A COLD WHITE SUN

A Cold White Sun
By Vicki Delany
ISBN: 9781464201585
A 20013 hardcover release
From Poisoned Pen Press

A fine, judicious blend of action, mystery, thoughtful introspection and
exploration of human conditions and motivations marks this novel. The
story is a part of the author's continuing series about the development
of a young constable in the police force of a small community,
Trafalgar. The town is located in a prime tourist region of British
Columbia. That's a province of Canada. The mountains offer prime skiing,
the streams fishing and the forests hunting of various animals. Tourism
is big business but that brings troubles as well.
Moonlight Smith, born of a hippie activist American couple, a
near-champion downhill skier, much to her mother's initial consternation
has settled, at least temporarily, for a career as a cop. She's bright,
good-looking and not entirely sure of her life direction. Delaney has
set this interesting character up with two bosses. She's basically a
patrol officer in the small department, but because the head of murder
investigations, John Winters, recognizes her intelligence,
Moonlight—Molly—Smith is frequently tasked to participate in his
investigations.

This time the crime is murder. Out for her daily walk, high school
English teacher Cathy Lindsay is slain, shot in the back. Subsequent
investigation can find no plausible reason. Why was she a target? Was it
a mistake?
As the investigation winds through Trafalgar, the author takes the
opportunity to examine relationships between her principal characters,
their family members, and members of the constabulary. Some of the
scenes are loving, some are rife with anger and tension. The pace is
good and if the threads occasionally fray and lose a little direction,
that's inevitable. This novel has a lot of thoughtful observations and
this reviewer felt enriched. I'd award 4.75 stars if that was possible.

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