Sunday 27 December 2020

Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman

I just finished reading Cold Mourning, the first Brenda Chapman book I've read and the first in her Stonechild and Rouleau Mystery Series.

It’s a week before Christmas when wealthy businessman Tom Underwood disappears into thin air — with more than enough people wanting him dead. 

New police recruit Kala Stonechild, who has left her northern Ontario detachment to join a specialized Ottawa crime unit, is tasked with returning Underwood home in time for the holidays. Stonechild, who is from a First Nations reserve, is a lone wolf who is used to surviving on her wits. Her new boss, Detective Jacques Rouleau, has his hands full controlling her, his team, and an investigation that keeps threatening to go off track. 

Old betrayals and complicated family relationships brutally collide when love turns to hate and murder stalks a family.

I thought Cold Mourning was a compelling read. I'm unsure if this was originally written as a one off or as a planned series. My thoughts are that this was originally written as a stand alone novel but with Kala Stonechild and Jacque Rouleau being such interesting characters, they begged for more to be written about them. Chapman is a descriptive writer but never overdoes it, which can bog down a story. 

Cold Mourning made the final 5 shortlist for the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel of the year written by a Canadian Author. I can see why.

When I purchased the book, I did it as an e-book containing the first three of the six books in the series. I'm glad I did as this book makes me want to read the rest of the books in the series.

About Brenda Chapman

Brenda Chapman is a Canadian crime fiction author with over twenty published novels. In addition to short stories and standalones, she has written the lauded Stonechild and Rouleau police procedural series, the Anna Sweet mystery novellas, and the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for middle grade. 

Her work has been shortlisted for several awards including three Arthur Ellis awards. Brenda studied English literature at Lakehead and Carleton universities and earned a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University. 

She taught for fifteen years in the field of special education followed by a Communications career in the federal government. She currently writes full-time and makes her home in Ottawa.

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