Friday 6 January 2017

Book ~ "Butterfly Kills" (2015) Brenda Chapman

From Goodreads ~ Two separate crimes, two tragic outcomes.

Jacques Rouleau has moved to Kingston to look after his father and take up the position of head of the town’s Criminal Investigations Division. One hot week in late September, university student Leah Sampson is murdered in her apartment. In another corner of the city, Della Munroe is raped by her husband. At first the crimes appear unrelated but as Sergeant Rouleau and his new team of officers dig into the women’s pasts, they discover unsettling coincidences. When Kala Stonechild, one of Rouleau’s former officers from Ottawa, suddenly appears in Kingston, Rouleau enlists her to help.

Stonechild isn’t sure if she wants to stay in Kingston but agrees to help Rouleau in the short term. While she struggles with trying to decide if she can make a life in this new town, a ghost from her past starts to haunt her.

As the detectives delve deeper into the cases, it seems more questions pop up than answers. Who murdered Leah Sampson? And why does Della Monroe’s name keep showing up in the murder investigation? Both women were hiding secrets that have unleashed a string of violence. Stonechild and Rouleau race to discover the truth before the violence rips more families apart.

Jacques Rouleau recently moved from Ottawa to be near his elderly father to head up Kingston's Criminal Investigations Division.  He has a position open on his team and is hoping fellow police officer Kala Stonechild, who had worked for him in Ottawa, will take the job.  She has gone off the grid for the last four months (she has gone home to Northern Ontario).

Leah is a university student and works part-time on an anonymous helpline.  She is found murdered in her apartment ... did it have something to do with her job at the helpline or because of her supposed married lover?  On the same night, Della has been raped by her husband and wants to press charges.  Kala arrives in town around this time and agrees to help Jacques and his team with these two cases, while she decides if she wants to stay on or not.

Dalal and Meeza are the young daughters of Indian immigrants.  Despite now living in Canada, their parents are staying true to their Indian background and ways.  This causes conflict in the family as Dalal yearns to have the similar freer life of her friends at school.

This is the second book I've read by this author (I read the first one earlier this week) and I enjoyed it.  It's always nice to read a book that is happening in Ontario and Canada.  I liked the writing style and found the storylines interesting.  It is written in third person perspective with the focus on the various characters wherever the action was happening.  Though it is the second in the Stonechild and Rouleau series, it works as a stand alone and you don't need to have read the first one to read this one (there is enough background given).  As a head's up, there is swearing.

I liked the main characters, Kala and Jacques.  Kala is used to working alone but is reluctantly enjoying working with her partner, Gundersund.  We get to know more about Jacques through his interactions with his dad.

I look forward to reading the others in the series.

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