Thursday, November 26, 2015

Review: Unreasonable Doubt: A Constable Molly Smith Novel by Vicki Delany





  • Hardcover: 266 pages
  • Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (Feb. 2 2016)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1464205132
  • ISBN-13: 978-1464205132

Book Description

 What would it be like to return to your hometown after twenty-five years in prison for a crime you have maintained you did not commit? And why would you? Walter Desmond is back in Trafalgar, British Columbia, having been officially exonerated when new evidence showed corruption at worst, incompetence at best, by the Trafalgar City Police conducting the investigation. His pitbull attorney is seeking five million in damages from the provincial government. But Walt has not returned to Trafalgar to pursue money or revenge. He just wants to know the why of it. The family of the murdered girl, Sophia D Angelo, is bitterly determined to see Walt returned to prison or dead. But for Trafalgar s police, including Sergeant John Winters and Constable Molly Smith, the reality is: if Walter didn t kill Sophia, someone else did. So, case reopened. It lands on Winters desk. The records are moldering. One investigating officer is dead, the other is retired and not talking. The police are instructed to treat Walt as if he d never been arrested or convicted. Someone else apparently killed Sophia, someone still walking free. But too many minds remain closed. It s good luck for Walt that a group of women in town for the dragon boat race are staying in the B&B where he s booked, women with no local prejudices. But then a townswoman, then a boat woman, are attacked by a rapist, the media gets active, and tempers dangerously flare. "Another brisk whodunit in a beautiful western Canadian setting with an appealing protagonist in Molly, whose personal life gets as much attention as her professional one." Booklist on the previous Constable Molly Smith mystery, Under Cold Stone."

About the Author

 “It’s a crime not to read Delany,” so says the London Free Press.

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most varied and prolific crime writers. Her popular Constable Molly Smith series (including In the Shadow of the Glacier and Among the Departed) have been optioned for TV by Brightlight Pictures.

She writes standalone novels of modern gothic suspense such as Burden of Memory and More than Sorrow, as well as a light-hearted historical series, (Gold Digger, Gold Mountain), set in the raucous heyday of the Klondike Gold Rush. She is also the author of a novel for reluctant readers, titled A Winter Kill.

Having taken early retirement from her job as a systems analyst in the high-pressure financial world, Vicki is settling down to the rural life in bucolic, Prince Edward County, Ontario where she rarely wears a watch.

Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com , www.facebook.com/vicki.delany, and twitter: @vickidelany

She blogs about the writing life at One Woman Crime Wave (http://klondikeandtrafalgar.blogspot.com)

Vicki is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, and Capital Crime Writers, and is on the board of Wolfe Island’s Scene of the Crime Mystery Festival.


My Review

 Great cover! Dragon boating is huge in Vancouver where I live so it is quite a familiar sight. I love the Constable Molly Smith series set in British Columbia's Kootenay region by author Vicki Delany. Delany captures the essence of the town of Trafalgar (based on the real city of Nelson) perfectly. She also portrays Hope and Vancouver realistically as well. I enjoyed the tale opening in Hope...I had never really thought about the steep mountains there as being suffocating. Interesting perspective...to me Hope is just Hope! We eat breakfast there quite often on our adventures!

I have read all the previous books in the Constable Molly Smith series and I like that the continuity is always there. I have enjoyed following the characters journeys. Vicki Delany is a great writer who knows how to plot a mystery.

Unreasonable Doubt follows the story of Walter Desmond a former Trafalgar realtor. He was wrongly convicted of murder and is back in town...why? You would think he would go far away but back he is. Most people are not happy to see him. He is staying at a B&B that is hosting a number of women who are in town for fun and dragon boat racing. At least the ladies there are visitors who are friendly to him.

In Unreasonable Doubt, Sergeant Winter's wife is assaulted, then one of the dragon boat ladies at the B&B where Walter is staying. And the rumors start buzzing about B&B guest Walter. Constable Molly Smith has to deal with other members of the force bad behavior toward Walter. But good police work prevails and the ending is very satisfying.

Highly recommend Unreasonable Doubt by Vicki Delany. Looking forward to the next book set in Trafalgar!




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