Murder hunt in the wilds of Northern Ontario!
Closing Time (A Stonechild and Rouleau Mystery #7)
by Brenda Chapman
There are obviously depths and challenges to Ontario Provincial Police Officer Kala Stonechild that to me, a first time reader of the Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series, are fascinating. I feel the need to know more.
Holidaying with Dawn her foster charge, Karla looks forward to canoeing and recharging her batteries in the wilderness that so calls to her. Unfortunately Karla finds herself catapulted into the murder investigation of a sixteen year old waitress working at the isolated lodge they're guesting in, located to the north of Sault Ste. Marie in the far reaches of Ontario.
At the request of the local officer Clark Harrison, a former acquaintance of Karla's, she is seconded to the investigation. The inquiry dances down some rather twisted paths. It seems the victim Rachel Eglan is not the quiet churchgoing young woman she appears to be. She's somewhat of a chameleon.
The breaking down of facts, the casework process, was nicely instituted. Karla's sixth sense, her detectively intuition comes unerringly into play.
As Karla's partner Clark says, scratch any small community and anonymity is unerringly impossible “some freaky community osmosis [comes into play]. Frig, they know when someone sneezes before they reach for a tissue." Investigating this murder will stretch right into that community and secrets thought hidden will be revealed, after searching down some twisted pathways.
I feel I would have benefited more if I'd read previous novels. Starting with the last is somewhat awkward but doable. If anything else, it encourages me to turn back to the beginnings of the series to understood more about Karla's backstory. Obviously part of that are her tortured romance relationships, although this didn't at all deter from my being able to gather up pieces of the puzzle as to who Karla is. A free spirit with a troubled childhood, an inability to commit in a relationship, a fear of being trapped, an absolute love of the wild and free northern parts of Ontario, a thorough and focused investigator, with an uncanny ability to read body language.
Apart from the timing of Rachael's murder, the title "Closing Time" is apt in terms of not only the crime committed. This is the last of series. Many factors about the key characters are pulled together. Brenda Chapman's forward helped me to locate some of the past of Stonechild and Rouleau. BTW, I must say I really liked the cover. With its color tonings, the half submerged boat amongst the reeds, it hints at secrets covered up, at a darkness lurking.
A fascinating read that pulled me back to a beautiful area of Canada that I've been fortunate enough to visit from time to time. Thanks Dundurn Press!
A Dundurn ARC via NetGalley
****
by Brenda Chapman
Holidaying with Dawn her foster charge, Karla looks forward to canoeing and recharging her batteries in the wilderness that so calls to her. Unfortunately Karla finds herself catapulted into the murder investigation of a sixteen year old waitress working at the isolated lodge they're guesting in, located to the north of Sault Ste. Marie in the far reaches of Ontario.
At the request of the local officer Clark Harrison, a former acquaintance of Karla's, she is seconded to the investigation. The inquiry dances down some rather twisted paths. It seems the victim Rachel Eglan is not the quiet churchgoing young woman she appears to be. She's somewhat of a chameleon.
The breaking down of facts, the casework process, was nicely instituted. Karla's sixth sense, her detectively intuition comes unerringly into play.
As Karla's partner Clark says, scratch any small community and anonymity is unerringly impossible “some freaky community osmosis [comes into play]. Frig, they know when someone sneezes before they reach for a tissue." Investigating this murder will stretch right into that community and secrets thought hidden will be revealed, after searching down some twisted pathways.
I feel I would have benefited more if I'd read previous novels. Starting with the last is somewhat awkward but doable. If anything else, it encourages me to turn back to the beginnings of the series to understood more about Karla's backstory. Obviously part of that are her tortured romance relationships, although this didn't at all deter from my being able to gather up pieces of the puzzle as to who Karla is. A free spirit with a troubled childhood, an inability to commit in a relationship, a fear of being trapped, an absolute love of the wild and free northern parts of Ontario, a thorough and focused investigator, with an uncanny ability to read body language.
Apart from the timing of Rachael's murder, the title "Closing Time" is apt in terms of not only the crime committed. This is the last of series. Many factors about the key characters are pulled together. Brenda Chapman's forward helped me to locate some of the past of Stonechild and Rouleau. BTW, I must say I really liked the cover. With its color tonings, the half submerged boat amongst the reeds, it hints at secrets covered up, at a darkness lurking.
A fascinating read that pulled me back to a beautiful area of Canada that I've been fortunate enough to visit from time to time. Thanks Dundurn Press!
A Dundurn ARC via NetGalley
****
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