Murder in rural Canada

When I was in Canada earlier this year I asked a bookshop owner to recommend a series of books that are popular in her country but which I hadn’t read. She advised me to read A Killer in King’s Cove by Iona Whishaw which is the first in an historical crime series featuring her heroine Lane Winslow. I did buy and enjoy the book and have happily been able to purchase others in the series on ebook as the paperbacks are very expensive in the UK and second-hand copies are difficult to obtain. I am now up to about book 6.

Lane Winslow was brought up in Europe and educated in Britain. These novels are set just after WW2 so it is the late 1940s when she buys a house in rural British Columbia. But Lane was active in the war undertaking secret missions on behalf of the British which means that she has a lot of things she can’t talk about and some interesting talents including skill with languages. She becomes involved with the local police when she finds a dead body and is immediately attracted to Inspector Frederick Darling with whom she has a prickly relationship because she can’t always share what she knows with him.

The first of these books was entertaining but as I’ve read through the series I have come to love them more and more. The author deals with issues which were important in post-war Canada and some hidden atrocities. She also makes Lane a strong and independent person who quite often rescues herself from difficult situations rather than waiting for the “cavalry” to arrive.

These books move at a slow pace which initially I found a bit frustrating but which I have come to enjoy. They are mostly told from Lane’s point of view but sometimes from that of the Inspector or other characters. There are also flashbacks to previous events that have led to the crime which is being investigated so occasionally the reader knows more than the characters which adds to the enjoyment.

There are a few books in this series and I am working through them all. I really like these novels and am very grateful for the bookseller who recommended them to me.