Death and darkness in Northern BC

Cold Girl: A B.C. Blues Crime Novel by R.M. Greenaway

 

A missing singer and a killer dubbed the 'pickup killer' already having claimed three lives.

A complex, edgy and dark read with some moments of unexpected rays of light. Featuring a cast of the lost and found. Lost on their path and found in many other ways. Of being on the brink, of trusting and not trusting feelings. Of friendships and family--working together and gone awry.

Happenings as stark as the surrounding country of northern British Columbia--beyond Port Rupert, towards Hazleton before Smithers, a four hour drive away complete with logging roads and mountains in the depth of winter. (I looked at a map to get a further understanding of the area and distances. By the way, there's a very good reason why most of the map is white! Having flown into Port Rupert and caught the Marine Highway ferry north I do understand somewhat the isolation of these communities and 'tyranny' of distance.) The writing pulled me in as the chill of the landscape settled into my bones.

Seen through the eyes of two different RCMP officers; a recovering injured big city detective, now a cop in the small western Canadian community of Smithers and the lead detective from Prince Rupert.

Dion, whose head injury has left gaps in his communication and thought abilities, but who's intuition sometimes cuts clearly through the clouds of fog, and David Leith, who has performance anxiety when Detective Sergeant Bosko from the Serious Crime Unit, joins the team investigating the disappeared 'hillbilly princess,' Kiera Rilkoff whose star was on the rise.

The behaviours of the rugged small town inhabitants come under the microscope as the team race to find the singer, as do the prejudices and behaviours of the various members of this task force, as they come together. 

A complex and fascinating crime story.

A NetGalley ARC

*****