Among the Departed

February 1, 2011
A long-ago disappearance casts a long shadow.

For 15 years, the Nowaks of Trafalgar, British Columbia, have not dealt well with the fact that Brian walked out to buy a pack of cigarettes and didn't return. His wife Marjorie, a prissy, God-fearing woman, never leaves the house. His son Kyle, a reclusive artist, specializes in violently charged paintings. His daughter Nicky has moved to Vancouver and become an escort with a sideline in blackmailing her clientele. When some of Brian's bones are accidentally uncovered in Koola Provincial Park, Sergeant Winters reopens the case, leaning on Nicky's childhood friend Molly, now a constable, for insights, and setting up a possible conflict with his wife Eliza, who's mounting a gallery showing of Kyle's work. Did Brian leave his family for another woman and get waylaid on his way out of town? Not likely, say the villagers. But what happened to the $10,000 he withdrew just before his disappearance? What of Kyle's insistence that Brian was a womanizer (something that can't be proved), or of the realtor who keeps popping around asking for details about the case, or of the way Nicky and her sleazy partner/pimp Joey are eyeing as possible marks all the men in town, even Molly's boyfriend Adam of the RCMP? Secrets and assumptions must come crashing down to settle the Nowak case and explain the tragedy of 1996.

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Starred review from March 1, 2011

The successful search for a missing boy in the woods near the British Columbian town of Trafalgar also uncovers a human bone that may belong to a man who disappeared years earlier. It's almost too much to handle as Constable Molly Smith (Negative Image; In the Shadow of the Glacier), one of the last people ever to see the missing man, tries to come to terms with her own father's death and deal with her relationship with Adam Tocek of the Royal Canadian Mountain Police. VERDICT By using western Canada as her setting, Delany gives us a breathtaking vista, in which she places her deceptively minimalist plots. Her exceptional ability to create characters, both realistic and sometimes creepy, makes this another terrific addition to her outstanding body of work.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2011
While tracking a young boy who goes missing in Koola Provincial Park in Trafalgar, British Columbia, Adam Toceks search-and-rescue dog finds some old bones that turn out to be human. Constable Molly Smith becomes involved in the case when it looks like the remains belong to Brian Nowak, the father of her childhood friend, Nicky. Coincidentally, Molly was one of the last people to see Nowak before he disappeared 15 years earlier. Molly helps investigate, hampered by the dysfunctional Nowak family, while also performing her sometimes dangerous patrol duties. Just when Mollys superiors decide too much time has passed to find Nowaks killer, the case breaks. Molly must also come to terms both with her mothers not very well hidden relationship with Mollys boss, the chief of police, and with Nicky, who is now involved in some unsavory business. The beautiful setting nicely frames this village police procedural, which boasts well-delineated characters and combines police investigation with the life of cops on the beat.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)