Vicki Delany In the Shadow of the Glacier

In the Shadow of the Glacier

Vicki Delany

Poisoned Pen, Oct 2007, $24.95

ISBN: 9781590584484

Trafalgar, British Columbia lies IN THE SHADOW OF THE GLACIER. The town is a quiet place where violent crime never happens; for instance the average murder rate is zero. That is until today. Behind Alphonse's Bakery lies Reginald "Reg" Montgomery, an American draft dodger who fled to Canada with his wife Ellie to avoid military conscription, which means serving in Viet Nam. The townsfolk were divided when it came to Reg. Some, especially storeowners, appreciated the way he supported small locally owned mom and pop shops purchasing only there; no Wal-Mart for him; others thought he was a pompous wealthy American buying favors.

In death he remains a divider as he has bequeathed money and land to the town with the stipulation that a garden be built and maintained honoring draft dodgers. Detective Sergeant John Winters leads the homicide investigation. He is outraged when rookie Constable Molly Smith, who was the first cop at the crime scene, is assigned to assist him; as he assumes she is political appointee arranged by her activist mother who supports the garden. As they struggle with the clues and disagree over motive, outsiders invade Trafalgar to join one of the two squabbling sides debating Reg's legacy, but they only muddle the muddy water.

This is an entertaining small town regional police procedural in which anyone could have been the killer, but no one stands out of the crowd. John is a good cop who resents Molly on his team; Molly realizes how he feels so she knows she must prove herself worthy to overcome the stigma in at least the mind of her leader of her mom. Fans will enjoy this well written mystery that reminds readers of the divisiveness of the Viet Nam war even in Canada.

Harriet Klausner