In the Shadow of the Glacier

Description

Trouble is brewing in the small, bucolic mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia. An American who came to Trafalgar as a Vietnam War draft dodger has left land and money to the town. But there's a catch. The money must be used to build a garden to honor draft dodgers. This bequest has torn the close-knit, peaceful town apart. Then the body of a leading garden opponent is found in an alley, dead from a single blow to the head. Constable Molly Smith is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in the investigation. But Winters doesn't want the help of the enthusiastic rookie and suspects that he's been assigned Smith for political reasons: her mother, a life-long activist, is the leader of the group arguing for the park. Egged on by a muck-raking TV personality, outside agitators from both sides are soon streaming into Trafalgar. In the meantime, Smith and Winters search through small-town secrets for a killer. Vicki Delany's first love is the Canadian wilderness where she lives and where her novels are set. In the Shadow of the Glacier is the first novel in a new series featuring Constable Molly Smith. Ms. Delany is also the author of two standalone novels: Burden of Memory and Scare the Light Away. www.vickidelany.com

Having taken early retirement from her job as a systems analyst in the high-pressure financial world, Vicki Delany is settling down to the rural life in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario, where she rarely wears a watch. Unreasonable Doubt is the eighth mystery in her Constable Molly Smith series. Vicki Delany won the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to the crime genre.

Delany's intriguing series opener introduces young constable Molly Smith, who almost literally stumbles across a rare murder victim in peaceful Trafalgar, British Columbia. The deceased, Reg Montgomery, was a widely distrusted newcomer planning to develop a luxury resort outside the town, making for a long list of suspects. The community is further divided by Smith's mother's plans for a public memorial to American draft resisters who fled to Canada during the Vietnam War. Struggling to recover from the death of her husband, build a career on the force and win the approval of her hippie parents and hard-edged Sgt. John Winters, newly arrived from Vancouver with his own set of personal problems, Smith throws herself into solving the case. Delany (Burden of Memory) carefully sets up the conflicts, resolving most but not all in anticipation of the next assignment, and begins what looks to be some extensive character development for the otherwise archetypal Winters and Smith. (Oct.) -- Publishers Weekly 7/30/2007