The Night Bell

It's taken eight years for the pseudonymous Inger Ash Wolfe to write four Hazel Micallef books, and if this is what it takes to maintain the high quality of the series, I'm certainly not going to complain and beg the author to write faster. Fans have experienced quite a bit through these four books: superiors wanting Hazel off the force, the sixtysomething Hazel's back surgery and recuperation, Hazel's care of her mother Emily as Emily's mental and physical health continue to deteriorate, as well as a passel of hair-raising cases that would make many police officers retire. Hazel Micallef is one of the best characters in crime fiction; she ranks right up there on my list with Fiona Griffiths and Dr. Ruth Galloway. I'd no more forget to show more read the newest Inger Ash Wolfe mystery than I would wake up in the morning and forget to put on my glasses.

There are two crimes being investigated in The Night Bell. The present-day one is solved rather quickly and behind the scenes because it is the old case, the case that Hazel wants to solve for her brother, that is the main focus of attention. It is interesting to inhabit Hazel's childhood memories, to see what sort of little girl she was. Those memories prove to be very important in solving the case, too. Her main source of help is James Wingate who was gravely injured in the last book, A Door in the River. Wingate is supposed to be on light duty, and he certainly isn't officially on the roster, but his work is key in helping Hazel solve the cold case-- and it has a lot to do with the fact that Hazel is the only one on the force who believes in him.

I may have spotted the killer in the cold case early on, but that didn't matter much. When the title of this book was explained, my blood ran cold, and all I could think about was justice. Don't be surprised if you feel the very same way.

Are you new to the Hazel Micallef books? Technically you can start just about anywhere because the author does a good job of filling in enough of the backstory to keep things clear. But if you truly love unique characters and delight in watching their progress over a period of time, please start at the very beginning with The Calling. You'll be in for a treat! show less

I have been eagerly awaiting the fourth book in Inger Ash Wolfe's fantastic Hazel Micallef series - The Night Bell. I got my hands on a copy - and devoured it in two days. I will now be eagerly awaiting the fifth book!

The Night Bell takes us back to Port Dundas, Ontario and Inspector Micallef of the Ontario Police Service.

Wolfe employs one of my favourite narrative techniques in The Night Bell - past and present - with the resolution coming as the storylines finally fit together in the end.

We meet young Hazel in 1957 and get a glimpse into an unsolved crime from those days - the disappearance of a young Port Dundas girl. We also meet Hazel's adopted brother and get to see Hazel's mother Emily in her prime. (I really enjoy Emily's wicked show more sense of humour and caustic one-off's.) The present is 2007. Bones are found on a housing development site - are they human? Two residents of that housing enclave are found brutally butchered and a cop goes missing - or was he taken? And Hazel is told to back off, as the RCMP come in and take over the case.

Well, that's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Hazel's temperament and drive simply won't let her accept that order. She's obstinate, intelligent, tenacious and not the easiest person to get along with. Hazel finds some wiggle room in the order and begins investigating the bones case on her own - with help from still recovering Sergeant James Wingate. Where that investigation takes them is a page ripped from today's newspaper headlines. As are the political machinations amongst the varying police forces.

New faces and old populate the pages of The Night Bell. The mysteries in Wolfe's books are always well-plotted, engaging and intriguing. But, it is the characters that have captured me. Wolfe pulls no punches in their personal lives - I'm both hopeful and worried about what the next book will bring. Hazel is nearing retirement age - but I really don't want to see the end of this series. I also enjoy the 'local' settings of Ontario, Toronto and the mythical but very vivid in my mind, Port Dundas.

This is such a fantastic series! Although you could read The Night Bell as a stand-alone, do yourself a favour and start from the beginning with The Calling. show less

The indomitable Hazel Micallef is called to the scene where bones from long ago have been found. It is a new housing development on land that was once owned by an orphanage for boys. The bones are those of boys and Helen soon learns that there had to be foul play involved.

It turns out to be a fair amount of work to determine what boys were living there in the 1950s, when the bodies were buried, and which of those went missing. For this task Helen calls upon her subordinate, James Wingate. Wingate was seriously injured in a previous case and is still recovering. He can't always find the right words and he tires easily. Yet he is determined and committed and pushes against the forces who want him to stay home and in bed.

More's the pity, show more Helen is warned off the case until the RCMP have finished with their work. The mounties had arrived and have cordoned off the area, but won't reveal exactly what they are working on. Of course Hazel still finds ways to work the case quietly. Which, in the end, is a very good thing.

The case blows open some underhanded dealings among persons who should not be connected with the housing development, shaking up the little town. More important to Hazel, it reveals the role her long-dead brother had in a disappearance long ago.

I'll be staying tuned to Hazel's moves as long as Wolfe (Redhill) continues to write them. show less

Hazel Micallef is one of my favorite detectives. I've read the three previous books and couldn't wait for this one to come out (which took a long time!). Hazel is now 64 and dealing with the changes at the station as they consolidate and her mother, a former judge, who is starting to lose it. There are two several investigations going on. One relates to a new subdivision which has stopped building the promised golf course and a much older case that happened when Hazel was fourteen. How they tie together is the heart of this excellent book. If you like police procedurals, you are going to love these books!

Not having read the first 3 novels in this series, I felt I was a bit behind as I didn't know the backstory of several of the characters. I think the book would have been much more enjoyable had I known more about the characters. Otherwise, the book was an enjoyable read, and the mysteries solved with a satisfactory conclusion.
This story moves between the time that Hazel Micallef was 14 and present day, when she is about 64. Hazel is brought back to the time when a neighborhood girl, Carol Lim, has disappeared. The story is personal as she knew Carol, and Hazel's adopted brother, Alan, was considered a suspect in the disappearance.
Additionally, Hazel and her team are investigating the discovery of bones on a building site in present show more times. These bones are connected to a boys' home that is no longer in operation. Oddly, people associated with the building site and the development of the site are murdered.
#TheNightBell #IngerAshWolfe show less

An unsettling but well-written mystery. Kept me intrigued from beginning to end, and although the subject-matter is distressing, it was not too graphic to read about. I was a bit confused about the motivations of one of the characters but it did all come out pretty clear in the end. A deft handling of a difficult subject.

Another very good mystery in the Hazel Micauliff series, albeit a little confusing as there are both current and historical forces at work, and different people working from different angles. We learn more about Hazel's childhood in the process.