More Than Sorrow by Vicki Delany

First Line: They tell me it was an IED hidden in a truck full of goats going to market, pulled off to the side of the road with an apparent flat tire.

Until an improvised explosive device ripped into her vehicle, Hannah Manning was an internationally-renowned journalist and war correspondent. Now suffering from TBI (traumatic brain injury), Hannah's staying with her sister and her family on a small vegetable farm in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada.

She's been told that her type of injury can take a long time to heal, but she never dreamed that time would drag so slowly. The tiniest thing can set off a horrendous headache. Once a voracious reader, she can no longer read the printed word. Her brother-in-law doesn't understand the nature of her injury and wishes she would leave-- the sooner the better. The only ways Hannah has found to pass the time is by fixing lunch for everyone, going for walks with Hila, an Afghan refugee staying on a neighboring farm, and going on the occasional horseback ride with her ten-year-old niece Lily.

When Hannah is told that they're living in the original farmhouse her brother-in-law's ancestors built in the 1780s and that there are trunks filled with letters and other documents in the attic, she perks up a bit. Although she can't read the printed word, she can read handwriting... just one of the quirks of TBI. Sleepless most nights, Hannah goes up into the attic to read those letters and becomes interested in the life of Maggie Macgregor, a woman whose life was destroyed by the Revolutionary War. Hannah also begins to have visions of a woman whenever she has to go down into the root cellar. Are these visions a result of TBI... or are they real? (And which would be worse?) Then Hila disappears, and when Hannah cannot account for her time, old enemies begin to circle.

Author Vicki Delany has written an absorbing tale of suspense centered on an old Canadian farmhouse built by people loyal to England who were forced to leave the United States during the Revolutionary War. Maggie Macgregor is a woman in the past who is dependent upon others for her survival. Hannah Manning is an independent woman in the present who is afraid that she will be dependent upon others for the rest of her life. These parallel stories twine about each other and give each character a chance to shine-- and shine they do.

Hannah is a very well-defined, believable character; however, this tale isn't merely a character study. More Than Sorrow has a lot to say about people's reactions to refugees (and how it feels to be one), how long-buried secrets will always find a way to haunt those in the present, and it also sheds light on a little-known chapter in American Revolutionary War history. When I finally closed the cover on this book, I was thoroughly entertained, enlightened, and wishing that I knew what was in store for Hannah Manning in the years to come. Vicki Delany is the author of two excellent mystery series, but if I were you, I wouldn't ignore her standalone novels-- like More Than Sorrow.

More Than Sorrow by Vicki Delany

ISBN: 9781590589878

Poisoned Pen Press © 2012

Paperback, 302 pages

Standalone gothic thriller

Rating: A

Source: Purchased at the Poisoned Pen.

A Door in the River by Inger Ash Wolfe

First Line: Saturday, August 6, 11:21 p.m. She needed to get to the road.

Inspector Hazel Micallef is the type of character I love, and my love affair with her began with the first book, The Calling. In that book, she is the 62-year-old interim police chief of a small town force in the province of Ontario, Canada. She's divorced, not particularly likeable, and is racked with pain. She lives with her octogenarian larger-than-life mother who's an ex-mayor of the town in which they live. Hazel is smart, relies a lot on her intuition, and doesn't know the meaning of the word quit.

In the second book, The Taken, she finds herself forced to live in the basement of her ex-husband's house after back surgery-- and forced to rely upon not only her ex-husband, but his current wife, for almost everything she needs. For someone as independent and obstinate as Hazel, this is an almost unbearable situation-- but she learns from it. (She may be stubborn, but she's not stupid.)

In this third book, Hazel's story continues. One of the most popular and well-known men in the community has been found dead in the parking lot of a smoke shop on a nearby reservation. The autopsy shows that the man died of anaphylactic shock after being stung by a wasp. Hazel does not believe the findings. She knows the man, and after talking with others who were even closer to him, too many things just don't add up.

Then in short order, the dead man's wife is attacked, and another man is killed. Both crimes have a common denominator: a lone woman who seems to be desperately searching for something. Who is she? What is she looking for? Is she also responsible for the first man's death? Is Hazel going to be able to solve these crimes before someone else dies?

It's a good thing that Hazel is a strong woman because there's a lot more on her plate than a few violent crimes. She's just been informed that there are changes afoot in the police department, one of them being that she has a new boss-- a man whom she used to supervise just a short while ago. But even more worrying than the crimes and the new boss is the fact that Hazel's 88-year-old mother, who's always been so vibrant and full of vinegar, seems to be giving up. As a daughter who loves her mother dearly, this is the hardest thing for her to face. Give Hazel a bad guy any day over seeing her mother lying in bed with her face to the wall.

One of the things I love most about this series is the author's skill in changing my perspective. At the beginning, the killer is a person to be feared and reviled, but as the story unfolds, we find we need to change our point of view. This is about much more than a woman on the rampage, and as Hazel puts the clues together, she understands this and knows that she will not rest until everyone responsible is brought to justice.

Larysa is one of the best "villains" I've read in years. As more and more is learned about this woman, my perspective continually shifted from fear and abhorrence to understanding to great unease. She is a character to remember.

As is Hazel. In her many years of policing, she's excellent at her job, although her people skills are sadly lacking. If she cares about someone and that person is in danger, she will literally move heaven and earth to save them, regardless of the cost to herself.

I've just learned that there are three more books planned in this series, and I couldn't be happier. With superbly plotted stories and a strong-willed quirky main character, this is one series that I want to hang onto for dear life. Is this one of the formulas for books that you love? Then I highly recommend that you get your hands on all three of these books. Is it necessary to read them all in order for them to make sense? Not all all. But when a character like Hazel is involved, you don't want to miss a word of her story!

A Door in the River by Inger Ash Wolfe

ISBN: 9781605984209

Pegasus Books © 2012

Hardcover, 288 pages

Genre: Police Procedural, #3 Inspector Hazel Micallef mystery

Rating: A+

Source: NetGalley

The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe

Title: The Taken
Author: Inger Ash Wolfe
ISBN: 9780151013531
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010
Hardcover, 432 pages
Genre: Police Procedural, #2 Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef mystery
Rating: A+
Source: Amazon Vine

First Line: Glynnis Pedersen's house was full of clocks.

Sixty-something Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef is not having the best of years. She's had major back surgery, and there was no alternative but she move into her ex-husband's basement and have his new wife take care of her. Just as she's beginning to think about getting back to work in order to salvage some of her sanity, her mother flushes her stash of painkillers down the toilet. It's almost a blessing when Hazel's informed that the body of a woman has been found in a local lake. What makes the discovery strange is that the local paper has just published the first installment of a story in which the details are eerily similar. In no time at all, Hazel finds herself caught up in a game concocted by someone who knows how to convince her to re-open a cold case... someone who knows that, once she gets started, Hazel will not stop until she has the answers.

I was thrilled with the first book in this series, The Calling. I enjoyed the setting and the swiftly moving plot, but most of all, I loved the character of Hazel. Her dedication, her ability to think outside the box, her compassion, her prickliness, and her sense of humor. I was hoping that I'd enjoy this next book in the series just as much, and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

The game Hazel finds herself in the midst of is deviously plotted, and although the identity of the criminal is revealed about halfway through the book, this has the effect of heightening the tension, not lessening it. To top it all off, I found that I liked Hazel even more in this second book because Wolfe takes the time to add more facets to her character. I know that Hazel is getting close to retirement age, but I certainly do hope that she'll be appearing in a few more books before she hangs up her badge.

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