Mist Walker

The past comes back to haunt the present in Mist Walker, the third novel in Barbara Fradkin's Inspector Green series set in Ottawa. A young school teacher is wrongly accused of sexual misconduct with a 6-year-old female student; years later, his life is in ruins, he has changed from being shy to being outright paranoid, phobic and reclusive. But he has managed to make at least one friend, and when that friend contacts the Ottawa Police Department to declare him missing, Inspector Green is intrigued by apparent anomalies in the disappearance - why had the man left so abruptly that his meal was still on the table, and would this man known to adore his large ungainly dog leave her behind a closed door to starve to death? But Green's show more investigation is seemingly stymied at every turn, and worse, he is distracted by the fact that his long-estranged, now-teenaged daughter is roaming about somewhere in Ottawa, where she has never been and doesn't know a soul.... I have been enjoying this series by former clinical psychologist Fradkin, at least in part because I'm a little bit familiar with Ottawa, but mostly because she uses her psychological training and insights to create rich, complex characters. This story was quite dark and disturbing, but always believable, and in fact, I was so caught up in it that as soon as I finished the book, I had to pick up the next one in the series in order to find out how the recurring characters fared next! Reading the previous books is not absolutely necessary, but I'd recommend doing so. Recommended. show less