Why the Rock Falls

October 26, 2020
Barnard’s so-so third mystery set in the Canadian Rockies (after 2019’s Where the Ice Falls) finds former Mountie Lacey McCrae studying to be a PI and taking on security work to get references. Her latest assignment is working for Jake Wyman, the owner of an oil company that’s been subject to vandalism. Hollywood director Mylo Matheson arrives to shoot a film in the hamlet near Wyman’s home, along with his latest wife, Kitrin Devine, memorably described as “kind of a heroin-chic version of that woman in the pearl-earring movie.” Kitrin is in both bad physical and mental condition, and drowns in the swimming machine at the home she and Matheson have rented. The fatality appears accidental, but Lacey, who witnessed Mylo being unfaithful to his wife, suspects foul play, which is confirmed when an autopsy reveals bruising and a skull fracture. The methodical investigation offers few surprises, and Barnard doesn’t give Lacey depth, despite her complicated emotional life. Readers already invested in the series are most likely to appreciate this one. Agent: Stacey Kondla, Rights Factory (Canada).