The Globe and Mail
One Minute More, Robert Rotenberg (Simon & Schuster, 336 pages) Robert Rotenberg is emerging as one of Canada’s best crime authors with his terrific series featuring Toronto cop Ari Greene. In this excellent prequel to that series, Rotenberg takes us back to 1988 for Greene’s first case and it’s a humdinger.
It’s July in Toronto and the leaders of the world are about to meet for the G7 Summit. Ronald Reagan will be the star but the rest of the leaders are all poised for debate on everything from tariffs to war. When the Toronto police chief gets a tip that an assassin is crossing into Canada with plans to kill some or all of them, he dismisses it as a prank. After all, the RCMP is on the case and the Toronto police are calling out, literally, the big guns and the world’s secret services are all going to be present. A mouse couldn’t disrupt this summit.
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Still, notice must be given. Off goes young copper Ari Greene to the Vermont/Quebec border to ensure that the tip is followed up. Ari arrives on the Fourth of July for the parade and spots the assassin, who then disappears. Ari is in a race against time as the plans for the summit go forward. The chase is on and no one is safe. In a time before cellphones and instant messaging, Ari has to depend on his wits to stop a catastrophe.
The Maid’s Secret, Nita Prose (Penguin Canada, 336 pages) The first thing to say about this delightful book is that it’s the third in a bestselling series, and if you haven’t already discovered it you’re going to want to read the other two. It’s not necessary to do so to understand this third instalment but these books are so good, you’re going to want to know all there is to know about Molly Gray, head maid and special-events manager of the Regency Grand Hotel in an unnamed big city that is clearly, to anyone there, Toronto.
As the story opens, Molly has two events to occupy her thoughts. First is her coming marriage to Juan Manuel. The other is the coming visit to the hotel of the popular HiddenTreasures television show where unknown antiquities are evaluated. Turns out Molly has some old trinkets of her own, gifts from her beloved Gran. When one turns out to be a rarity, Molly and Juan are stunned. Off to auction and a large wad of money. Enter art thieves and a heist. Will Molly and Juan get their item back? Live happily in riches? This one is slick, skillful and perfect for fans of Antiques Roadshow (yes, that’s me). You won’t put it down until the last page.
Cold as Hell, Kelley Armstrong (Minotaur, 343 pages) This is the third Haven’s Rock novel set in the little town where people in need of protection go to live quietly and safely. Kelley Armstrong, with more than two dozen novels to her credit, has created a wee utopia set in the Yukon wilderness and populated with people we wish we knew. This time out, detective Casey Duncan and her husband, sheriff Eric Dalton, are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child. What could possibly go wrong?
The forest outside Haven’s Rock is forbidden territory to the residents but some people wander close to the trees. When one woman goes too close, she’s grabbed, drugged and dragged into the trees. She fights back and her screams bring help but it’s clear that something or someone is threatening the local women. Casey and Eric start an investigation but a snowstorm stops things and then a frozen body turns up in the woods. There’s no chance that the killer was an outsider. In a sanctuary town where trust is essential, Casey and Eric can trust no one. Great suspense and a terrific plotline from one of Canada’s finest and most prolific authors.
The Cost of a Hostage, Iona Whishaw (Touchwood, 464 pages) This is the 12th Lane Winslow novel by Iona Whishaw and there’s no sign of series decay, the bane of most series authors. The B.C. setting is just as crisp and the plotline just as complex as readers hope for. As Lane and her husband, Inspector Darling, head to Mexico to find Bob Darling, who’s gone missing, there are two pressing cases back in King’s Cove for the Nelson RCMP to solve. One is a boy kidnapped from his bed and the other is a body found tangled in the paddle wheel of the local ferry.
While Lane and inspector Darling find themselves facing down Mexican bandits, Ames and Terrel back in Nelson are hunting for clues. The addition of two more investigators as well as the relocation of the Darlings means we have enough change to keep the story fresh and that’s why this long-running series is still a fun read.
A Sea of Spectres, Nancy Taber (Acorn Press, 248 pages) The term “literary mystery” usually means that there’s a plotline with crime that also incorporates a host of other ideas and images. That’s not the case with this fascinating debut from Atlantic Canadian author Nancy Taber. There is a crime, yes, but it’s incidental to the story of three different women in three different times. The link isn’t a whodunit but an inherited ability that manages to transcend time. That’s what kept me reading.
Taber is a former Canadian military officer and she’s currently a professor at Brock University in Ontario. Still, it’s clear her heart remains in Prince Edward Island, the setting for her novel, and it’s her talent for evoking a place and planting her characters in it that makes the story run. Raina Cormier is an experienced detective who grew up on PEI, where her family owned a sightseeing business. Raina would appear to be the perfect copper to work with the Coast Guard but she’s not. Raina hates the ocean, blocks out every image of it, keeps her blinds lowered to blot out the view. Why? That’s part of Raina’s history, which she keeps very private. When she gets close to the ocean, a phantom ship glides into view and it sets off a series of reactions that Raina cannot control and which she also cannot endure. So when her investigation of a missing young woman takes her to the seaside, it’s clear that it’s going to be far more difficult than just following the clues.
Raina’s strange vision is rooted in her family history. An ancestor, Madeleine, used her powers in an attempt to keep her family safe during the Acadian Expulsion in the 18th century. A hundred years later, another ancestor, Celeste, attempted to use her powers to regain her family estate. These women lead to Raina and her talents for investigation. But they are also part of her deep aversion to the sea. Raina’s search for the missing woman leads her to investigate her own history and uncover Madeleine and Celeste and their stories.
This novel starts slow but picks up once the investigation begins. The story goes back in time and, with three different women speaking in their own voices, you have to pay attention, but Taber knows her history and she also knows her island. This moody mystery is a fine first novel and we can hope to hear more from Taber and possibly from Raina Cormier as well.
Detective Aunty, Uzma Jalaluddin (HarperCollins, 336 pages) I love a good, cozy mystery, one with lots of charm and a solid central character, and Detective Aunty is the perfect spring read. Uzma Jalaluddin is a Toronto author and playwright with successful books and television projects and now she’s introducing an enchanting new detective, Kausar Khan.
The story begins with Kausar mourning her late husband. She thinks she’ll never get a telephone call as awful as the one that told her he was gone until one comes from her daughter Sana. She’s been arrested, accused of killing the landlord who owned her clothing boutique. It’s been 20 years since Kausar lived in Toronto (why she left is part of the plotline) but she packs up and heads back to the suburb of Golden Crescent, where she raised her children.
As the story unfolds, Sana’s landlord’s murder is only one of several unsolved local crimes. Kausar, with the assistance of some old friends and her clever teenaged granddaughter, starts to unravel the dark secrets of Golden Crescent and environs. With intelligence, the wisdom of age and the nosiness everyone permits in an “Aunty,” Kausar uncovers plots and secrets that no one, even she, could predict. This is a terrific beginning for what I hope is a series.
