July 2007

Lou Allin, Memories Are Murder: A Belle Palmer Mystery

When Belle's high-school heartthrob comes to the Nickel Capital area to do elk research, he is found later drowned in a remote lake. It seems to be a tragic accident until soon after, an attempt is made on his partner's life and key notebooks from his research disappear. Where is the dead albino elk calf and what happened to those missing water samples? When Belle returns to the scene to put the pieces together, she finds herself paddling for her life with a very pregnant woman in tow.

Trade paperback
RendezVous Crime (Napoleon & Company)
ISBN: 978-1-894917-33-9
September 2007
$15.95

Rosemary Aubert, The Judge of Orphans

Throughout the ages, small children have scratched out a living working at difficult and dangerous jobs. Mary Rose Cabrini, announcing her promotion to Judge of Orphans, captures the attention of a mysterious child who begs her for help in pursuing the truth about his family history. The boy’s tale stretches back to gas-lit New York where every street child had to fend for himself against starvation, filth, nosy do-gooders, other street children, cops, truant officers…. Mary Rose discovers that the boy’s ancestors did manage to pass down a secret legacy. Has the time come for the boy to claim it? Or is he leading Mary Rose into a trap of deceit, disgrace, and ultimately…death?

Trade paperback
iUniverse
ISBN: 978-0-595-45412-9
September 2007
$18.95 (US$15.95)

Linwood Barclay, No Time for Goodbye

Fourteen-year-old Cynthia Bigge awoke one morning to find herself alone, her entire family vanished. No note, no trace of them. Now, 25 years later, she may learn the truth. But sometimes it's better not to know.
Says Tess Gerritsen: "No Time for Goodbye is one of the best thrillers of the year! Utterly riveting, it will grab you on page one and won't let you go until the final, stunning conclusion."

Anne Barton, Till Hell Freezes Over: A Dr. Erica Merrill Mystery

One set of tracks leads to and from the snow-bound cabin of Eugene Pettijohn, dead of a gunshot wound. The tracks were made by Herb Schultz, the unpopular deadbeat neighbour who discovered the body. Shultz is arrested, but Dr. Erica Merrill, a young veterinarian trying to establish a practice in her hometown, doesn't think he’s guilty. But Erica’s boyfriend, deputy sheriff Clay Caldwell, is sceptical; her powerful father, interfering; and citizens of the small northern Idaho town, antagonistic. Her fledgling veterinary practice is threatened, and her relationship with Clay is strained. She decides to solve the mystery herself and sets out to prove her point and win acceptance as a person in her own right.

Jean Rae Baxter, The Way Lies North (YA)

In this young adult novel set during the American Revolution, 15-year-old Loyalist Charlotte Hooper finds the body of her soldier brother. He did not die in battle. This was murder, and Charlotte suspects that one of her family’s neighbours killed him. But who? When Charlotte and her family flee from their home and begin the long trek through the wilderness to the safety in a British fort, the killer’s path crosses hers. The story of Charlotte’s journey north and her return to the Mohawk Valley is a tale of murder and revenge, of paradise lost and a new world gained.

Gail Bowen, The Endless Knot: A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery (#10)

When journalist Kathryn Morrissey's sensational book on the lives of 13 adult children of prominent Canadians is published, one of the parents, Sam Parker, is furious enough to take a pot shot at the author. Charges are laid, and Joanne's new beau, Zack Shreve, is hired by Parker as his defence counsel. At the trial, Shreve focuses the jury's attention, not on who shot whom but on why – on the ethics governing the relationship between a journalist and her subject. On the day of the verdict, however, Morrissey is brutally murdered, and Joanne's investigation quickly has her trying to unravel the endless knot of the relationship between parent and child.

Emma Cole, Every Secret Thing

When an elderly man offers to tell her about an old murder, journalist Kate Murray is too busy to listen...until he mentions her grandmother. But she never hears the rest of Andrew Deacon's tale. His sudden death draws her into an investigation, uncovering secrets about the grandmother she thought she knew – and a man she never did. Only a few people are still alive who know the story, and Kate soon realizes her questions are putting them in danger. Stalked by an unknown and sinister enemy, Kate must find the answers from the past in order to have a future.

Daniel Edward Craig, Murder at the Universe: A Five-Star Mystery

When Brenda Rathberger, no-nonsense organizer of the Victims of Impaired Drivers conference, checks in to the Universe Hotel New York, manager Trevor Lambert is confident she’ll be seduced by her lavish surroundings. Instead, they stumble upon the body of the hotel’s owner in the underground parkade. Police suggest that alcohol was involved and that a hotel executive may be responsible. Brenda uses the controversy to grandstand her cause, joining forces with a celebrated TV anchorwoman. In the resulting clash between pampered guests, harried employees, and militant protesters, Trevor struggles to find the killer and preserve the dignity of the Universe.

Trade paperback
Midnight Ink Books (Llewellyn)
ISBN: 978-0-7887-1118-8
September 2007
US$14.95

(Denise Dietz, writing as) Mary Ellen Dennis, The Landlord’s Black-Eyed Daughter

“Elizabeth Wyndham is ‘more likely to be attacked by an army of frogs’ than find a husband. Fortunately, she is the star author of Minerva Press, a dubious occupation for a lady in 1787, but it pays her bills…. Unfortunately, Elizabeth doesn't want to finish her latest book because she'll have to finish off her hero, too, a man who has dominated her dreams. Rand Remington returns from the war in the colonies wounded in body and soul…and [takes] revenge [on] the upper class by relieving them of their worldly goods and spreading the wealth among the poor…. [But when] Rand reads a gothic novel by B. B. Wyndham that he's stolen from his latest victim…, the plot and characters evoke an overwhelming sense of déjà vu, and he's driven to meet the author. Star-crossed lovers in a former life, Elizabeth and her highwayman face insurmountable odds. Dennis' wonderful retelling of Alfred Noyes' The Highwayman is, quite simply, remarkable.” – Booklist starred review

Vicki Delany, In the Shadow of the Glacier: A Constable Molly Smith Mystery

Rookie Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters search for a killer while a controversial draft dodger commemoration threatens the peace of the bucolic mountain town of Trafalgar, BC. The first in a traditional mystery series featuring Constable Smith, Sergeant Winters, and the town in the shadow of the glacier: Trafalgar, British Columbia.

“An exciting series debut, featuring complex characters with plenty of room to grow” – Kirkus Reviews

“One of Canada’s most promising new practitioners of the crime genre.” – Dick Adler, Chicago Tribune

Barbara Fradkin, Dream Chasers: An Inspector Green Mystery

In the sixth in this two-time award-winning series, 17-year-old Lea Kovacev sets out one summer evening for a secret rendezvous by the cliffs of Ottawa’s Hog’s Back Falls. Three days later, her nude body washes up in the shallows downstream. When the autopsy reveals she was dead before she hit the water, Inspector Green delves into the manipulative world of elite young athletes, drugs, and teenage sexuality that soon threatens other lives. Who is the secret lover, and how far will others go to shield him? How many others, including Green’s daughter, will pay the ultimate price for a young man’s dream?

Mel Malton, The Pioneer Poltergeist: An Alan Nearing Mystery (YA)

Three young friends are spending the tail-end of the summer working as costumed helpers at Laingford Pioneer Village Park. When things get weird, the Alan Nearing detective agency starts investigating. Though the police are also called in and try to take over the investigation, Alan decides to follow the clues on his own: a stolen pie, a mysterious face in an attic window, a few missing items, and some cryptic messages. Is the poltergeist just a prankster or are there sinister forces at work? At the same time, Alan has a more personal mystery to deal with. There's a chance that his father, who disappeared 9 years ago, might still be alive. For ages 9+.

Mary Jane Maffini, Too Hot to Handle: A Fiona Silk Mystery

Oh dear! Maybe Fiona Silk isn't the right person to compile an erotic cookbook. She has no sex life, although she's hoping her lover will get his memory back after being shot. And she's not much of a writer and her oven's on the fritz. Never mind, she's about to lose her house for overdue taxes, so she'll try her best. What a shame so many things catch fire. As the bodies pile up, West Quebec's most reluctant sleuth must get the smoke out of her eyes before her life goes up in flames. Recipes included, but do be careful.

Curtis Parkinson, Death in Kingsport (YA)

For 15-year-old Neil, life in 1941 in Kingsport is simple and routine until his favourite uncle, Chester, dies suddenly and Neil is engulfed in an aching loneliness. At his uncle's cremation, Neil has a strange sense of foreboding as he inadvertently hears a thumping sound inside the coffin. Could Uncle Chester be alive?
From strange happenings in the Amazon jungle, to a near-death experience, to getting lost on the ice when a storm erupts, Death In Kingsport is a murder mystery set in a town where nothing is as it seems.

Twist Phelan, Spurred Ambition: A Pinnacle Peak Mystery

“Fans of extreme sports will admire Phelan's protagonist, lawyer and athlete Hannah Dain, but even those more at home on the couch will still enjoy the brainy heroine. Set in fictional Pinnacle Peak, Arizona, Phelan's series highlights a different sport each time; this third entry features rock climbing…. The sports angle makes an intriguing frame, but it's not really necessary to the success of this series, which boasts a nice mix of desert atmosphere and appealing characters.” – Booklist

Twist Phelan, False Fortune: A Pinnacle Peak Mystery
“In False Fortune, retired trial lawyer Phelan’s lively fourth Pinnacle Peak mystery, attorney Hannah Dain, barely recovered from the adventures of 2006’s Spurred Ambition, takes on a case that leads her into abandoned mines and deep waters in the Arizona desert…. Vivid descriptions of the desert provide a dramatic backdrop to the increasingly dangerous investigation as Hannah inches closer to the truth. Phelan has created a swiftly moving tale of corporate corruption and tangled, touching family relationships.” – Publishers Weekly

Jan Rehner, On Pain of Death

"My name is Juliette Benoit. In a few days, weeks, or months, I may be dead." So begins the story of a Canadian student trapped in Paris during the German Occupation. Only one step ahead of the Gestapo, Juliette joins an escape network and undertakes a dangerous flight across France. Meanwhile, in the village of St-Leger, Gabrielle Aubin vows to uncover a murderer. Her task seems hopeless, yet Juliette and Gabrielle share a common link in their past – a secret that leads to a shocking revelation.

Peter Robinson, Friend of the Devil: An Inspector Banks Novel

When Karen Drew is discovered in her wheelchair one chilly March day, staring out to sea with her throat cut, DI Annie Cabbot, on loan to Eastern Area, gets lumbered with the case. Back in Eastvale, a 19-year-old girl is found raped and strangled after a night on the town, and DCI Alan Banks is called in. On the face of it, the two deaths have nothing in common. But as Annie peels back the layers of deception surrounding her investigation, she finds something disturbingly familiar in the case, a trail which leads inevitably back to Eastvale and the tangled darkness of a cobbled alley.
“The Alan Banks mystery-suspense novels are…the best series now on the market. In fact, this may be the best series of British novels since the novels of Patrick O’Brian. Try one and tell me I’m wrong.” – Stephen King

Sharon Rowse, The Silk Train Murder

At the turn of the last century, steam liners carried a fortune in silk from the Orient to Vancouver. The costly material, insured by the day, was rushed to New York in special silk trains, which became the target of every crook across the continent.
Having failed to strike it rich in the Klondike, John Granville takes a job guarding the silk trains, along with his friend Sam Scott. When they come across the body of a gangster on the wharf one snowy morning, Scott is arrested for murder. Granville is determined to clear his friend and must sort out silk trains, smuggling rings, opium dealers, houses of ill repute, power struggles, blackmail, and betrayal in time to trap a killer and save his friend.

Caro Soles (editor), Blood on the Holly: An Anthology of Christmas Mysteries

Blood on the Holly is an anthology of Christmas crime featuring short fiction by Crime Writers of Canada members and friends. Murder is served up with a dash of maple syrup as this anthology offers a twisted take on the festive season with 24 stories, ranging from the hilarious to the serious, by award-winning authors, favourite series writers, and first timers. Among those represented are Edward Hoch, Peter Robinson, James Powell, Maureen Jennings, Sylvia Warsh, Dennis Richard Murphy, Linwood Barclay, James Powell, Lyn Hamilton, Mary Jane Maffini, and Peter Sellers. The perfect gift for Christmas!

Michelle Wan, The Orchid Shroud: A Novel of Death in the Dordogne

Interior decorator Mara Dunn discovers the mummified corpse of a murdered infant in the manor house of wealthy Christophe de Bonfond. The body, concealed for over a century, brings to light critical information on an elusive Lady's Slipper Orchid that orchidologist Julian Wood avidly seeks. It also unleashes terrifying suspicions about who the de Bonfonds really were. When violent death strikes in the present day, Mara and Julian's investigation leads them to uncover a past filled with hatred, greed, and dark superstitions. The Orchid Shroud is the second in the Death in the Dordogne series.

Eric Wright, Finding Home

Will Prentice, who immigrated to Canada from England 30 years ago, realizes that sometimes you have to leave home to find it. The week after his wife asks him for a divorce, Will returns to England to attend his mother’s funeral. Embarking on a driving tour of the English countryside, in part on a quest to unravel a secret from his mother’s past, in part trying to see how much of England he remembers and where he belongs, he begins to re-examine his life back home in Canada. Eric Wright’s portrait of two countries, Britain and Canada, supposedly similar but literally an ocean apart, asserts Canada’s uniqueness and reminds us that home is not only geography and landscape, but also a state of mind.

If you missed any back issues of Cool Canadian Crime, you can find them at:
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_dec05.htm (Oct to Dec 2005)
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_jan06.htm (Jan to March 2006)
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_apr06.htm (April to June 2006)
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_july06.htm (July to Sept 2006)
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_oct06.htm (Oct to Dec 2006)
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_jan07.htm (Jan to March 2007)
http://crimewriterscanada.com/cwc/pages/coolcanadiancrime_apr07.htm (April to June 2007)

The books listed in Cool Canadian Crime can usually be found at -- or ordered online from -- our Crime Writers of Canada member bookstores:

· Almark & Co. Booksellers (Toronto, ON)
Phone: (905) 764-2665
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

· As the Plot Thickens (Kingston, ON)
www.astheplotthickens.com
Phone: (613) 548-4664
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

· Chronicles of Crime (Victoria, BC)
www.abebooks.com/home/chroniclesofcrime Phone: (250) 721-2665
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

· Prime Crime Books (Ottawa, ON)
www.primecrimebooks.com
Phone: (613) 238-CLUE
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

· Sleuth of Baker Street (Toronto, ON)
www.sleuthofbakerstreet.com
Phone: (416) 483-3111
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

· Well Read Books (Calgary, AB)
www.wellreadbooks.ca
Phone: (403) 541-0050
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

· Whodunit? Mystery Bookstore (Winnipeg, MB)
www.whodunitcanada.com
Phone: (204) 284-9100
Toll-free: 1 800 468-4216
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it