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386th out of 487 books
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1,048 voters
A Door in the River (Hazel Micallef Mystery #3)
When Henry Weist, Port Dundas, Ontario's likeable hardware store owner is found dead in the parking lot of a cigarette shop on a local First Nation reserve, apparently of a bee sting, and with more deaths to follow, Hazel Micallef finds herself involved in one of the most sensational and shocking cases of her career. And one that literally goes underground to get to the bo...more
Paperback, 400 pages
Published
July 31st 2012
by McClelland & Stewart
(first published September 6th 2011)
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Not as good as the previous two, I am sad to report.
First, I was put off by the stereotypes of the Native police officers. In fact, all the Native people in the book come off as toadying, stupid or evil. That was disappointing. I'd like to have found that the caring characterization that has been lavished on the development of the white characters would have been carried over to the minority characters.
Second, much of the information about bees and anaphalaxis was just wrong. The author used "b...more
First, I was put off by the stereotypes of the Native police officers. In fact, all the Native people in the book come off as toadying, stupid or evil. That was disappointing. I'd like to have found that the caring characterization that has been lavished on the development of the white characters would have been carried over to the minority characters.
Second, much of the information about bees and anaphalaxis was just wrong. The author used "b...more
A Door in the River: A Hazel Metcallef Mystery by Inger Ash Wolfe was an e-book from Net Galley. I read The Calling by Wolfe (actually, the pseudonym of Michael Redhill) a few years ago and had mixed feelings. I thought the characters were well done, liked having a protagonist in her 60's, and loved the satirical wit of Hazel's mother, but didn't really care for some of the more gruesome and the over-the-top aspects.
Found the dialogue improved in this one; much easier to determine who was speaki...more
Found the dialogue improved in this one; much easier to determine who was speaki...more
The back story on who this author really is was interesting, but what is really interesting is getting to read another excellent Canadian series! Once you begin you cannot put down or ignore Hazel and her unique investigative ways.
I'm enjoying Hazel for the unique and different protagonist she is - you'll be hooked by her in no time. Following The Taken, the last book in this series, she is currently living with her eighty eight year old mother, who is also a great character in her own right. Ha...more
I'm enjoying Hazel for the unique and different protagonist she is - you'll be hooked by her in no time. Following The Taken, the last book in this series, she is currently living with her eighty eight year old mother, who is also a great character in her own right. Ha...more
Reason for Reading: Next in the series.
I wasn't quite as blown away with this third entry into the Hazel Micallef mystery series as I was with the first two but I still thoroughly enjoyed this well-paced exciting thriller with a unique plot. The author manages to tell a story set upon a First Nations reserve with a few First Nations characters, even involving some issues of contention such as the sale of cheap cigarettes on reserves, without ever turning the story into one about race or race rel...more
I wasn't quite as blown away with this third entry into the Hazel Micallef mystery series as I was with the first two but I still thoroughly enjoyed this well-paced exciting thriller with a unique plot. The author manages to tell a story set upon a First Nations reserve with a few First Nations characters, even involving some issues of contention such as the sale of cheap cigarettes on reserves, without ever turning the story into one about race or race rel...more
Oh, it has been waaaay too long since the last book by Inger Ash Wolfe in this absolutely wonderful Canadian series! My copy of A Door in the River arrived - I set it aside and picked the day I would read it. Yes, the one day, because I absolutely knew I wouldn't be able to put it down. (And I was right!)
A Door in the River again returns us to Port Dundas, Ontario and Inspector Hazel Micallef. Hazel is a wonderfully different protagonist - one I cannot get enough of. She is sixtyish, lives with...more
A Door in the River again returns us to Port Dundas, Ontario and Inspector Hazel Micallef. Hazel is a wonderfully different protagonist - one I cannot get enough of. She is sixtyish, lives with...more
Hazel Micallef has recovered from her back problem and her issues with pain pills, and she and her mother are back at home. The body of a man, a friend and neighbor, is discovered behind a smoke shop and casino on the First Nations Reserve - an apparent anaphylactic shock. The autopsy is rushed, and done on the Reserve rather than being sent to the coroner's office. Hazel is not content with the results and keeps probing, discovering a brutal secret club that will kill to protect itself.
I really...more
I really...more
Mystery and police procedural readers should pick up a book by Inger Ash Wolfe (a pseudonym for Michael Redhill - who??) But that's beside the point. Inger/Michael writes a mean police procedural with a distinctive protaganist for this genre. Hazel Micallef is a small town Ontario police chief in her 60s. Hazel doesn't care to be politically astute and she doesn't waste a lot of time on niceties, but she gets the job done. In this entry in the series, a popular local man is murdered on the nearb...more
This is the third book in the series featuring OPS officer Hazel Micallef. Here, Hazel is back living with her mother after recovering from back surgery. She is worried about her mother's health, but also her own future. There are plans for the local OPS office in Port Dundas to become a regional centre, with Ray Greene in charge, an officer who had previously worked under Hazel. Hazel is an angry woman, and not a diplomatic one. She tends to be aggressive in her encounters with others, and I fo...more
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 sm...more
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 sm...more
I have read all the Hazel Micallef books but this one is the best. It is fast-paced and suspenseful, and you don't always know where the story-line is going. If you have not read any of the books by Inger Ash Wolfe, and want to start with this one, go ahead. This can be a stand-alone book as well as part of the series.
Premise: A friend of Hazel Micallef, Detective Inspector in Westmuir County, Canada, is found dead in the parking lot of a smoke and souvenir shop on the reserve near the casino. H...more
Premise: A friend of Hazel Micallef, Detective Inspector in Westmuir County, Canada, is found dead in the parking lot of a smoke and souvenir shop on the reserve near the casino. H...more
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What disappointed me most is when I found out that the anonymous author behind this terrific Canadian murder-mystery series was a man. I just was amazed by that as the lead character in this series, Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef, is written with such a keen feminine sensibility it seemed impossible for a male writer to gain such insight.
That being said, A DOOR IN THE RIVER, is the third entry in this series. Even though Hazel Micallef is a 'mature' woman and policing out of a quiet Canadian...more
That being said, A DOOR IN THE RIVER, is the third entry in this series. Even though Hazel Micallef is a 'mature' woman and policing out of a quiet Canadian...more
I quite enjoy this series of books featuring Hazel Micallef, a detective in a smallish regional police department in Canada. Hazel is an interesting character, a very strong-willed woman with her own way of doing things that doesn't always jive with her superiors' wishes. While I like the writing style and the interesting mysteries which suck you right into the story, I almost always have some issues with plausibility of the story and this one was no exception. I can't say more without giving th...more
Port Dundas, Ontario seems an unlikely place to encounter murder and mayhem, but that is exactly what lands on Inspector Hazel Micallef’s door. When upstanding and beloved citizen, Henry Wiest is found dead of an apparent bee sting something just does not sit right with Hazel. He died in the parking lot of a cigarette store on a First Nation reserve … but Henry didn’t smoke? First Nation police are not impressed with Hazel investigating a case that happened on their land, but Hazel cannot let go...more
I enjoyed the previous Hazel Micallef mysteries by Inger Ash Wolfe, as I thought they were both entertaining and very quick reads. I was really surprised then by A Door in the River. This book took a decidedly darker turn from Wolfe's other two novels. Saying any more about the plot would give too much away.
But I will end this quick review by making two general comments. First, I am convinced that Inger Ash Wolfe is a male author. His DI Hazel Micallef talks and acts the way a man would imagine...more
But I will end this quick review by making two general comments. First, I am convinced that Inger Ash Wolfe is a male author. His DI Hazel Micallef talks and acts the way a man would imagine...more
A handyman and hardware store owner from Kehoe Glenn is killed on the local First Nations reserve. What at first doesn't seem suspicious ends up as a murder investigation. A mysterious young woman is sought in the murder. Wolfe incorporates the perspective of both the victim/murderer and police detectives in what is a compelling and fast paced look at an illegal casino and human trafficking operation.
I am glad to have discovered this new author and read the first two books in the series. A mix...more
I am glad to have discovered this new author and read the first two books in the series. A mix...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this latest installment in the Hazel Micallef series by Inger Ash Wolfe. Hazel was again an excellent protaganist that had me rooting for her. I enjoyed the glimpses into her family and the people she works with. The plot of this one was gripping and kept me guessing. I'll be looking forward to the next book about Hazel.
Hazel Micallef has just returned to work after recuperating from back surgery. A strange murder occurs in Port Dundas, and she has her work cut out trying to...more
Hazel Micallef has just returned to work after recuperating from back surgery. A strange murder occurs in Port Dundas, and she has her work cut out trying to...more
This is the third book in a series that follows Inspector Hazel Micallef in Port Dundas, Ontario. I had not read the first two in the series, but was not in the least lost; rather, I determined I'd have to download the first two in the series immediately.
A DOOR IN THE RIVER begins with a mysterious death: A local man is found dead outside a native cigarette shop on reservation land. It is determined that he died of a bee sting - but he certainly died at night, and bees are not nocturnal. This in...more
A DOOR IN THE RIVER begins with a mysterious death: A local man is found dead outside a native cigarette shop on reservation land. It is determined that he died of a bee sting - but he certainly died at night, and bees are not nocturnal. This in...more
From thepickygirl.com:
*I received this from the publisher Pegasus in exchange for an honest review.
DI Hazel Micallef doesn’t believe a bee killed Henry Wiest. The man is a fixture in Kehoe Glenn, and something is off. Found outside a cigarette shop on the First Nations Reserve, Henry’s death is written off as accidental, and the reservation police don’t dig much further than that. Hazel isn’t satisfied. Henry didn’t smoke, and why was he on the reservation in the first place? The more questions...more
*I received this from the publisher Pegasus in exchange for an honest review.
DI Hazel Micallef doesn’t believe a bee killed Henry Wiest. The man is a fixture in Kehoe Glenn, and something is off. Found outside a cigarette shop on the First Nations Reserve, Henry’s death is written off as accidental, and the reservation police don’t dig much further than that. Hazel isn’t satisfied. Henry didn’t smoke, and why was he on the reservation in the first place? The more questions...more
Read my full review: http://bit.ly/WyCU54
My rating: 3.5 Stars
My opinion: I must admit that I had a harder time with this book than I have had with any of the other books in the series.
First, it took me much longer to get into this book than any of the others. Midway, the book simply took off, but by that time it was too late. The author had lost me. Once I am lost in a book, it is very hard to get my interest back. He had an excellent twist to end the book with and I found myself simply shruggi...more
My rating: 3.5 Stars
My opinion: I must admit that I had a harder time with this book than I have had with any of the other books in the series.
First, it took me much longer to get into this book than any of the others. Midway, the book simply took off, but by that time it was too late. The author had lost me. Once I am lost in a book, it is very hard to get my interest back. He had an excellent twist to end the book with and I found myself simply shruggi...more
I tear through these, only stopping when it's late at night and I can't take the suspense any longer. Wolfe reveals layers as the characters experience them, as many authors do, but with a level of artistry surpassing most. Of course I care about the issues addressed, particularly the central issue to this novel, but I cared a lot more when it was humanized, even in a fictional format.
The characters are so flawed-and-lovable. I want to know what will happen next! Now!
The characters are so flawed-and-lovable. I want to know what will happen next! Now!
VERY Creepy at points. This is a series I have enjoyed, with an iconoclastic heroine who does things her own way and frequently runs against authority. The plot here deals with some really horrible people doing very bad things to some young women. The action follows both the police who are tracking the bad guys - or who they THINK are the bad guys, as well as one of the young women who has escaped. There is no real happy ending here. Reminds me a bit of "The Girl who played with Fire" in the fee...more
This is a police murder/ mystery novel. I am not sure I like the main character. It is the third book in a series so perhaps i should start at the beginning to get to know her. Nevertheless, the plot is unusual, and it kept me on my toes. The theme of Eastern European women trapped into prostitution by well organized gangs is not new but the results and conclusion is unusual. Suffice it to say that one of these girls becomes both a villain and a heroine in this novel. The ending is s shocker. I...more
i picked this up from the library in the 'new arrivals' section. i am glad i did. though this appears to be the third book in the 'series', it appears to simply be individual stand alone stories with the same main detective.
i found the book quick and engaging, and not too easy to figure out ahead. a neat twist and a dark, seedy undertone. definitely crossing the line of breaking the law in the name of justice. i would likely read more by the author.
i found the book quick and engaging, and not too easy to figure out ahead. a neat twist and a dark, seedy undertone. definitely crossing the line of breaking the law in the name of justice. i would likely read more by the author.
report and it says that he was stung by a wasp and must have been allergic to it. But Hazel wants to know what he was doing on the Reserve late at night, and since when do wasps sting at night? She distrusts the report, and she has another autopsy done. More things turn up and she finds more things not related in the report. The man’s wife is also attacked, and it appears that these attacks are being done by a girl. Then a couple more murders occur. They all seem to involve the girl and she does...more
Though this book uses a recently popular plot theme, that of using young Russian women as prostitutes, the author puts some intriguing spins on this. It is the third in the Hazel Micallef series and she is not on drugs or in pain which gives her a slightly different personality. Her creator has left the door open for her return to this state by the end of the book. I hope she doesn't succumb. She is much better this way.
This is the third book in a series about Detective Hazel Micallef, and I did feel a little bit like I wanted to read the first two. There is definitely some back story there.
A local handyman, friends with most of the small town, is found dead. Questions about his murder lead to a horrifying crime. The story is fast paced and several of the characters' are compelling.
A local handyman, friends with most of the small town, is found dead. Questions about his murder lead to a horrifying crime. The story is fast paced and several of the characters' are compelling.
I was really looking forward to this book. I enjoyed the two that came before in the series. Unfortunately, I didn't like this one as much. From the very beginning, I was put off by the portrayal of the First Nations reservations and police force. We only really meet two native police officers on the reservation, both are female, neither is a full character, which is usually Wolfe's (yes, I know it's a pseudonym) strength.
Maybe I was in the wrong mood for this book, but I found myself having tro...more
Maybe I was in the wrong mood for this book, but I found myself having tro...more
This is the third Hazel book and I understand there are to be 3 more. A different type of mystery than the Louise Penny books which also take place in Canada. As always I loved the interactions between Hazel and her almost 88 yr old mother who was once the mayor of their town.
I do not know what compelled me to read this book when my thoughts about the first two in the series were luke warm. The book started on reasonably well - a well-liked citizen dies of what is supposedly a wasp sting. Hazel doesn't believe it, so she has the death investigated further and it turns out that it was murder. As the investigation goes on, gambling and sex slaves come into play. I thought the story was ok; my problems came with the end of the book - I thought the solution was convolute...more
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Inger Ash Wolfe is the pseudonym of the Canadian fiction writer Michael Redhill.
Michael Redhill is a poet, playwright and novelist whom has written two novels, a collection of short fiction, three plays, and five collections of poetry. His play, Building Jerusalem (2001) garnered him the Dora Award, the Chalmers Award, and a nomination for the Governor General’s award. His first novel, Martin Slo...more
More about Inger Ash Wolfe...
Michael Redhill is a poet, playwright and novelist whom has written two novels, a collection of short fiction, three plays, and five collections of poetry. His play, Building Jerusalem (2001) garnered him the Dora Award, the Chalmers Award, and a nomination for the Governor General’s award. His first novel, Martin Slo...more
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