Stain of the Berry by Anthony Bidulka

51. - 366.) Stain of the Berry by Anthony Bidulka – In his 4^th adventure Russell Quant is back in Saskatoon. I believe Anthony’s vivid descriptions of life in Saskatoon in the first decade of the 21^st century will be a basic future reference on what life was like in the city. Asked to determine if Tanya Culinare’s leap to death from a Broadway balcony was a suicide Russell investigates the Pink Gophers chorus. Tanya and other members are being harassed by a mysterious figure called the Boogeyman. (I wish he had chosen a different name. The Boogeyman is too much a child’s unreasoning fear of the dark rather than a real stalker.) The search for his missing friend, Sereena, takes him to the Arctic. I found the subplot contrived and a distraction (see e-mail to Anthony.) Russell diligently pulls at the strings of the investigation which takes in and around Saskatoon. A good mystery. (Dec. 25/06)