Review: Death's Golden Whisper

This novel is set at the intersection of three Canadian cultures - English, Quebecois and Native - and two periods in time - the present day and the period leading up to a crucial event in 1925. The author also introduces some very current and controversial issues involving race, the environment, and development. For the most part, she handles this complex assortment of themes and characters well.

After her divorce, Meg Harris, the narrator, retreated from Toronto to make a new life in the family cottage she inherited from her reclusive aunt. She now lives in a remote part of Quebec where her only neighbours are the members of a small Algonquin band. Like her aunt before her, she lives alone with the assistance of Marie, an Algonquin housekeeper whose family has been connected with Meg's for generations. Meg has survived a winter and is settled in her new home when a mining company starts operations on an island in the nearby lake, threatening her peaceful existance and splitting the Native community. Almost immediately, Meg's ex-husband shows a suspicious level of interest in Meg and her property, and the first murder is discovered.

The author does a good job of handling the cultural and the political/economic complexities. Of the three cultural groups, the Quebecois one is the most poorly realized, and is represented only by a couple of minor and mostly unappealing characters, such as the rather ineffectual officer from the provincial police force. It would be unrealistic to expect more in a novel set in a mostly Native area with mostly English visitors/residents.

The divisions within the English and Native groups are portrayed well, although I thought that the pro development side was described less well than was the pro environment side. It seemed as though the author was unaware of the lingering bitterness and anger resulting from conflicts such as the one in Oka and tactics such as the tree- spiking in British Columbia, and was unwilling, or unable for the sake of the story, to admit the possibility that people can honesty disagree on such issues.

In spite of this caveat, the author generally handled these complicated and potentially explosive plot threads well. The historical connections were interesting, too, and worked well as plot devices.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to readers interested in a contemporary mystery in an unusual and interesting rural setting.

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Cheryl - RAM

Book Review: Death's Golden Whisper