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Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Turning Secrets (Stonechild & Rouleau) by Brenda Chapman

Another suspenseful Stonechild & Rouleau mystery. 

Is Nadia Armstrong's death suicide or murder?  Who's leaking information about the case?  Who is the older man high school student Vanessa is dating?

The suspicious death of young Nadia Armstrong is taking up much of Kala Stonechild's time, and she regrets not being home enough with her niece Dawn.  In addition to complications of the current case, Kala is frustrated by the knowledge that someone on the Major Crime team is leaking information,  and Kala suspects Woodhouse, who has been a thorn in her side in previous books.  

While Kala is often late getting home, Dawn has more time alone, and when her father approaches her, she is able to keep their budding relationship a secret from Kala.  Dawn knows that her mother has forbidden any contact with Dawn's father and that Kala agrees, so she feels guilty, but wants to help him.  

Dawn's classmate sixteen-year-old Vanessa has been behaving strangely since developing a relationship with a man in his twenties.  Vanessa tries to draw Dawn into a double date at the request of her boyfriend, but Dawn is decidedly wary as she is aware of Vanessa's unhappiness.

A lot of disturbing elements come to light as the case progresses.  Chapman draws from social problems that are frequently in the news, making them more personal, less abstract.  One of the pleasures in a good series is developing a relationship with characters, and Chapman's characters are interesting and well-developed.  Sometimes they are in the background, sometimes they take center stage.  Most surprising in Turning Secrets is that by the end of the book, one character behaves in an unanticipated way.  Just when you believe you have the characters in a definite groove, someone jumps the track.    

Read in November; blog review scheduled for May 14, 2019.

NetGalley/Dundurn 

Detective/Crime.  June 4, 2019.  Print length:  408 pages.

12 comments:

  1. I like the sound of this one; I hadn't heard of it.

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    1. It is an excellent series--I look forward to each new entry. Cold Mourning, he first one was published in 2014, and I was hooked on this Canadian author and her characters.

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  2. That's a new series to me, and it sounds good. I love reading long series because of the way you can get into the characters and watch them evolve over the years, And the same way that I binge-watch TV series on Netflix and Prime, I like to come to a series late so that I don't have to wait a whole year between books. That keeps the characters alive and vivid in my mind.

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    1. I started this series with the first book, eagerly awaiting each new one, but the wait can be frustrating. Like you, I also love finding an established series and binge-reading my way through. :)

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  3. Sounds like another good one. I'll have to see if my library has any of them.

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    1. It's a great series, and I hope your library has them.

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  4. Sounds like an interesting series. Like Lark, I'll see if my library has them.

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    1. Start with Cold Mourning if you can. :) Chapman is one of my favorite Canadian authors.

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  5. Sounds like a good, satisfying mystery. Do you think that the books can also stand alone if one reads them out of order?

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    1. Each one has a complete story arc, but there is also an interesting character growth line. Kala Stonechild is a Native American with a problematic past when she joins the Ottawa police force and the cultural aspect is interesting. I happened to begin this one with the first book and have enjoyed watching the characters develop, but it isn't necessary, since each plot is complete. :)

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  6. I like the sound of this series but this is one I'd probably like to start with the first in the series as it looks like there is some definite character growth!

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    1. Start with Cold Mourning...I think you'll be hooked. I like that Kala is Native American with a complicated background.

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