His assistant officer is on maternity leave. Const. Samira “Sam” Gupta, a tall slender woman, is assigned to replace her.
Most surprising to the RCMP is that no one has seen anything. Having lived my life in rural Canada, except for four years of university, I was equally surprised.
At noon he heads to the Mug-Up cafe (Mug-up is Newfoundland English for “a snack and a cup of tea”). Restraining himself from cod gratin he has a grilled cheese sandwich. Restraint is abandoned at dessert in favour of a salted caramel cupcake.
The residents of Grand Bank “are some upset” by the fires. Some suspect residents of the nearby island of St. Pierre which, with the island of Miquelon, is part of France.
In the afternoon Sgt. Windflower goes home to be there when his young daughters, Stella and Amelia Louise, arrive from school. They are delighted he has homemade partridgeberry muffins. The detachment secretary, Betsy, brought them to the office.
His wife, Sheila, joins them for supper. She runs a small B & B.
They are a happy family. All are worried when their cat, Molly, goes missing.
Sam helps them search for the cat and then joins them for supper. While Windflower helps the girls with schoolwork Sam helps Sheila in the kitchen. A green salad with home-made honey mustard dressing and a ham-cheese-broccoli casserole are soon served.
Not many works of crime fiction have scenes of simple family contentment.
Windflower is indigenous. His family in northern Alberta is of Cree ancestry.
The story grows darker when an unknown male body is found in the burned house.
I found myself drawn into the Windflower family as I have with Joanne Kilbourn’s family in the series by Gail Bowen.
Evil finds its way to small communities as well as big cities. Windflower finds there are connections in the case to biker gangs, especially the Outlaws, from Chapters in and out of Canada. A potential connection to stolen gold adds drama.
At the same time the Windflowers enjoy time with neighbours sharing a fine home cooked meal at the home of Herb and Moira Stoodley - “a nice kale salad with an apple cider and balsamic vinegar dressing …. steaming green beans with a strong aroma of garlic …. roasted baby potatoes with a hint of rosemary … the full plate of sea trout with a golden-brown crust … delicious pineapple upside–down cake”.
An unstable local resident with unregistered guns goes on the run. Windflower and Gupta get out their rifles and body armour to try to find him. Police officers face risk every day.
Windflower is calm and in control and thoughtful while dealing with the uncertainties of the search.
I was disappointed when there was an arrest and then an attempted questioning of the accused but no warning of the right to remain silent and no right to counsel. Then an inducement is made to the accused if there is a statement. Only when the accused asked for counsel was the accused given a chance to talk to a lawyer. No real life RCMP Sergeant would proceed in that manner. A subsequent interview with a lawyer present is unlike any I have experienced.
There is a Canadian style thriller ending that effectively uses the setting of Grand Bank being on the coast of Newfoundland.
Including the families of the RCMP officers in the worries and stresses of the danger at the end was unexpected and very credible.
Windflower is a dedicated officer. He has a clever mind filled with quotations from Shakespeare. Assertive but not aggressive he is a man you want in charge during a crisis. Unlike most fictional police officers he has vulnerability. I plan to read more in the series.
I like the Sgt. Windflower mysteries, Bill, and a big reason for that is exactly what you mention here: they're a warm, loving family. They're not perfect (or how could they be credible), but they're loving and functional and that is refreshing, isn't it? I also like the insights into the Newfoundland setting. Thanks for reminding me of this solid series.
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