October 27, 2014
Archivist Macdonald’s affecting first novel, a mystery set in Winnipeg in 1899, is filled with fascinating, though occasionally superfluous, period details. Peter McEvoy, an old school friend of the Rev. Charles Lauchlan, is accused of the murder of a well-connected businessman. Charles is shocked that his artistic and misunderstood friend has become a down-and-out “drunkard,” but he believes Peter deserves justice and a proper defense. His spirited young friend Maggie Skene insists that they do everything to help Peter, and one of her friends offers to pay for Peter’s lawyer and bail. Charles winds up in the middle of the action as he tries to help Peter find the killer. As the mystery unfolds, so does a budding romance between Charles and Maggie. Macdonald’s pleasing narrative voice and dialogue ring true to the era, but the book would have benefited from some reordering: The first two chapters, which open with police sergeant Setter and photographer Rosetta Cliffe working at the crime scene, lead the reader to expect that they will be the main characters. The pacing of the action is sometimes slowed by the author’s meticulous attention to detail, but the book is, nevertheless, an engaging read.