RCMP Sgt. Windflower - A Dream Weaver

In this post I write about the spirituality of RCMP Sgt. Windsor Windflower, the sleuth in Mike Martin’s 17 book series, follows Cree traditions in his life. In Too Close for Comfort and A Change in Plans his heritage guides his spiritual life. I sent a copy of my review of Too Close for Comfort and this post to Mike. He kindly replied. His response is at the end of this post.

Early most mornings he conducts a personal smudging ceremony wafting the scented smoke over himself. When the smudging is completed he prays. The combination of smudging and praying renew him in spirit and body. There is not much prayer in contemporary crime fiction.

Other mornings he lights a ceremonial pipe and, in the smoke curling around him, he has visions.

I am not fond of the paranormal in mysteries but Windflower is an extraordinary dreamer. 

His Auntie Marie and his Uncle Frank, both deceased, were “master dream weavers”:

His people, the northern Cree, weren’t all dream interpreters. That seemed to be a particular trait of his mother’s family. But they all somewhat believed that they could connect with their ancestors through the dream world.

Windflower is following in their steps as a dream weaver. The spirits of deceased family and friends come in his dreams to talk to him. 

They are likely to wear the suit of an animal. Dr. Sanjay, a long time friend, appears as a giant northern hare.

Windflower’s cat, Molly, comes and speaks to him in a dream. She says she can read his mind. 

During another dream Windflower speaks to a spirit who is the deceased brother of a character. The spirit warns Windflower of danger to the spirit’s living brother.

What do you do about a warning of non-specific danger?

How do you take care when you do not know the source of the danger?

His daughter Stella is starting to have dreams she remembers. She wants to believe in dreams. Her interpretations are literal. Windflower says to her sometimes dreams are “messages that we have to learn from”.

I am far from a dream weaver. I rarely recall dreams. When I do they are fragmented and often confusing.

Windflower’s wife and young daughters do not follow his spiritual ways. They go to an unnamed church on Sundays. Windflower does not join them.

The family is not in conflict over their different spiritual paths.

I appreciate Windflower, his wife and children being spiritual people. 

Windflower reminds me of another fictional indigenous RCMP officer. Inspector Matteesie Kitolgitak, in a pair of novels by Scott Young from the late 1980’s, is very familiar with the “old ways” having been a member of the last generation of Inuit to grow up living off the land.

His 90 year old mother, Bessie Apakaq, is “a toothless old Inuit woman with a tattooed face and only one eye”. She still has a nomadic spirit travelling from family group to family group in the Arctic as far north as Victoria Island north of mainland Canada.

In the second book, The Shaman’s Knife, Matteesie consults a shaman with knowledge of traditional spirituality.

Of the contemporary sleuths who embrace spirituality some are sleuths who are members of religious orders.

Father Anselm is a Gilbertine monk in the series written by William Brodrick. He is a deeply spiritual and a thoughtful man of prayer.

Sister Holiday is a nun of the Sisters of the Sublime Blood in the series by Grace Douaihy. While often profane and prone to impulse she is committed to her order and a woman who values prayer.

Joanne Kilbourn and her family in the long running series by Gail Bowen are staunch Anglicans. They participate in the services at the Anglican cathedral in Regina.

Glory Beverly Broussard in Glory Daze by Daniele Arceneaux is a dedicated Catholic woman who believes in prayer. In my review of the book I said:

Glory is a woman who speaks her mind including talking directly to God. A staunch member of St. Agnes parish she frankly states what is on her mind to the Lord. At least in the book it is a one way conversation.

Windflower, Father Anselm, Sister Holiday, Joanne, Glory and myself all appreciate the rituals of faith. They enhance spiritual life.

Windflower’s individual spirituality supports him. I find going to Mass to worship and praying with others adds greatly to my spiritual life. As with Windflower I find prayer in my personal life calms and sustains me.

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Mike Martin's reply -

Thank you so much for your review and comments about A Change in Plans. Your observations about Sgt. Windflower are interesting and I appreciate that you go a little deeper below the surface to consider not only the actions but the intentions and meaning behind them. Windflower has been a lot of fun to write about, to see how he faces different and sometimes difficult challenges. I also try and capture as much of what I believe to be a small town policeman's life, and not just his crime solving. 

The real fun of that is imagining what he would like to eat and then try and create that. I always suggest that readers try some of the things out for themselves. Surely, AI or Google can help you make a blueberry buckle.

Thank you, Bill for continuing to support Canadian crime fiction and the authors who are toiling to bring that to life and to our Canadian marketplace. 

****

Martin, Mike - (2024) - Too Close for Comfort; (2026) - A Change in Plans

A Change in Plans by Mike Martin

(27. - 1316.) A Change in Plans by Mike Martin - Sgt. Winston Windflower is Acting Inspector for the region of Newfoundland around Grand Bank where he lives. He returns for his 17th adventure.

As often happens to managers he is spending most of his time on administrative matters. Staffing is a perpetual issue. Additional time is spent dealing with residents of Grand Bank who are struggling with life. Mike Winger, partially paralyzed and volatile, needs his attention frequently.

Windflower reminds me of several RCMP sergeants we have had in Melfort over the years. They were easy going men outside the office and drama inside the detachment seemed minimal. All were married and had children. They participated in community activities. They were fully part of Melfort. More recent sergeants have been less involved. I believe a partial reason is that they have often been moved before they had much time in our city. Still I think they have chosen to be less involved with Melfort than earlier sergeants. I think their lives and our community would be better if they were more involved.

Drug trafficking is a plague everywhere. Traffickers are clever using expectations that a major drug operation would not involve rural Canada.

Winger’s arrest, questioning and bail hearing are breathtakingly informal to a lawyer. I have never known an RCMP sergeant nor any other rank to ignore a court order for release for any reason. 

Life is going well at home for Windflower with his wife (Sheila), daughters (Stella and Amelia Louise) and dog (Lady). There is the relaxed comfortableness of a happy home.

As always, while Windflower reflects on the obsession of others with food, he is deeply focused on eating well. 

I enjoy Martin describing dishes that, if not unique to Newfoundland, are certainly staples on the island. My favourite in A Change of Plans was blueberry buckle:

A blueberry buckle was an old-fashioned single-layer blueberry cake. It has a dense batter but a tender crumb and a kind of streusel topping …. The buckle name came from how the cake bakes. As it rises, the blueberries and streusel weigh it down. That causes the top layer to buckle and gives it an indented look.

Windflower is often the cook for his family. I am going to have to get some smoked paprika. It seems to go with every meat.

The drug case gets more complicated when a chronic local offender, Greg Morrissey, has the back of his head bashed in.

As with Too Close for Comfort, outlaw bikers are involved.

Criminal connections reach out from Newfoundland across Canada and extend outside our nation.  

The drug dealers, while growing more sophisticated in their drug dealing operations, fail to recognize that disciplining straying low level members needs a measured touch. A beating can provide a message, a murder will draw close police attention that can damage, if not destroy, all levels of the network.

Unlike much crime fiction the RCMP officers of Newfoundland work well together under Windflower’s directions.

As the pace picks up there is a kidnapping. I struggled with its credibility. I will not discuss the reasons as I think they would be spoilers.

Windflower’s indigenous heritage values animal allies. Moose are important to Windflower providing “a symbol of endurance, survival and strength”.

My next post will explore another aspect of his heritage.

Windflower encounters a mama moose who “ambled” onto the highway followed shortly after by a moose calf. Fortunately, he has time to stop. Moose are a major road hazard in central and northern Saskatchewan. 500 - 600 are hit by vehicles every year. I have hit a deer and last week collided with a moose at night on a highway.

To the quotes from Shakespeare Windflower exchanges with his superior are added quotes from the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Praying for a fellow officer Windflower is reminded of Tagore’s beautiful aphorism:

‘Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.’

I loved Windflower’s interactions with family, friends, neighbours and colleagues. I was less excited about the mystery. Placing a significant part of the book outside Newfoundland did not work well for me. I would like to read what happens next in Sgt. Windflower’s life, personally and professionally.

****

Martin, Mike - (2024) - Too Close for Comfort

Email exchange with Elizabeth Heider on Children of the Savage City

While reading Children of the Savage City by Elizabeth Heider I thought about a couple of aspects of the book and wrote to Elizabeth. I appreciate her candid response. Our exchange is below.

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Dear Elizabeth:

I enjoyed reading Children of the Savage City and a copy of the review I will be publishing in a few days is at the end of this email.

I thought about the Amanda Knox case while reading the book.

Monica Lissom and Kami Washington in your book and Knox were attractive young American women charged with murder in Italy. 

It is always convenient for police and the public to think of an outsider, preferably someone from another country, as the killer. In the Knox case, both Knox and the actual killer were not Italian. 

Knox, unlike Monica and Kami, had no defence counsel beside her when she was aggressively questioned over four days.

I thought if Knox had a liaison unit like Phoenix Seven assisting her defence counsel she would not have been caught up in the Byzantine Italian criminal justice system and, if there had been a trial, would have been found not guilty.

Was the Knox case at least a partial inspiration for Children of the Savage City?

Reading about Knox’s trial I thought she should never have been convicted. I considered the evidence against her weak, especially when the real killer was convicted. It took an appeal for Knox to be freed. As ultimately found by the appellate judges, the authorities charging her had tunnel vision ignoring and/or contorting the evidence that showed Knox was innocent. 

Do you have any thoughts on that case?

There was an aspect of the Children of the Savage City that troubled me.

I regretted the number of bodies. I neither think a noir thriller nor a noir mystery needs double digit bodies to be effective but I have come to believe it has become expected of American published thrillers.

I believe that you and S.A. Cosby are two of the most talented and skilled crime fiction writers of the 2020’s.

I struggle with the many bodies in his books and now with the body count in Children of the Savage City.

After reading King of Ashes and posting my review I added a second post on the meaning of life in thriller noir fiction. A link is below. That post explores some of my regrets over a high body count.

I am confident each of you can create abundant drama without double digit bodies and hope your publishers are not encouraging you to have lots of bodies.

I would be glad if your next book has fewer bodies. 

I appreciated your response to my review and email on May the Wolf Die. If you are able to reply to this email and willing to share your response I will post it when I post this email on my blog in about a week.

All the best.

Bill

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Dear Bill,

Thank you for your letter. You're right, I didn't catch it earlier - although I suspect this had more to do with the hectic book tour than a mistaken address. Thank you also for the generous review of Children of the Savage City. It means a lot that you read my books so closely and ask such sharp questions.

On Amanda Knox: I don't think I deliberately set out to write her case into the book, but I do remember being struck by it at the time, and I suspect it was somewhere in my mind as Monica and Kami's story took shape. What stayed with me (and what you put your finger on so well) is how quickly an outsider becomes the convenient suspect, how an unfamiliar system can sometimes swallow a person, and how few protections exist once cognitive biases take hold. 

On the body count... that's something I genuinely wrestle with in my writing. I agree with you that this has become somewhat expected of the genre. But I'm less interested in writing towards a particular expectation. Rather, I want to serve the story - never the spectacle. I believe that fiction is one of the best ways we have to tell the truth. It is the primary reason I write - and I think it's my job as an author. If I deliberately misrepresent the world (e.g. if I glorify violence or shy away from it), I do a disservice to the truth. 

Thank you again for the care you put into these reviews, Bill. Please do post this, and I'll look out for your next piece on meaning in noir fiction.

Warmly,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Heider

****

Heider, Elizabeth - (2025) - May the Wolf Die and A Letter Exchange with Elizabeth Heider; (2026) - Children of a Savage City

Children of the Savage City by Elizabeth Heider

(15. - 1304.) Children of the Savage City by Elizabeth Heider - Naples is dangerous.

Krav Maga is excellent but martial arts are limited when a stronger, bigger, more powerful attacker launches a surprise assault. Nikki Serafina, an Italian police liasion officer to the American navy, despite her Krav Maga skills, is struggling against the attacker. She is saved from a beating, or worse, by a hard man, Benedetto De Rosa, who is Tito Calandra’s man. Wanting to preserve her indpendence, Nikki declines a request to assist De Rosa and Calandra. They are calling on a favour. It is a questionable decision.

At the same time in the cathedral, Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, a young woman is stabbed to death. Capo Valerio Alfieri, an officer in the police anti-corruption unit, is called by his distraught mother, Leonora, who was in the cathedral. There was a profoundly moving description of the victim:

When she closed her eyes, Nikki saw the childlike face, the pooling blood, and the fine layer of feathers. Everything arranged beneath the altar as if a young angel had fallen violently to earth.

Complications start when the police want to question two young women who were also in the cathedral. One of the women is Monica Lissom, the daughter of the American ambassador to Italy. She will only speak to Nikki.

Nikki’s father Raoul, a former officer in Italian naval intelligence, returns to Naples and her life. He is past the disabling grief of the death of his wife, Beatrice. Much of his zest for life has returned. It is Nikki who is struggling with depression.

The victim was a nanny, Claire Sexton, and Nikki is drawn into the chaotic life of the Lake family for whom Sexton worked. The family is staying on their yacht, The Prophet, which Nikki estimates at 85 metres in length. 

The characters are vivid. The Naples of Children of the Savage City is a harsh city. Powerful crime clans are pervasive. Il Sistema, the “System, is everywhere. Even the joys of the Christmas season are but a cover.

The investigation inevitably becomes more complicated when the ambassador’s daughter and her friend are charged with murder. The Navy offers the assistance of the Phoenix Seven unit to the defender of the young women, Advocate Ferragni. The police had earlier ended their collaboration with Phoenix Seven. The unit is on questionable jurisdictional grounds aiding the defence.

Nikki’s superior, Angelo Figliomeni, bitterly resents Nikki’s relationships with the Americans and her disdain for his misogynistic attitude.

She travels to London to be with Aunt Izzy and Uncle Preston. She had lived with them for several years. His brilliant mind is failing and he has had a terrible fall.

Nikki recalls their story of love at first sight. Preston said to Izzy the words of Chartier from Las Belle Danme sans Mercy:

‘Love has bound me to be your man, and leave all other pursuits.”

Valerio and Nikki search for elusive connections in their respective cases.

As the book progresses the complexities of the multiple police organizations increase and the plot grows darker with a wicked and sordid tale unfolding.

Nikki reflects on the deaths of her brother and her mother. The dismal rainy day of Adriano’s funeral is always fresh in her mind. It is rare to find lyrical writing of death and mourning. Heider evokes the powerful emotions of deep grief coursing through Nikki.

Nikki fits uncomfortably in a hierarchy. Her fierce independence is ill-suited to the paramilitary structure of police.

Valerio and Nikki find their bargains with the devils of the Camorra clans ever more costly. There is but a faint line between compromise and corruption for a police officer.

In the last third of the book the plot line involving Nikki and Valerio and the Camorro clans dominated the book. The investigation into Claire’s murder comes to have a modest role. I would have preferred more balance between the plot lines.

In May the Wolf Die, much of the plot dealt with the challenging interactions between American Navy personnel and the Italians. I wish there had been more of such interaction in this book.

I thought Children of the Savage City was a very well written book though I was uncomfortable with part of the book which shall be discussed in my next post.

I see Heider reaching stardom in the world of crime fiction with Children of the Savage City.

****

Heider, Elizabeth - (2025) - May the Wolf Die and A Letter Exchange with Elizabeth Heider

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes 2 selected and introduced by Alan K. Russell (1979) - Part II

E.W. Hornung author of the 
Raffles stories

I found interesting so many of the stories in The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes 2 selected and introduced by Alan K. Russell (1979) that this post will be my third about the book.

It was intrigued by the stories of William Le Queux about the Count’s Chauffeur. Written in 1906 it was at the dawn of the motorcar. The Chauffeur drives a large open car. He drives Count Bindo di Ferraris, a charming rogue who is the mastermind behind clever criminal schemes. Unlike most modern crime fiction the criminals are successful and are not condemned for their thieving ways.

It is the dawn of the age of motoring. Many motorcars have no top. Warm coats, rugs over laps and googles are needed in bad weather. There is a whole fashion for motor clothes. One day the beautiful Valentine dons “a silk dust-coat and the latest invention in veils - pale blue with long ends twisted several times around her throat” to go for a drive.

Two female authors are included in the book.

Mrs. L.T. Meade, the nom-de-plume of Elizabeth Thomasina Meade Smith, described as “prolific” by the editor, contributed two stories she wrote with Robert Eustache, the pseudonym of Dr. Eustache Robert Barton. They are well done. Most interesting was The Secret of Emu Plain set in Australia at the end of the 19th Century. What makes it special is that the solution of the mystery was not revealed. Instead, there was a contest organized by Cassell’s Magazine in which readers were invited to provide the solution. There were 386 entries from countries covering much of the world. Only 4 were correct. They still awarded the full 10 prizes of One Guinea with prizes going to 6 non-correct but ingenious answers. I did not have the answer. The authors’ solution submitted under seal to the publisher before the contest was suitably clever and felt plausible to me.

The second woman was Baroness Orczy who wrote The Old Man in the Corner stories. I read a volume of those stories and wrote a post in which Hercule Poirot and Nero Wolfe discuss the Old Man’s investigative approach.

In this book we have a murder mystery by Orczy featuring a barrister, Patrick Mulligan, known as “Skin o’ my Tooth” for his talent at gaining acquittals for clients in very sticky situations.

Mulligan is described as: 

Funny looking man, too, old Skin o’ my Tooth - fat and rosy and comfortable as an Irish pig, with a face as stodgy as a boiled currant dumpling … Then, we all know that gentle smile of his, and that trick of casting down his eyes which gives him a look that is best described by the word “coy”; that trick is always a danger-signal to the other side.

I do not find many contemporary authors willing to provide their sleuth with an unflattering appearance.

A dramatic scene ensues when a letter from a murder victim containing an accusation from the grave is handed to the Coroner at an Inquest by the deceased’s sister.

In The Case of Major Gibson the unfortunate Gibson loses badly at baccarat. Later that night, contemplating a gloomy future as he has gambled away thousands of pounds, he observes a woman passing a necklet to a man. After she departs he confronts the man and gets the necklet. In turn, he is confronted over the necklet but refuses, as a gentleman, to slander the woman by saying she was involved.

Gibson’s reputation is destroyed. He goes to see Mulligan about a slander suit that he was not a thief. 

The Orczy stories were published in The Windsor Magazine in 1903. I believe the author’s story of Major Gibson was inspired by the events of the famous Baccarat case of 1890 in which Sir William Gordon-Cumming rashly sued for defamation after being accused of cheating at baccarat. 

The wily Mulligan advises Gibson a defamation action is ill-advised. Sir William Gordon-Cumming should have had similar advice.

Mulligan does engage in an ethically questionable meeting featuring abundant lies to gain Gibson’s vindication.

I loved Mulligan’s comment:

“Now, I am not one for believing that there is ever a truth without any proof …”

The story showed how a clever author can take a real life event and make it their own.

The Ides of March by E.W. Hornung introduced me to A.J. Raffles, “Cricketer and Criminal”.  Late at night Raffles is accosted in his rooms by his old public schoolmate, Bunny, who cannot cover his losses at baccarat. He is a desperate man. Raffles calms Bunny, convincing him to lower the revolver, with which he was threatening suicide. Bunny reveres the suave Raffles saying he was “the most masterful man whom I have ever known”. 

Unless they can raise money that night Bunny’s honour will be shattered. I was reminded again of the consequences for honour and status in English society of the 1890's as set out in The Baccarat Case mentioned above.

Raffles is a great cricketer. He explains to Bunny that It is important to have another career when a criminal:

To follow crime with reasonable impunity you simply must have a parallel ostensible career - the more public the better. The principle is obvious ... fill the bill in some prominent part and you will never be suspected of doubling it with another of equal prominence.

Raffles explains to Bunny that he lives by his wits, cricketing is not lucrative, and equally broke. Bunny is ready to do whatever Raffles proposes to raise money. Bunny is loyal but not swift of thought. Only when they are in a room above a jeweler’s store does he grasp that they will engage in burglary.

Raffles displays remarkable skill and knowledge in dealing with locks.

Raffles is a gentleman burglar. Two years ago I learned of the fictional Raffles while reading a book of non-fiction - A Gentleman and a Thief: The Daring Jewel Heists of a Jazz Age Rogue by Dean Jobb. Arthur Barry was a debonair real life rogue robbing the wealthy of New York City and Long Island often while they were eating dinner or asleep.

Raffles explains why he is a thief:

Why settle down to some humdrum uncongenial billet, when excitement, romance, danger and a decent living were all going begging together? Of course, it’s very wrong, but we can’t all be moralists, and the distribution of wealth is very wrong to begin with. Besides, you’re not at it all the time.

Arthur Barry was equally a man not to shrink from the limelight. He was a bon vivant in New York City’s best social circles and clubs in the 1920’s creating the impression he was a man of leisure with independent means.

Raffles and Barry both love diamonds and are eager to relieve the wealthy of them.

It has been a long time since I read the compact mystery stories of magazines. I had forgotten how intriguing magazine mysteries can be as they focus on the mystery having but a few pages for the story.

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The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes 2 selected and introduced by Alan K. Russell (1979) and Arthur Conan Doyle Studies Murder

Remembering Gail Bowen

The world of crime fiction lost a great writer when Gail Bowen died last week. I lost a bright, kind and generous friend.

Our first contact came almost 20 years ago in 2007 when I wrote to her by email about The Endless Knot, the 10th book in the Joanne Kilbourn series. I was partially prompted to write to her as she introduced Zack Shreve, an accomplished Regina lawyer in a wheelchair, into the series. I wrote:

As a Saskatchewan lawyer in his mid-50’s whose practice includes criminal law I am avowedly prejudiced in favour of a book that features such a lawyer as a primary character.

In her prompt reply she said:

I'm working on the next Joanne Kilbourn novel, and you'll be happy to hear that Zack is still very much a part of the plot and, more significantly, of Joanne's life. For that reason and for many others, I hope that you and I can meet some day to talk about the mystery genre face to face. I should warn you that I'm not knowledgeable.

Our email exchanges continued book after book. 

I started writing this blog and this post will be the 34th I have written about Gail and her books.

We did get to meet in Regina and had wonderful visits. As you would expect she was excessively modest in saying she was not knowledgeable about the mystery genre.

Sharon and I went to Gail and Ted’s home for a lively supper of chili and peach cobbler.

She startled us by saying their home had a special feature. There was a Cold War bunker under the backyard. I know of no one else who has a bunker at their home. I noted that she had not made the bunker her writing space.

A lovely touch to the backyard were mirrors along the fence surrounding the yard. Purchased in yard sales the reflections created constantly changing images.

Conversation with Gail and Ted was a joy. Conversing with the pair of English professors was lively and wide ranging.

When I think of Gail I also think of Ted. They were a couple in all the best ways. Their commitment to each other was clear to all who met them. I wish Ted the best as he grieves with his family.

I do not personally know Gail’s family but could follow their lives, especially her grandchildren, through posts on Facebook. Her love and admiration and expectations for them were present throughout her posts.

Gail provided me with my most unique literary experience. Dave Carpenter was looking for a chapter on Saskatchewan crime fiction for Volume 3 of A Literary History of Saskatchewan a decade ago. Gail suggested he contact me and I wrote a chapter called, Saskatchewan Mysteries: A Report from the Field, which was published in Volume 3. I will always appreciate her thinking of me for that opportunity.

Gail’s actual knowledge of the mystery genre was best shown in her book Sleuth - Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries. In the first part of my review of the book I said:

From knowing Gail, Sleuth reflects her personality. She is a woman of great learning. She has read widely and thought about what she has read. At the same time she is not burdened by her knowledge in Sleuth. She is not pedantic. She dispenses her advice with flair and self-deprecation.

Gail and her sleuth, Joanne, were fiercely progressive in their politics and lives. They spoke eloquently in favour of their ideals and lived out their convictions. I asked her what made Joanne a practical activist. She responded:

Truly, I drew upon my own experience. In my adult life I’ve moved from starry-eyed idealism to a much more pragmatic approach to how we can create a community in which everyone has a chance to create a good life. Like you, I am acutely aware of the fact that I have been blessed, but to paraphrase J.S. Woodsworth, I believe we have to work for a world where these blessings are shared with others.

I have enjoyed every Joanne Kilbourn Shreve book. Few authors have managed in my almost 70 years of reading to hold my interest through a series of over 20 books. Gail is the only author among those few whose quality of books was maintained through every book.

When I get to read Homecoming, the final book in the series, later this year it will be a read of conflicting emotions. I will be sad it is the end of the series and that Gail is gone. I will be happy as the series has been a great reading experience and glad Gail was able to finish the series.

While reading The Solitary Friend last year I learned that it was to be the second last in the series. I decided not to wait until the final book was published this year to write a letter of tribute and reflection to Gail on the series and our friendship. I had no premonition that she would be gone. It just felt right to write to her and I am grateful we had a final exchange. A link to that post is below.

Gail’s reply, graceful and kind, was our final communication:

Dear Bill,

I'm an early riser, and it's now 9:31 for me---very, very much past my best before time, but I did want you to know how much your letter means to me.  I'm almost finished with the first draft of Homecoming, which will be the final book in the series.  And I do promise a real letter of thanks for generous, thoughtful and forgiving reading of the JKS series very soon. 

Thank you for your support and for having a family life that makes me smile every time I think of it.  We are blessed, and you and I and those we love all know that.

Till the next time, many, many thanks for everything, and hey the Riders won! Do we believe in miracles?  You bet!!!

Affectionately and gratefully,

Gail  

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Bowen, Gail – 2011 Questions and Answers with Gail; 2011 Suggestions for Gail on losing court cases; The author's website is http://www.gailbowen.com/ - (2011) Deadly Appearances; (2013) Murder at the Mendel; The Wandering Soul Murders (Not reviewed); A Colder Kind of Death (Not reviewed); A Killing Spring (Not reviewed); Verdict in Blood (Not reviewed); (2000) - Burying Ariel (Second best fiction of 2000); (2002) - The Glass Coffin; (2004) - The Last Good Day; (2007) – The Endless Knot (Second Best Fiction of 2007); (2008) - The Brutal Heart; (2010) - The Nesting Dolls; (2012) - "B" is for Gail Bowen; (2012) - Kaleidoscope and Q & A on Kaleidoscope; (2013) - The Gifted and Q & A and Comparing with How the Light Gets In; (2015) - 12 Rose Street; Q & A with Gail Bowen on Writing and the Joanne Kilbourn Series; (2016) - What's Left Behind and Heritage Poultry in Saskatchewan Crime Fiction; (2017) - The Winners' Circle; (2018) - Sleuth - Gail Bowen on Writing Mysteries / Gail the Grand Master - Part I and Part II; (2018) - A Darkness of the Heart and Email Exchange on ADOH; (2020) - The Unlocking Season; (2021) - An Image in the Lake and The Fourth "F" is Forgiveness; (2023) - What's Past is Prologue and  and Law Matters in What's Past is Prologue; (2023) - The Legacy; (2025) - The Solitary Friend and Letter to Gail Bowen on the Joanne Kilbourn Series and Our Relationship