cover image VANCOUVER MYSTERY

VANCOUVER MYSTERY

Rosey Dow, . . Promise Press, $11.99 (349pp) ISBN 978-1-58660-589-6

Christy Award–winning novelist Dow and coauthor Snaden, who partnered on Betrayed, team up again to produce this engaging novel of suspense set in British Columbia, Canada. When farmer Peter Martin is killed by one of his bulls, it's passed off as an unlucky accident. Not long after his death, however, Peter's widow, Beth, goes into cardiac arrest after taking the wrong prescription drugs—supposedly given to her by Dr. Dan Foster, a likable plastic surgeon with a shadowy past. "Whoever killed Beth Martin has messed with the wrong people," vows Dan's friend Jessica Meyers, and she sets out to help clear him. There are several suspects, including the pretty, pleasant Amy Creighton, the Martins' ward—as Jessica reminds Dan, even sweet girls can be killers. Dan's brother, a law enforcement officer, is on the trail of some large-scale marijuana producers, and the two plots intersect at the climax. Unexpected touches of humor keep things from getting too grim, as when Dan confronts a policewoman ("Despite his rage, Dan couldn't help but think how he could soften her features by scaling back her nose a bit and shortening her cheekbones"). A few problematic plot developments, including the convenient arrival of Dan and Jessica at a young teen's house just as she has attempted suicide, stick out, but the pacing is steady, and the authors carefully hold back enough information to provide maximum suspense. Despite some dialogue-heavy sections and a few writing foibles, this is a promising addition to the suspense corpus in the CBA market. (Nov.)