Winter of Secrets

Constable Molly Smith #3

by Vicki Delany

2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada "Delaney glides between scenes with ease. She uses a bare-bones style, without literary flash, to achieve artistry as sturdy and restrained as a Shaker chair."― Publishers Weekly , STARRED review Siblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends have come to the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. to enjoy a two-week vacation of skiing, drinking, drugs, and sex. But tragedy strikes when two of the group crash through the ice into the frozen river. It's Christmas Eve and the snowstorm of the decade has settled over the town. Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are busy attending to fender-benders, tumbling pedestrians, and Christmas tree fires. Then, at the stroke of midnight, they are summoned to the scene of an a car has gone off the snowy road into the river. Police, coroner, and medics all agree it was an accident. But when the autopsy reveals a shocking secret, Molly and Sergeant John Winters are plunged into a world of sexual predators, recreational drugs, privilege, and high-living. Meanwhile, stalker Charlie Bassing is out of jail and looking for revenge, a handsome Mountie is giving Molly the eye, and her mother, Lucky, is cheerfully interfering in the investigation. And all Molly wants to do is ski the powder....

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Canada, Fiction, Crime, Christmas, Mystery Thriller

416 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2009

About the author

“It’s a crime not to read Delany,” so says the London Free Press.

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most varied and prolific crime writers.

She is the author of four cozy mystery series: The Tea by the Sea series from Kensington Books, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane and the Year Round Christmas series from Penguin. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she writes the Lighthouse Library Series.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com , www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor, and twitter: @vickidelany

Vicki is part of Mystery Lovers Kitchen (http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com) and Killer Characters (http://www.killercharacters.com)

Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com

Reviews

[Mike Finn · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

'Winter Of Secrets was a pleasant surprise. I picked it up because it's a murder mystery set in a mountain village in British Columbia during a Christmas Eve snowstorm. I knew it was the third book in a series, but I wanted a Christmas-themed book, so I dove straight in. 

It turned out to be an engaging police procedural with a strong portrayal of a small Canadian mountain town in winter. I’d expected a cosy mystery, similar to Vicki Delaney's  Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mysteries, but this was quite different. It was much more firmly grounded in reality. It was a sensible police investigation rather than a fanciful story about an amateur sleuth. 

The mystery around the deaths at the heart of the story was a good one, but what I liked most about it was that the people involved felt real.. I got a strong sense of the young police officer being part of the community that she’s policing. She grew up there, and she knows everyone.  She was christened Moonshine by her hippie parents (her poor brother got landed with Samwise), but now calls herself Molly because Moonshine isn't a serious enough name for a police officer. That the older residents and some of the people she went to school with still call her Moonhine or Moon isn't something she can control. 

Although this was the third book in the Constable Molly Smith series, I had no difficulty following the plot. There's clearly a core group of characters who appear in each novel, and much of the focus was on the events in their lives. I liked that the group wasn't limited to the police force and that it covered people of all ages. It evoked the sense of layered relationships that you get in small towns when some of the older adults have known the younger adults since they were children. I also liked that the detective in the story is from the big bad city, and so has to have some of the history and the more complicated relationships explained to him. 

Part of the action takes place on the local ski slopes. It was interesting to see the mountain and the tourists through Molly's eyes. She's a local who knows the mountains well, and she's an expert skier who relishes the black runs and who knows the people who make all the tourist services work.

I think this series may become a comfort read for me. There are eight books in the series. I've decided to go forward rather than back.

I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Carrington MacDuffie. I enjoyed listening to her. She's American but, as far as I can tell, she manages a reasonable range of Canadian accents.

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good mystery overall. The question of why Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth was driving with the corpse of a friend, Ewan Williams before having an accident that plunged his SUV into the frigid river on a snowy night, was terribly engaging. I liked this one better than the first in the series and found that the beginning hooked me and before too long, I couldn't put this one down. 

Constable Molly Smith was better drawn here as were the remainder of the characters who also appeared in the series opener. I felt a good many of what I felt were first book awkwardness were worked out. I found Lucky, Molly's mother a lot more agreeable but her annoyance at her daughter's chosen profession seemed dialled back so that helped. I do still find Winter's home life with the model wife a bit tepid but it wasn't overdone and actually was well woven into the relevance of the story. This story had a few threads of misery and I was surprised and impressed the story didn't shy away from what seemed the inevitable end. That alone garnered an extra star from me.

I will say this one had so many mentions of melt in your mouth shortbread that it stoked a craving in me that's months too early. It's my own fault for reading a book set during Christmas to NYE at the onset of autumn. If you're looking for a cozy-ish procedural, this is a good one. I'd recommend this one over the first book in the series.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now past her probationary period, Constable Molly Smith finds herself spending Christmas eve/Christmas morning with Constable Dave Evans overseeing the removal of a vehicle from the rushing shallow cold waters of the river. A few days later, she finds herself accompanying Sergeant John Winters to the morgue when the autopsy shows one of the drowned men died at least 24 hours before the accident. The two young men were part of a group staying at a local bed and breakfast while enjoying the powdery slopes of the local ski resort. Molly often finds her mom Lucky whose friend owns the bed and breakfast present when she arrives to question suspects. A local sixteen-year-old girl from an unfortunate family thought she would marry one of those men. Meanwhile a man who threatened Molly's friend and whom Molly arrested comes back to town, having been paroled for good behavior. I love this series in the audiobook format, narrated by Carrington MacDuffie. It provides pleasant escapism in the enjoyable setting of Trafalgar, a British Columbia resort community.

[Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish there had a been a character I could actually like, but for some reason, the author dwells on what is annoying, inconsiderate, or downright appalling about her characters. The friends of the two dead guys are all self-absorbed and gross, and there's no tension about who killed two sleazy dudes that we never have any reason to care about. The story is told from multiple perspectives, but the main character has such a bland personality that I think it would have been better to spend more time focusing on her and giving her a really distinctive voice. Not much real detecting goes on, and the mystery comes to a plodding conclusion when someone has too much to drink and, almost unprompted, makes a full confession. There are many seasonal elements, but the story is about such obnoxious and repulsive people that I'm not sure who would want to spend Christmastime reading this.

[Olivermagnus · Rating 4 out of 5]

While working the Christmas Eve shift in the small town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are summoned to the scene of a car accident. Two young men are dead after crashing their car into the river. At first, it appears to be an accident, but the autopsy reveals evidence that turns this into a possible murder investigation. Sergeant John Winters and new constable, Molly, start to interview the victims' family and friends and those townsfolk who interacted with them. Molly and John have to conduct their investigation while dealing with selfish and privileged kids whose holiday plans have to be put on hold.

The various characters of Trafalgar add interest and charm to these mysteries. There are the town drunks, their daughter, Lorraine, and her brother. Molly’s former best friend reappears, along with the abusive boyfriend who almost killed her. Molly’s mother, Lucky, is a real character, an idealist, ex-hippie, who thinks nothing of interfering in police investigations, including Molly’s. The author does a great job depicting the learning curve experienced by a newly hired constable. In this book Molly Smith has just finished her first year on probation, so she makes a few mistakes, but it seems very realistic.

"Winter of Secrets" is another outstanding police procedural from Vicki Delany. Anyone who enjoys small town police procedurals should try her one of her books. They are not quite cozy, but definitely not too gritty either.

[Micky Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

When 2 tourists end up wrecking their car into the river and drowning, you would think that would be the end of things. However, when you find out the passenger of the vehicle had already been dead for 24 or more hours things get more interesting! Constable Molly Smith is back in action and the drama is just heating up especially when a perp she helped lock up is back on the streets and stalking Molly this time. Excellent storyline with extremely well developed characters to make for a great read or listen if you are into audiobooks. I will say the audio narrator does an excellent job of enhancing the personalities of the characters making the books even more enjoyable.

[Aaron Lazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have loaded this onto my Kindle a while ago - I happened upon it way down in the archives, and I don't remember, but I think I bumped into Vicki on Twitter, checked out the book, and bought it on the spot.

I"m so glad I did! I thoroughly enjoyed the story set in a mid-winter BC town, told primarily through the POVs of two local cops, Winter (male) and Smith (young newbie female cop). The characters were well-rounded and beautifully done. A GREAT winter mystery!

Top notch writing, solid suspense/plotting, excellent scene painting, and natural dialog. Ms. Delaney is a natural, a true talent. I'm off to buy more of her books and I do hope this is a series!

Aaron Lazar, lazarbooks.com

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the first three books, I am really and truly a fan of this series. The characters are so well developed that I feel as though they are friends/acquaintances and that Trafalgar is my second home. All the books, but this one especially, were so well paced and plotted that I lost myself in them for hours at a time. Plus, this series is so well written that I've read the first three books one-after-another, a very rare thing for me since I usually tire of an author's voice fairly quickly.

If you like small town mysteries, beautiful settings, characters who slowly reveal their complexities, and great writing, then I highly recommend this series. To really appreciate the series though, start with the first book and read them in order.

[Stacy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the last 2 Smith mysteries out of order, because my husband buys them for me and couldn't find this one at Christmas in hardcover. When I started this, I thought it was a shame not to have had it at Christmas, since the story takes place then. After a while, I just thought it was a shame - a shame that Delany made a kind of nothing story drag out. I found the next one to be better and it's a good thing, or I might have stopped reading the series! There was just not enough plot and too much whining, or, in the case of the police, virtual whining. I like the characters, except when they find each other annoying, which is too often. The dog, Norman, is an excellent character.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

#3 in the Constable Molly Smith mystery series. This series entry is a downer. Molly, her career and her romance take a backseat to a group of rich, entitled tourists. There's not a likeable character in the bunch and when Molly is put to tracking down the last movements of one of them, it's difficult to engender any interest in why he died. The writing is fine, the main character and her colleagues and family are interesting, but the victim and the mystery surrounding him need a big upgrade in the next series entry.

Siblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends are in Trafalgar, B.C. enjoying a two-week vacation of skiing, drinking, drugs, and sex. But tragedy strikes when two of the group crash through the ice into the frozen river. It’s Christmas Eve and the snow-storm of the decade has settled over the town. Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans have a busy shift attending fender-benders. Then, at the stroke of midnight, they are summoned to the scene of a car accident: a vehicle has gone off the snowy road into the river. Police, coroner, and medics all agree it was an accident. But when the autopsy reveals a shocking secret, Molly and Sergeant John Winters are plunged into a world of sexual predators, recreational drugs, privilege, and high-living. Meanwhile, stalker Charlie Bassing is out of jail and looking for revenge, a handsome Mountie is giving Molly the eye, and her mother, Lucky, is cheerfully interfering in the investigation. All Molly Smith wants to do is ski the powder.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another in the Constable Molly Smith series and I continue to like Molly's mom as one of the repeating characters. It was a quick read.

[Karen Forcum · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not figure it out until the end.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a chore it was to read this book. The story line is about what I would have expected, and I guessed who dunnit really early on, though that might still have made for a decent read.

For me, however, the problem was that the book was populated by miserable, petty, back-biting, fault-finding, aggressive, abusive, assholes, including both the 'tourists' and the locals. The entire book was unrelentingly full of one snarky, snide comment after another. I was tiresome, it was tedious, it was terrible to read. The people in the book go out of their ways to find offence in others' comments, and to be offensive to one another, and in between to plot out petty revenges on real, perceived, and anticipated slights. Plus, protagonist Molly is as stupid as rocks (and I suspect the lichen on the rocks is much smarter), superficially - ahem - "developed" and just as miserable, tiresome, and tedious as the rest.

I also got tired of all of the binary-gender stereotypes. Really, not once but twice in the book the husband is so useless in the kitchen he is unable to even scramble eggs? And so, really, the wives are somehow obligated to cook the eggs even with they are not interested in eating eggs themselves? Really, the guys sleeping around are 'boys will be boys' and if the sex is good it's because he 'has prowess' and any of the women sleeping with any of the guys are 'sluts' no matter the context and no matter that the guys are doing the same or worse?? And really the guys literally fist-fight several times over who 'owns the girl' and the girl is happy and flattered rather than disgusted about it?

I also need to ask what is the deal with the characters' names?
>There is a Barney/Bernadette minor character and potential witness Bernard
>One of the small group of friends has a first name Rob, another last name Robertson, and a minor character is Mrs. Roberts
>Molly has a chat with a guy named Doug just before heading downhill and almost hitting a Doulgas fir tree
>and, best of all (< sarcasm): a cop named Dave Evans who is called interchangeably by either first or last name, a dead guy named Ewan, and another cop named Dawn
-which, yes, is so confusing that even Delany (hopefully accidentally) has one of her other characters say 'Evan' when clearly 'Ewan' was being discussed
>but at the same time, much of the time that Lucky is mentioned Delany over-explains that her real name is Lucy, and much of the time Lorraine is mentioned someone says 'Lorraine who?'
>Plus town characters named Flower, Moonlight, Dawn, and Winters
>it was like in naming her characters Delany either just looked out the window and put down the first thing she saw or picked a single generic name and then just made minor changes to it to label her other characters
-see phoning it in below...

On top of all of that, it often felt like Delany was just phoning it in. There were numerous points in the book that were downright wrong, and the simplest of google searches would have confirmed it (did this book not have an editor?). Several other places, one thing happened then immediately later something different as if Delany had forgotten what she'd written a sentence or two ago. A few among the many wtf?!? parts of the book:

>It is a MYTH (at least in Canada, you know, where the book is set) that there is any type of mandatory (and in this book arbitrary) waiting people before you can make a missing person's report
-missing persons should be reported as soon as possible when it is confirmed that someone is missing
-especially if it is out of character for the person to be missing
-especially if the person is in mourning for a loved one
-especially if the person is in an unfamiliar place, and a place with no known friends or comfortable places to go to
-especially if that place is surrounded by wilderness
-especially if that place is in the midst of major winter snow storms
-especially if it is reported by someone, like a spouse, who is quite familiar with the person and the person's habits and patterns
-especially if all of those conditions are true
-why, then would a senior officer of the law repeatedly refuse to listen to the spouse trying to report the missing person???

>an item could never be considered to be shoplifted/stolen until it has been removed from the store without payment
-while the item is still in the store, then it could just be someone carrying it around until they do pay for it
-while the item is still in the store, it could be that the person will change their mind about stealing it and leave it behind without actually stealing it
-while the item is still in the store, it could be that the person carrying fully intends to steal, and will actually leave the store without paying for it, but until that time the other two points are equally possible and until that time the item is not stolen and the person carrying it has committed no crime
-why then, would the police agree to arrest a person who is still in the store with the item?
-why then, would several police officers (including the dimwitted Molly) tsk-tsk and discuss the non-theft as if it were an actual theft???

>where do all the balsam firs come from? That area has Douglas firs.
-oh, and the needles on these firs are not particularly sharp either...

>The group is heading out for a day of skiing but then a couple sentences later one of the group is snarking to the other that he is not in a big enough hurry to go back to bed with her

>Molly's mother tells her to make coffee but a couple sentences later declares 'leave it your father can make his own coffee' as if Molly was doing something wrong to make the coffee she'd just been told, by the same person, to make

>Molly is in one sentence complaining that she 'has no where to go' for Christmas, but then a couple of sentences later is complaining that she 'has to goto her parents' place' for Christmas
-though I suppose Delany felt there were not enough complaints in that part of the book so had to add a few more gratuitous ones to the book??

>How could someone, no matter how 'sheltered' they are in their family, have lived in Canada for a good 15 years (and likely more), who had gone through most of elementary school (where Groundhog day is literally on the class calendars), completed high school, and gotten through medical school and was working for a number years in this country but also never even heard mention of Groundhog Day? (which is, you know, on the news and discussed even by people who do not particularly care about Groundhog Day)???
-on a stretch, the person might not fully understand what it is about, but to have never even heard about it at all in all of that time and all of that interacting-with-people-outside-the-family experience???

>How are people taking a sailboat on a waterway that is so shallow that during its deepest season is not deep enough to cover and SVU? (and in the summer that waterway is likely to be more shallow than that

>Why is a cop, of all people, dialling and talking on a hand-held cell phone, and even running a computer, while driving?
-and why is he doing it on roads that are repeatedly described as snowy and treacherous, and many traffic accidents are included, in the book?
-and why is he doing it when at least half the time Molly is also in the car and could be performing one of the tasks?

>Why would a cop assume that someone who was sent to jail for stalking and assaulting another person would just suddenly lose interest in that person?
-and really, this plot sideline had nothing to do with the book
-it just felt like an add-in to prompt people to read the next book

>someone is in the middle of a confession and Molly decides it's best to cut the person off, find their friends, and ask for help from Winters instead?
-and even when the person wants to keep talking, Molly still decides to say 'stay right there' and runs off to tell security to call the police (rather than say telling the security person that she moments ago told to go away, or maybe hearing the confession out first, or even, you know, taking the person with her?)
-see 'stupid as rocks and less intelligent than lichen' above

and more.

But this review is already too long and I am still feeling too grumpy about this read. I am happy to be able to return it to the library and move on to something else. I have been uncertain about this series. This book helped me to decide that I won't be reading any more books in it.

[Tina Siegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passable mystery, loveable (or despicable) characters, sloppy writing. There are places where Delany's syntax is so poor you have to read a sentence twice, sometimes three times, to make sure you've understood her meaning. That's the mark of bad writing choices. And I enjoy her descriptions of the natural world - and of people - but she seems to fall back on lists. Just rhymes off everything she wants to tell you and moves on.

I'll probably stick with the series, because I'm quite charmed by the characters. But that's the only reason.

[Kyla Squires · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty satisfying story. There are some over the top characters but worth the read over all.
I listened to the audio version though and the reader clearly wasn't Canadian. She gave the Québécoise character a France French accent which I found really off putting as that's not at all how French Canadians speak, and then she mispronounced toque! Didn't they have someone checking on these things?

[dollhousebunny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not crazy about this book. It was my first Constable Molly Smith book and probably my last. I thought the plot was very dull and the ending was ridiculously boring.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting plot.... Exciting. Like the character development..... although, once again she reveals the killer before the end.......

Siblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends have come to the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. to enjoy a two-week vacation of skiing, drinking, drugs, and sex. But tragedy strikes when two of the group crash through the ice into the frozen river. It's Christmas Eve and the snowstorm of the decade has settled over the town. Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are busy attending to fender-benders, tumbling pedestrians, and Christmas tree fires. Then, at the stroke of midnight, they are summoned to the scene of an a car has gone off the snowy road into the river. Police, coroner, and medics all agree it was an accident. But when the autopsy reveals a shocking secret, Molly and Sergeant John Winters are plunged into a world of sexual predators, recreational drugs, privilege, and high-living. Meanwhile, stalker Charlie Bassing is out of jail and looking for revenge, a handsome Mountie is giving Molly the eye, and her mother, Lucky, is cheerfully interfering in the investigation. And all Molly wants to do is ski the powder....

[ahn mur · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated Winter of Secrets as a good Canadian winter read. I've said so in previous reviews for this series, but the best part is the setting! I adore Trafalgar and am so fond of the real-life references in the BC Kootenays. That said, the Trafalgar ski hill is known to have sub-par food... I'm not sure which real-life equivalent might have bad food, but I personally know that the food at Whitewater Ski Hill near Nelson BC is world class!!!. But perhaps the real life inspiration is a different ski hill in the area. But I digress, it was fun to read about Molly Smith's passion for (and talent for) skiing.
I found this plot sad (though I suppose most murder plots are!) but at least the ending didn't involve Molly getting kidnapped yet again.

[Jennifer Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best thing about this book was that it did not resolve with a kidnapping of Molly and a random confession. There was some actual police work that led to the killer, and Molly was a little less naive. I was hoping for some change in Constable Dale Evans to show that he is actually a big softie, and he and Molly could get closer. But alas, he was such a complete jerk in the way he talked about Lorraine that I fear he is irredeemable. So I guess it’ll be the Mountie after all. Which is fine…just not as interesting. I find him a bit one-dimensional. Other improvements were that Eliza didn’t spend as much time looking down her nose at people, and Krista didn’t throw a fit. It was enough of an improvement that it gave me hope for the rest of the series.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining mystery listening

Alexa reads to me due to eye damage and issues from shingles.
Another will written entertaining mystery adventure novel book three in the Constable Molly Smith Series. The characters are interesting and will developed. The story line is complicated as two young man 🚹die on Christmas Eve in a car accident maybe? Molly Smith and the police force must find the truch. I would recommend this novel and series to readers of mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading 📚 2021 🏠😢🐕

[Jim Toner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this small town mystery which takes place around Christmas. Constable Mollie Smith has her hands full dealing with drunks and a possible murder. As usual, in Ms. Delany's novels, hardly anybody seems to like anybody, and this adds to the drama of the story. Because of the sheer volume of characters, the story is at times hard to follow. Ms. Delany also uses a fair amount of swear words, so this may not be the right kind of mystery for more conservative readers.

[Groucho42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bunch of wealthy, spoiled young folks show up in ski season, and two end up dead. Not a lot of folks to like in this one, but a good mystery. Winters is an interesting character and it's nice to see someone write a story about a coup who isn't divorced. Molly isn't the victim, for the first time in three books, so this works well. The problem is the ending, which sets up the possibility of the Damsel in Distress for the fourth. I hope the author avoids that.

[SADIE (AGATHA'S VERSION) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this on audio book and I am so frustrated. This is set in Canada and it would take a 2 minute search to figure out how Canadians pronounce tuque and the surname Leblanc. Neither ones were pronounced correctly repeatedly.
I think when a book is set in a specific country maybe hire someone from that country to voice it if you can't be bothered to look into pronunciations for words you don't know.

[Suzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter of secrets is set during the Christmas season, but the murder plot is tense and well written. The characters, aside from a few regulars. are surly and Scrooge-like---which adds to the darker atmosphere of the novel. Though I guessed the perpetrator, the story is a satisfying read for a rainy afternoon.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it right up til the end, which left me hanging. Hanging about Charlie & hanging about Adam. Did Molly forget she was supposed to be meeting Adam half an hour after talking to him? Seems like it. And the Charlie bit is an obvious, make-you-want-to-come-back cliff-hanger. I prefer my books to have neat endings. The rest was good though—if you ignore the ever-present typos.

[Kevin Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot get enough of this place. I was not able to discover who did what until the end. Ms. Delany has a nice writing style that keeps you hooked until the end. Carrington MacDuffie does an outstanding job in bringing the written works of Ms. Delany alive for me. A good story and highly recommended.

[Andreas Kleiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story (two rich students die when their SUV crashes into a river in a ski resort in British Columbia where they and their friends spend their Christmas vacations … but it turns out that one of the two passengers was dead already before the car crashed) but I felt that the writing style was a bit crude and not overly captivating. A pity - one could have made more out of this plot.

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is a lot of action in this book that is set in British Columbia. It begins on Christmas Eve and a huge snowstorm has hit the town. Constable Molly Smith is on duty and has a very busy shift. There are lots of interesting characters and the plot keeps one reading.

[Bridget Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setting The Kootenay Rockies is a pristine region of rivers, lakes, waterfalls, beaches, mineral hot springs, alpine meadows and snow-capped mountains.

Townies scrabbling to get by vs Tourists with more money than they know what to do with.
As a year round resident of a tourist area, I can attest it's a fertile setting for murder.

Resolution was a bit of a rush job.
The guilty party was a babbling brook of confession. I want the guilty held accountable for their actions but even I wanted to yell, "Stop talking!"
Surely, there are lawyers in Canada.
Oh, I know there are.
Same as Cabot Cove, home of Jessica Fletcher, base camp for Murder She Wrote.
Sherlock, Poirot and Miss Marple have spoiled me. The perpetrator nods or denies while the sleuth does the talking.

It's an enjoyable series.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this series. Set in a small town in the interior of BC, a rookie cop is learning the ropes. Well plotted, with interesting characters that are believable (as opposed to 'cute') they are police procedurals to pick up. Highly recommended.