Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Verdict in Blood
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Gail Bowen
Class/Genre: Mystery Amateur Sleuth Woman Main Character Academic
Series: Joanne Kilbourn # 6
McClelland & Stewart, Oct 1998, $20.95, 256 pp.
While patrolling Wascana Park, the Regina Saskatchewan police find the murdered body of Judge Justine Blackwell sprawled across the Boy Scout Memorial. The victim, renowned for her brutal sentencing, has a note on her person containing the name of Hilda McCourt, a senior citizen visiting Joanne Kilbourne, whose phone number was also on the paper.
In recent months Judge Blackwell had begun to act strange. She talked with some of the individuals she put away behind bars and offered to help them. The Judge was so worried about her mental state, she asked Hilda to assess her mind. The issue soon becomes not who killed the Judge, but which of her wills is valid. The older document leaves everything to her children. The newer document, recently processed, bestows her estate to a halfway house for former convicts. Joanne begins to investigate the final days of the Judge without realizing that she has placed her own life in danger.
The sixth Kilbourn who-done-it is a wonderful mystery that feeds on the craving and naiveté of individuals. The story line is impressive and the characters, especially the octogenarian Hilda, add much depth to an already complex storyline. The insiders tour of Regina also provides much warmth (in spite of the climate) to a well written regional amateur sleuth tale. This is a series well worth reading.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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