Canadian murder mystery a recommended read

Book: Framed in Fire

Author: Iona Whishaw

Love Canadian murder mystery ‘whodunit’ books with a dash of romance, espionage, historical nostalgia, accidental detecting and social justice?

Then give the Lane Winslow series by Iona Whishaw a read. Set in British Colombia, overlooking the beautiful lakes and nestled in the mountains, it’s the perfect rustic rural setting for mystery mayhem just after the Second World War. The cast of characters are endearing and formidable – resourceful and tightly-knit as small towns are.

In Framed in Fire, (Book 9 of the Lane Winslow series), the newlywed Lane Winslow-Darling returns to visit her friend, Peter Barisoff, a homesteader who has an unexpected guest, with a very interesting tale to share about his Indigenous ancestors and a long lost uncle who travelled to the area to visit and never returned home. That spring, Peter decides to expand his garden and makes a very unwelcome discovery which invites the return of Inspector Darling to further investigate.

At the same time, several unsavory elements from the past, from the Great Wars abroad to homegrown malignancy, have come back to roost in town, keeping the local police detachment very busy chasing down leads, dispelling rumours and unearthing truths. And along the way, they discover that sometimes you don’t really know the people that you thought you knew.