze than they do their own children. Lucky is a former hippie who hasn't lost one atom of her convictions. As a result, she doesn't care for the police, so Molly's choice of career does not set well with her-- and probably never will. But each time Lucky finds her way into these investigations and sees her daughter in action, she gains a bit more understanding. This is a relationship that I enjoy watching. Will mother and daughter ever see eye to eye? Only time will tell.

Delany's story and pacing flow so well, her characters are so interesting, that her books read much too quickly. I always look forward to the next book with a great deal of anticipation, but with a threat looming in Molly's future, I know it won't be long until I begin reading Negative Image. If you haven't read one of Vicki Delany's Smith and Winters mysteries, treat yourself. They read well as standalones, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I'm enjoying the character development way too much!
     

Winter of Secrets by Vicki Delany

ISBN: 9781590587812

Poisoned Pen Press © 2010

Paperback, 265 pages

Police Procedural, #3 Winters and Smith mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased at The Poisoned Pen.


 

Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delany

First Line: The setting sun had slipped behind the mountains, and in the bottom of the valley, long ago carved out of ancient rock by the swift-moving river, the summer's night was hot and close.

When Lucky Smith hears a baby cry off in the trees, she goes to see what's wrong. She finds a scared and hungry infant-- and the body of his mother lying close by. Sergeant John Winters of the Trafalgar, British Columbia, police force begins his investigation with the help of Lucky's daughter, Probationary Constable Molly Smith. When the two start checking with the people who knew the dead girl, they learn that this isn't a simple case of drug overdose. Something else is going on, but until they discover the girl's true identity, it's going to be very difficult indeed to find out just what that something is. While they're knocking on doors and asking questions, Lucky Smith has appointed herself the child's foster mother, and Winters' wife Eliza is being courted by a controversial new resort's owners to become the face of the place.

It had been over a year since I'd read the first book in Vicki Delany's Molly Smith series, and I wondered how quickly I would fall back into the setting and how well I would remember the characters and their backgrounds. I should not have wondered. From the first page, I fell back into Trafalgar as if I'd never left. Never once did I furrow my brow in an attempt to remember a character. As anyone knows who reads a lot of mystery series, this can be a rather rare occurrence. For me to have such excellent recall after a long period of time means one thing: Vicki Delany is an excellent writer who knows how to create memorable characters and settings. (Actually it means two things, the second being that I shouldn't allow so much time to elapse between books in such a good series!)

I like the fact that John Winters has a good feeling about Molly and takes the time to work with her and to be a mentor. His experience is going to help her make the right choices in the future. Another (very) refreshing fact about Winters is that he can work with Molly and not lust after her which often seems to be obligatory on both page and screen. Actually, he's even more remarkable because he's happily married to a beautiful woman who's been at the very top of the modeling profession. John and Eliza have been able to have such disparate careers and a very close and loving relationship for years.

Molly is still learning as a police officer, and still grieving for her dead fiance. She doesn't have a car, and she still lives with her parents-- two hippies who came to Canada in the 1970s to evade the draft. (However, I think Molly's living arrangements will be changing soon after reading this book!) Her parents built a successful business and raised two children, but their once close relationship is changing. Molly's dad seems to have mellowed a bit over the years while Molly's mother, Lucky, is every bit the protesting firebrand she was as a teenager. One of the many things that will keep me reading this series is the relationship between Molly's parents.

I've talked a lot about the characters in this book, and that's because they're so well drawn that I feel as if I know them all. But a mystery cannot be a good mystery unless it has a plot to match the setting and the characters, and Valley of the Lost does. With the reveal of a few early clues, I thought I had figured out the background of the dead girl. I was nowhere close-- and I like that. The plot line involving the resort and its owners had its own surprises, and I love how it ties in with other aspects of the plot.

If you're a fan of memorable settings, fascinating characters, plots that keep you guessing, and you tell me that you've never read one of Vicki Delany's Molly Smith books, I have only one question for you...

What are you waiting for? Track these books down and start reading them. You're in for a treat!
 

Valley of the Lost by Vicki Delany

ISBN: 9781590586884

Poisoned Pen Press © 2009

Paperback, 291 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Constable Molly Brown mystery

Rating: A

Source: Purchased as an eBook from Barnes and Noble.

In the Shadow of the Glacier by Vicki Delany

Title: In the Shadow of the Glacier
Author: Vicki Delany
ISBN: 9781590585580
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2008
Paperback, 302 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #1 Constable Molly Smith series
Rating: A
Source: Purchased at the Poisoned Pen.

First Line: People were of two minds about Reginald ("Call me Reg") Montgomery.

It's not easy having a name like Moonlight Legolas Smith-- and having a brother named Samwise-- but that's what happens when you're born to two hippies who came to Canada to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War. Moonlight is used to it, and prefers being called Molly, thank you very much. She's a new beat cop in small town Trafalgar, British Columbia, and although her choice of occupation doesn't please her parents, it pleases her. She wants to do her best and work her way up the ladder.

It's not going to be easy, especially since one of the big names in town, Reginald Montgomery, has been found murdered. Reg was in Trafalgar to build a huge resort and take his chunk out of the area's tourism dollar. Half the town applauds the chance at added revenue, the other half hates the whole idea because of the probable impact on the environment.

The case is made more complicated by two things. One, due to a shortage of manpower, Molly is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in the investigation, and Winters makes no secret of the fact that he doesn't want her rookie help. Two, Reg's death has brought into the spotlight the fact that money and land have been left to the town to build a garden to honor draft dodgers-- and Molly's activist mother is at the forefront of those supporting the controversial memorial.

I dove into this book headfirst and almost didn't come up for air. Superficially, Molly doesn't seem to be likely law enforcement material. She's pretty, "too pretty to make an effective officer. Her voice was soft-- it would have a problem carrying authority--and had the unfortunate tendency to crack under stress." What she does have is intelligence and desire.

The teaming of Smith and Winters is perfect. Here we have a veteran cop from a big city who wants nothing to do with a young female rookie cop. It's all too easy for him to see all the negatives. But he just happens to be married to a former super model who's a canny businesswoman. Eliza Winters helps keep her husband from being permanently narrow-minded.

Although the murderer was rather transparent to me, the motivations weren't. Besides, there were so many well-drawn characters and such a well-paced plot that I didn't care. The media converging on the town whips the action into high gear, and the riot scene in particular held me in thrall. The book has so many interesting facets that I'm just scratching the surface in this review.

It's going to be very interesting to follow young Molly's path in the Trafalgar police force, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

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