"A Door in the River" by Inger Ash Wolfe

The small town of Port Dundas, Ontario is shocked when beloved hardware store owner Henry Weist is found dead in the parking lot of a First Nation reserve cigarette shop.  All signs point to Henry dying of a bee sting but Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef isn't so sure.  When more deaths follow, Hazel and the police force find themselves embroiled in a mystery that involves illegal gambling, modern day slavery and a suspect bent on getting revenge.

A Door in the River is the third offering in the Hazel Micallef series by Inger Ash Wolfe.  I haven't read the first two books but it is not necessary to have done so.  This book stands on its own and any references to the previous books are explained well enough that you don't need background information. 

This is a wonderfully written, deep thriller that pulls you in right away and keeps you hooked until the very last page.  The secondary stories of personnel changes at the police station and Micallef's aging mother do not take away from the mystery and make for a well-rounded story.  I read this book in one day and that is the first time in a very long time I have done this.

I am still fairly new to the mystery genre but this was a perfect match for me.  The circumstances are a little out there, making you wonder if such a thing could really happen, and when you do consider the possibilities it makes you shudder to think of the world we live in.  I didn't become particularly enamoured with the character of Hazel Micallef but that was okay for me as I prefer to become attached to the mystery rather than the sleuth.  I loved that it is set in small-town Ontario, though readers around the world will enjoy it as it could be small-town anywhere.

Mystery readers will enjoy this novel.  The plot never drags, chapters are the perfect length and there is the right amount of intrigue and suspense.  You do have to suspend belief just a little bit in terms of plausibility, but it all comes together as being possible and that makes for a spine-tingling read.

Thanks to Random House of Canada for providing me with a copy of this book.  The opinions expressed above are purely my own.

Comments

  1. Lindsey from Random House of CanadaAugust 24, 2012 at 11:30 AM

    We're so glad to hear that this book was a great fit for you! Thanks for a great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ShanAugust 24, 2012 at 2:33 PM

      Thanks for it. I'm not a big mystery reader but picked it because it's Canadian and I'm so happy to have enjoyed it on all points!

      Delete
  2. AnonymousAugust 24, 2012 at 1:25 PM

    lovely blog :D **New Follower**
    Bookishtimes.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  3. ShanAugust 24, 2012 at 2:33 PM

    Thank you and welcome!

    ReplyDelete

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