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    Winter of Secrets
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    Winter of Secrets
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    Winter of Secrets
    Ebook383 pages4 hours

    Winter of Secrets

    By Vicki Delany

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada

    "Delaney glides between scenes with ease. She uses a bare-bones style, without literary flash, to achieve artistry as sturdy and restrained as a Shaker chair."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED review

    Siblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends have come to the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. to enjoy a two-week vacation of skiing, drinking, drugs, and sex. But tragedy strikes when two of the group crash through the ice into the frozen river.

    It's Christmas Eve and the snowstorm of the decade has settled over the town. Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are busy attending to fender-benders, tumbling pedestrians, and Christmas tree fires. Then, at the stroke of midnight, they are summoned to the scene of an accident: a car has gone off the snowy road into the river. Police, coroner, and medics all agree it was an accident. But when the autopsy reveals a shocking secret, Molly and Sergeant John Winters are plunged into a world of sexual predators, recreational drugs, privilege, and high-living.

    Meanwhile, stalker Charlie Bassing is out of jail and looking for revenge, a handsome Mountie is giving Molly the eye, and her mother, Lucky, is cheerfully interfering in the investigation. And all Molly wants to do is ski the powder....

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSourcebooks
    Release dateSep 30, 2011
    ISBN9781615950461
    Unavailable
    Winter of Secrets
    Author

    Vicki Delany

    Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the United States. She has written more than 30 books: from clever cozies to Gothic thrillers, gritty police procedurals to historical fiction and seven novellas in the Rapid Reads line. She writes the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas mysteries and under the pen name of Eva Gates, the Lighthouse Library series. Vicki is the past president of Crime Writers of Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, Bony Blithe, Golden Oak, and Arthur Ellis Awards. She lives in Prince Edward County, Ontario.

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    Reviews for Winter of Secrets

    4/5

    41 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Trafalgar, British Columbia is settling in for the snow storm of the decade on Christmas Eve, and the police are prepared for the holiday and snow related problems. Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are teamed up for a twelve hour shift, expecting their share of car accidents and drunken fights. The tragedy of the night is an out-of-control SUV that took a hill too fast, ending up in the river. Despite all the efforts of police and fire, no one could save the two young men. So, the police moved on. When Smith and Evans ran into sixteen-year-old Lorraine LeBlanc, the daughter of two drunks arrested earlier, Molly wished she could help her, but Lorraine insisted she was off to her boyfriend’s for Christmas Eve.Imagine Molly’s surprise when she found Lorraine at a local B&B, when she arrived to inform the sister of one of the accident victims of his death. Wendy Wyatt-Yarmouth and her brother, Jason, were part of a group of college students who flew in for a couple weeks of skiing. And, Lorraine was there to celebrate a “real” Christmas, thinking she had found true love with Jason. Nothing good could come of wealthy young outsiders with too much money and the local young people, with little or nothing.Christmas was over by the time Sergeant John Winters returned to the office, but a call from the pathologist’s office would involve him in the Christmas Eve accident. When he learned one of the young men in the SUV had been dead for at least twenty-four hours before going in the river, he called on Smith to work with him on the investigation.Delany never forgets that Molly is new to police work. She makes the mistakes of a young cop, including one in front of her mother. Through Molly, Delany shows how difficult it is to grow up, particularly in a front of people who know you. And, the people of Trafalgar add interest and charm to these mysteries. Molly and Winters return, along with the rest of the police force, and a Mountie who shows interest in Molly. There are the town drunks, their daughter, Lorraine, and her brother. Molly’s former best friend reappears, along with the abusive boyfriend who almost killed her. Even those readers meeting Molly’s mother for the first time will be intrigued. Lucky is a true character, an idealist, ex-hippie, who thinks nothing of interfering in police investigations, even Molly’s. Delany creates small town characters as well as anyone writing police procedurals now.Vicki Delany vividly portrays Trafalgar in the three mysteries in this series. It’s described as an “opinionated, left leaning, artistic, independently-inclined town nestled in the mountains and forests deep inside British Columbia. She brings this town to life, and makes it a familiar, small town, even if a little eccentric. Those readers looking for charming settings won’t go wrong.Delany never forgets this is a small town police force with more than one case. In Winter of Secrets, the police work everything from car accidents to bar fights and shoplifting. And, of course, there’s the investigation of an accident that could be more than a car accident. But, it isn’t easy for local cops to probe into the lives of influential, well-off people, particularly the lives of the Wyatt-Yarmouth family and friends.Winter of Secrets is another outstanding police procedural from Vicki Delany. Anyone who enjoys small town police procedurals should try her book, set in eccentric Trafalgar.
    • 5/5
      I must have loaded this onto my Kindle a while ago - I happened upon it way down in the archives, and I don't remember, but I think I bumped into Vicki on Twitter, checked out the book, and bought it on the spot. I"m so glad I did! I thoroughly enjoyed the story set in a mid-winter BC town, told primarily through the POVs of two local cops, Winter (male) and Smith (young newbie female cop). The characters were well-rounded and beautifully done. A GREAT winter mystery!Top notch writing, solid suspense/plotting, excellent scene painting, and natural dialog. Ms. Delaney is a natural, a true talent. I'm off to buy more of her books and I do hope this is a series!
    • 3/5
      A police procedural involving a young woman constable in British Columbia, Canada. I seen many of these constable type mysteries and this one fits the mold and presents and adequate mystery. 128
    • 5/5
      It's Christmas Eve at Trafalgar in the Kootenay area of British Columbia and there's lots of snow. It's the storm of the decade and the roads are icy. Constable Molly (Moonlight) Smith, recently off probation, is on duty overnight, and it promises to be a busy one. Just after midnight a car goes into the river.The occupants are tourists, a couple of young men staying at a local B&B with friends. They've come to Trafalgar for the skiing. They are both pronounced dead when the car is retrieved from the river. The only trouble is that the pathologist discovers a day or two later that the passenger had been dead when the car went into the water.I enjoyed renewing my acquaintance with Molly Smith, her mother Lucky, and her colleagues. Molly has moved on a bit since the previous title in the series: VALLEY OF THE LOST. She's now left home and living above the baker's shop. In WINTER OF SECRETS we learn what a good skier she is, and she is certainly becoming a good police woman. It was a nice solid read.Last year the author Vicki Delany was a guest on my blog. In that post Vicki told me that WINTER OF SECRETS was a departure from her usual method of writing, an experiment she says that she won't repeat.
    • 4/5
      Readers are faced with a story of wealthy, entitled people and how they can so easily and carelessly destroy lives. It didn't take long for me to see that Winter of Secrets isn't really a case of whodunit, but of why and how. As usual, Delany's excellent cast made me forget that I don't particularly care for books that prominently feature the rich and shameless. Constable Molly Smith has good instincts, but she's still learning and still making mistakes. These blunders can infuriate her mentor, Sergeant John Winters, but for the most part he is able to bite his tongue and count to ten. Why? Because he sees her potential as a police officer. Does Molly know when he's extremely angry? Yes. Does she know when she's done something stupid? Yes. But Winters is smart enough to know when to take a step back and let Molly castigate herself. Of course he's using that time to cool off, but at least he knows to back off! Something else that makes Winters stand out from the crowd is that he is happily married to a highly regarded model. Those two occupations in one marriage just don't seem to belong, do they? But this marriage has been working for years. I find Winters every bit as fascinating as I do Molly.Molly's mother Lucky always seems to find her way into each investigation as well. This time the outspoken woman is trying to help Lorraine, a teenage girl whose parents care more for booze than they do their own children. Lucky is a former hippie who hasn't lost one atom of her convictions. As a result, she doesn't care for the police, so Molly's choice of career does not set well with her-- and probably never will. But each time Lucky finds her way into these investigations and sees her daughter in action, she gains a bit more understanding. This is a relationship that I enjoy watching. Will mother and daughter ever see eye to eye? Only time will tell.Delany's story and pacing flow so well, her characters are so interesting, that her books read much too quickly. I always look forward to the next book with a great deal of anticipation, but with a threat looming in Molly's future, I know it won't be long until I begin reading Negative Image. If you haven't read one of Vicki Delany's Smith and Winters mysteries, treat yourself. They read well as standalones, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it. I'm enjoying the character development way too much!
    • 4/5
      While working the Christmas Eve shift in the small town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are summoned to the scene of a car accident. Two young men are dead after crashing their car into the river. At first, it appears to be an accident, but the autopsy reveals evidence that turns this into a possible murder investigation. Sergeant John Winters and new constable, Molly, start to interview the victims' family and friends and those townsfolk who interacted with them. Molly and John have to conduct their investigation while dealing with selfish and privileged kids whose holiday plans have to be put on hold.

      The various characters of Trafalgar add interest and charm to these mysteries. There are the town drunks, their daughter, Lorraine, and her brother. Molly’s former best friend reappears, along with the abusive boyfriend who almost killed her. Molly’s mother, Lucky, is a real character, an idealist, ex-hippie, who thinks nothing of interfering in police investigations, including Molly’s. The author does a great job depicting the learning curve experienced by a newly hired constable. In this book Molly Smith has just finished her first year on probation, so she makes a few mistakes, but it seems very realistic.

      Winter of Secrets is another outstanding police procedural from Vicki Delany. Anyone who enjoys small town police procedurals should try her one of her books. They are not quite cozy, but definitely not too gritty either.