Butterfly Kills by Brenda Chapman

In February, I read Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman and really liked the characters and the Canadian setting (reviewed here).  

I jumped at the chance to read Butterfly Kills, a new mystery featuring Kala Stonechild and Jacques Rouleau.  Rouleau has moved to Kingston and is now head of the Criminal Investigation unit there.  Distracted by his father's illness, confronted with a brutal murder and a spousal rape, the short-staffed Rouleau feels fortunate that the very detective he would like to hire shows up in Kingston.

Kala Stonechild agrees to help on a temporary basis. Partnered with Paul Gundersund, Kala shifts from the murder of university student Leah Sampson to the spousal rape case of Della Munroe as needed.  Both cases take interesting turns, and the self-contained, aloof Kala finds herself becoming more comfortable with her partner as the cases proceed.

Rouleau's role in this novel is much diminished, but surprisingly, his character grow more interesting.  Both Kala and Gundersund have personal issues that keep them involved in situations wider than the investigations.

Even the minor characters gain a degree of complexity, and the plot(s) (which have elements pulled from real life) kept me involved and slightly on edge.  I'm glad to say that this second novel in Chapman's series was as engrossing as the first!

read in July; blog post scheduled for Jan. 12, 2015.

Crime/Police Procedural.  Jan. 31, 2015.  Print length:  376 pages.