Valley of the Lost

December 22, 2008
At the start of Delany's engaging second mystery to feature Constable Molly Smith (after 2007's In the Shadow of the Glacier
), Molly's mother is leaving work one evening at the Trafalgar Women's Support Center in British Columbia when a baby's cry draws her to the nearby woods, where she finds a baby boy, wrapped in a blanket—and the body of a young woman. The victim, presumably the boy's mother, appears to have died from a heroin overdose, but restraint marks on her wrists point to foul play. Molly and her mentor, Sgt. John Winters, comb Trafalgar in an effort to identify the woman. After discovering that her first name was Ashley, the police officers learn that the developer of a controversial new resort being built outside of town had a heated argument with Ashley shortly before she died. Delaney explores the social dynamics of a small mountain community as well as deftly handling the plot's twists and turns as it builds to a pulse-pounding conclusion.

November 1, 2008
In the mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, a young woman is found dead of a heroin overdose, her infant son next to her body. Political activist and rabble-rouser Lucky Smith takes the baby home. Molly, her daughter and a probationary constable, is asked to work the case by Sgt. John Winters, who is still new in town and respects Molly's local knowledge. Intertwined subplots, complex characters, and an easy prose style make this a great follow-up to Delany's debut, "In the Shadow of the Glacier". For most collections.

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