In the Shadow of the Glacier

First Line: People were of two minds about Reginald ("Call me Reg") Montgomery.

It's not easy having a name like Moonlight Legolas Smith-- and having a brother named Samwise-- but that's what happens when you're born to two hippies who came to Canada to avoid the draft during the Vietnam War. Moonlight is used to it, and prefers being called Molly, thank you very much. She's a new beat cop in small town Trafalgar, British Columbia, and although her choice of occupation doesn't please her parents, it pleases her. She wants to do her best and work her way up the ladder.

It's not going to be easy, especially since one of the big names in town, Reginald Montgomery, has been found murdered. Reg was in Trafalgar to build a huge resort and take show more his chunk out of the area's tourism dollar. Half the town applauds the chance at added revenue, the other half hates the whole idea because of the probable impact on the environment.

The case is made more complicated by two things. One, due to a shortage of manpower, Molly is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in the investigation, and Winters makes no secret of the fact that he doesn't want her rookie help. Two, Reg's death has brought into the spotlight the fact that money and land have been left to the town to build a garden to honor draft dodgers-- and Molly's activist mother is at the forefront of those supporting the controversial memorial.

I dove into this book headfirst and almost didn't come up for air. Superficially, Molly doesn't seem to be likely law enforcement material. She's pretty, "too pretty to make an effective officer. Her voice was soft-- it would have a problem carrying authority--and had the unfortunate tendency to crack under stress." What she does have is intelligence and desire.

The teaming of Smith and Winters is perfect. Here we have a veteran cop from a big city who wants nothing to do with a young female rookie cop. It's all too easy for him to see all the negatives. But he just happens to be married to a former super model who's a canny businesswoman. Eliza Winters helps keep her husband from being permanently narrow-minded.

Although the murderer was rather transparent to me, the motivations weren't. Besides, there were so many well-drawn characters and such a well-paced plot that I didn't care. The media converging on the town whips the action into high gear, and the riot scene in particular held me in thrall. The book has so many interesting facets that I'm just scratching the surface in this review.

It's going to be very interesting to follow young Molly's path in the Trafalgar police force, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in this series. show less

In the Shadow of the Glacier is the first book in the Constable Molly Smith series. Trafalgar is a small town in British Columbia that welcomed draft dodgers from the United States during Vietnam. The town is divided by a recent request from a local to build a Peace Garden commemorating the Americans who found refuge there is the 60s. Added to that, Reginald Montgomery, a brash American who is against the plan, wants to build a huge resort that might lose American tourist business if they are offended by the history behind the park.

When Montgomery is found murdered, rookie Constable Molly Smith is assigned to assist DS John Winters, an experienced investigator. There is a huge list of suspects, including Molly's own parents, Vietnam-era show more activists. The case picks up international attention when a media personality/reporter comes to town and escalates the situation for ratings. In addition there are some interesting side stories involving the townspeople that add to the story.

I thought this was a good, solid mystery with interesting characters, set in a beautiful place. The writing is sharp and fast-paced, and the ending was a surprise to me. The characters all have substance, especially Molly's mom, Lucky Smith. This is the type of series I like to just relax and enjoy, not worrying that I'm going to read too many things that make it difficult to hold down my dinner. It's not quite a cozy mystery, but very close. Maybe because I didn't have high expectations, I ended up not only enjoying it, but picking up the second book of the series. show less

Molly (Moonlight) Smith is a Constable in Trafalgar, BC, Canada. It’s a little tourist town right at the edge of a glacier. Her parents Lucky and Andy run tour agency. Her mom is an aging hippie and her father is a draft dodger from the Vietnam war. Things are not settled in town as Lucky wants to make sure a Commemorative Peace garden, honoring draft dodgers, is built in the town. The town is split on whether it will hurt or help the tourist industry. While on patrol, a local business man, in opposition to the park, is found murdered in an alley, and Molly’s bike is stolen. She is teamed up with Detective Waters, a transfer from Vancouver, to find out what is going on. To make things worse, Molly’s best friend is being stalked by show more a violent admirer. And even worse is that an L A news anchor is in town totally stirring up protests and division in town. (This reminds me of what today’s irresponsible partisan media is doing to the US.) This is an excellent character driven story. Molly and her family are interesting people. It’s not fast paced, but there is enough happening that I easily became engrossed in the story. I can hardly wait to red more of this series. show less

Alas - I *love* Vicki Delany's writing, and was (frankly) sick of the other cozy writer's series I'd been immersed in during quarantine. So I had high (unrealistic?) hopes for this.

Plus I figured a trip to Trafalgar in the sweltering heat of a North Carolina July would be just the thing.

But this is NOT her usual cozy, and from the get-go was too gritty for me (especially in these already traumatic times). And 50 pages in, I still had not really warmed up to anyone. So, I let it go for now. Maybe I am just in a bad mood, so I might try again later.

A great little not quite cozy police procedural with a protagonist Moonlight (Molly) Smith who is just beginning her career on the Trafalgar police force in small town British Columbia. Her pairing with veteran detective (recently moved from the BIG CITY) John Winters is perfect and bodes well for future episodes in the series.

Molly's parents are Vietnam era draft dodgers. Her mother is still pychologically back in the 70's and neither parent is at all pleased when their daughter joins the police force. When Molly is pulled from being just a beat cop to help detective Winter investigate the murder of a big time investor in the town (a body that Molly discovered), things get even dicier. The deceased, Reginald Montgomery, has been quite show more vocal in his opposition to dedicating a "Peace Park" to commemorate those who left the US rather than fight, so assuming that people who opposed the opposer would want him removed leads the police to looking for a peacenik who had opportunity. show less

Constable Molly Smith finds herself partnering with the lead homicide detective when his usual partner heads out of town when Trafalgar's first murder in years occurs. The town about a half-hour north of the United States border boasts a significant population of Vietnam draft dodgers. Many citizens, including Molly's activist mother, want a Peace Garden honoring draft dodgers, but others like Reginald Montgomery oppose the plan. Montgomery aspires to build a resort which might lose American tourist dollars if the Peace Garden plan succeeds. The town becomes a magnet for troublemakers and for one American journalist who manages to slant all his journalistic efforts to capture his own opinion. Molly offers to help a friend get a show more restraining order against someone harrassing her, but she becomes so involved in the investigation she failed to remember to meet her. She later refuses to proceed, and the results are disastrous. The town also experiences a rash of bicycle thefts, including Molly's own. Sergeant Winters notices all the thefts occur near times Molly visited the locations on her beat. Are the thefts and murder connected? I look forward to seeing where Delany takes Molly Smith in the next installment of the series. Molly's naivity makes her an interesting character with a lot of room to develop. I listened to the audiobook. The narrator's accent led to some unusual pronunciations for American ears, but perhaps it reflects the dialect of the area. show less

This is the first of series of police procedurals set in a small town in British Columbia. The daughter of parents who escaped to Canada during the Vietnam war decides to become a local policewoman, much to the dismay of her activist mother. This book focuses on her first encounter with a murder (of course), a seargent from the big city (Vancouver) and the idea that you can't trust people. As a first, it's ok, although sometimes the writing gets out of hand (run-on sentences in a couple of places), and the characters seem a little more naive than they should be. Still, it's a series that might be worth following - I'll give a couple more a try.