3.5 out of 5 stars
***2025 Summer: Murder Across Canada***
New Brunswick
Emile Cinq-Mars reminds me a lot of Agatha Christie's Poirot. He's a newly retired detective from Montreal, attempting his first real vacation with his wife, Sandra. It's hinted pretty strongly that his obsessive way of investigation has caused them marital strife. So, they have come to Grand Manan Island to hike, enjoy the sunsets, picnic, and pour cocktails. But Cinq-Mars has a puzzle solving mind and when he is somewhat interested in the two deaths that have occurred since he arrived on the island, his wife sternly reminds him that it is none of his business. As in Chrisie, one of the victims is despised and the other is rather ambiguous, a clergyman who has lost his faith.
Both Emile and Sandra have left the RCMP out of their calculations. The Island has a tiny detachment and one of the officers has severe PTSD. They try to recruit Emile to their investigation, but he resists because he wants to keep his wife. However, the daughter of one of the dead men eventually tracks him down, convinced that she is going to be accused of both deaths. Emile is about to turn her down when Sandra declares that he must help the woman. Finally, over half way through the book, Emile is on the case!
The setting is very much like Christie—a small population on a remote island. Everyone thinks they know all about everyone else. Emile drafts the officer with PTSD as his native guide and they set off together to see what they can discover. His empathy for the younger man is admirable. I have to say that I am impressed by Canadian authors regarding their unflinching willingness to depict police officers with severe PTSD and the accompanying complications of alcoholism and drug addiction. For whatever reason, our various police forces (and the Canadian military) are reluctant to admit that trauma can happen to their members or that mental health interventions might be necessary. In this case, it doesn't help that New Brunswick is a small province and is one of the have-nots. Their sparse population means a small tax base and their governments are perpetually under-funded.
After scene setting and build up for the first half of the book, events really get rolling. It's a fast sprint to the ending, which I found satisfying because I hadn't figured out all the details. Although my library has a couple more Emile Cinq-Mars books, I doubt that I will request them. I already have far too many titles on my TBR.
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