In rain-drenched Vancouver, detectives Dion and Leith work to separate truth from lies in two seemingly unrelated cases. February is the month of romance, but in North Vancouver it’s also become the month of murder. While the North Shore RCMP slog through the rain in the search for whoever left a young woman to die in the Riverside Secondary School parking lot — their first clue a Valentine’s … their first clue a Valentine’s Day card — a toddler mysteriously vanishes from a Riverside Drive home in the midst of a dinner party.
With Constable JD Temple’s full attention on the parking lot murder, Constables Dave Leith and Cal Dion work the kidnap … until a tenuous connection is made between the two cases, along with the thinnest ray of hope that the child could be alive and well in the hands of a childless couple. But when more tragedy rains down on the North Shore, lies must be unveiled before the ugly truth can emerge.
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5 stars
Constable JD Temple catches a case of a dead woman. She was a teacher named Tasha Aziz who was murdered in the abandoned parking lot of her school while working late one night. missing child. But JD is also troubled about something she overheard about Constable Cal Dion. Could he be involved in a murder? Now the woman she spoke to about Cal is missing also.
Meanwhile Constables Cal Dion and Dave Leith have caught the case of a missing child. Little Luna Mae went missing during a dinner party at her parents’ house. The mother of the child has remarried and the estranged father doubts her ability to take care of the little girl properly. He is not the only one with doubts. Two older children, a teen boy and another young girl are worried about the mother’s behavior as well.
When another tragedy occurs, the tension in the book ratchets up and the police are baffled. They are pursuing every lead, but the witnesses are lying – or at least certainly holding something back.
The denouement of the story is certainly sad and so senseless. There are some surprises in the story as well as some interesting twists. Dave Leith begins to have a grudging respect for Cal Dion’s talents as a cop. But having been tasked with keeping and eye on Dion by his boss, he is still suspicious.
In this book, the reader gets much more background information about the constables in the North Shore RCMP Detachment. (This book is a departure from the Stonechild and Rouleau series.) We learn about JD, Dave, Cal and the other police officers. We witness their interactions and their intentions. It is very informative. This book is packed with little nuggets of information. I really enjoy police procedurals and this is one of the best. It is a well written novel, as are are of R.M. Greenaway’s novels. She is a great writer and I look forward to the next book in the B.C. Blues crime series.
I want to thank NetGalley and Dundurn Press for forwarding to me a copy of this exciting and interesting book for me to read, enjoy and review.
What a great book! It stars out with the investigation of one but just don’t turn the page too fast because you just might have another surprise around the next page. There is no short supply of mysteries or murders so buckle up your seatbelts and hold on for this exciting ride! Thank you for writing such a great book!
While planning a romantic Valentine’s Day with her boyfriend, a woman leaves her place of work, only to be found dead in the school parking lot. Constable J D Temple is investigating and has very little to go on, other than a Valentine’s card.
Meanwhile, a toddler has gone missing while the parents were hosting a dinner party. First suspects are the parents .. in this case, the mother and step-father. The child’s father is called and he is stating that his ex-wife has taken the child and hidden her. The mother is stating that the father sneaked in and took her.
Constables Dion and Leith have taken charge of the missing child case and with no witnesses, or any leads, they are hoping this will be a case of a child being taken by a childless woman.
It’s when they all find a small connection to each other, that the cases merge into something bigger than imagined … and more bodies fall.
It’s a complex plot with cleverly inserted twists and turns that are fascinating. Suspects are varied … and many. It’s always fun to see how the police follow every little clue … and Dion always comes at a case entirely different from Leith. Their relationship .. both personal and professional … is a large part of the story. A new colleague is introduced .. and there may be some problems coming. The ending is unexpected with just a tad of a cliffhanger which will be the start of FIVE WAYS TO DISAPPEAR … out 4/21.
Although 5th in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone. However, I do recommend reading the books in order.
Many thanks to the author / Dundern Press / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction/police procedural. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
***I got a free ARC from NetGalley and am voluntarily giving an honest review***
I loved this murder mystery. The opening line: “Tasha looked at the toes of her new work boots and worried.” had me all in. Tasha was afraid that she was being followed, and it didn’t help that her car had a flat tire. Tasha had every right to be worried…her murder set up the mystery throughout the book.
Leith and Dion worked on one case while JD and another detective worked on Tasha’s murder. Later on, a baby was abducted from a wealthy family’s home. It did get confusing at times because one section would have the detectives first name being used, then down the line only their last names would be used. I had to make a cheat sheet of who was who throughout the book.
I loved the the author’s writing style. The sentences had a nice rhythm and flowed nicely. The story was easy to read. My favorite lines: 1) “She was cold. Stiffening. Well beyond help.” 2) “Over their time working together, Dion shifted gears often, in Leith’s eyes. Like an antsy motorist in the freeway. Moody, sharp, sometimes cheerful, but always cautious.” 3) “Leith preferred to assume nothing. Always be ready for a twist.”
The author did a great twist with the detectives. I loved how in the second chapter one of the male detectives became a red herring. This tease definitely motivated me to finish the book quickly.
Since I was reading an ARC, the paragraphs didn’t have indentations, but I didn’t hold that against the author, assuming those glitches will be fixed in the final product.
I guessed the wrong killer, but I guessed the right kidnapper. There was twist, after twist, down to the last second, which I appreciated. I’d definitely consider reading another book from this author.
I RECOMMEND this book to read.
First, let me just say that I wasn’t familiar with this series, and I had no idea that this was even part of a series until after I started it. That said, I didn’t have any trouble following the storyline, or storylines, in this book. I was surprised that for a series that is five books in, I didn’t find the characters particularly likable, not even the main characters who I assume are central to each book. Another surprising thing about this book was the almost lazy pacing. One of the cases is a missing toddler, and even with that one, I didn’t really find a sense of urgency like I expected. The story was a bit scattered, and there were odd time jumps here and there, then the author would go back and explain. I don’t know if there was a specific reason for the style, but it just didn’t work for me. In the end, I think I liked the idea of this one better than the reality of it. It certainly sounded promising, but it didn’t quite deliver.
4 stars for book 5 in the B.C. Blues Crime series. The book starts with the murder of Nashwa “Tasha” Aziz. She was a school janitor and found dead in a school parking lot. Then, while Cal Dion and David Leith are still investigating, they are called to the scene of a missing/possibly kidnapped baby.
There is third plot line in this book. Cal Dion is suspected of something in connection with the auto accident in which his partner “Looch” was killed and Cal was badly injured. Cal was in a coma and still suffers from memory loss. But he knows more than he has told his superiors. Cal knows that they suspect him of something. Each book in the series develops this plot line a little more. In this book we find out what Cal did. I can’t say more without going into spoiler territory.
If you decide to read this series, start with book 1, to follow Cal’s plot line.
The ending was a surprise to me. I think that the author has developed complex characters in Cal Dion and his boss, David Leith.
The murder of Tasha is actually solved by another officer, a constable who goes by JD, although her name is Jane Temple.
Thank You Dundurn Press and R.M. Greenaway for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#Bcblues #NetGalley
RIVER OF LIES by R.M. Greenaway is the fifth book in the B.C. Blues Crime series. The novel takes place mainly in North Vancouver, Canada. It worked as a stand-alone novel for me, but I believe reading the previous books would likely add to a reader’s enjoyment of the novel.
In this story, the North Shore RCMP brave the February wind, rain and cold to solve the murder of a young woman at the Riverside Secondary School as well as the disappearance of a young child during a dinner party. While Constable JD Temple focuses on the school murder, Constables Dave Leith and Cal Dion work the kidnapping.
The writing is engrossing and polished and I found myself mentally and emotionally involved with the characters in the story. There are a lot of characters that had very distinct flaws and a few that had virtues, but they all felt real and three-dimensional. The plot is complicated and had lots of twists and turns in this police procedural. As the story evolves, more layers are added to the mystery. Many themes are explored in this book including murder, relationships, drug use, deception, family, lying, secrets, custody battles over children and much more. While the school murder and the child’s disappearance are resolved in the book, there are other issues that are left open for future books. There are a lot of characters in this book and reading the series in order would likely help readers in this regard.
I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written novel and recommend this series to those that enjoy complicated police procedurals. This is the first novel that I have read by this author, and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.
Thanks to Dundurn Press and R.M. Greenaway for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.
In the beginning, I was a little worried. There were a lot of story arcs and characters introduced that were clearly part of a series I hadn’t read so I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep up or get as much of an emotional impact without reading the prior books. I was able to follow but since this was the first Canadian thriller I’ve read, the process of their police work and job titles (i.e. Constables) distracted me a few times. I also couldn’t decide if the personal lives of these detectives was hurting or helping the story.
That said, as a resident of Washington state, the wet, dark world of Vancouver was easy to sink into and made the perfect environment for this churning story. J D Temple is a great character but Dion was a bit odd and unbelievable. This book was complex and twisted in ways that I could not guess but there were a lot of crimes and details that felt thrown in rather than braided together. The domestic dispute between the divorced parents of the missing toddler and their other two children who seem to be keeping secrets was what moved the pages the most for me. The missing janitor case was less gripping, maybe because it moved so slow, but eventually, there is a pay-off. If you love a detailed procedural or you’re craving a Canadian thriller, this is a great read for a rainy day filled with lots of investigation grit.