A Chill Wind in January

Nora D.S. Robins is Collections Co-ordinator (Internal) of the
University of Calgary Libraries.

One cannot help but compare Wright’s mystery stories to the works of
Ruth Rendell and P.D. James; these mysteries can stand with the best of
them. Wright won an Edgar from the Mystery Writers of America for her
superb novel The Suspect, and her second novel (Sleep While I Sing) was
published to critical acclaim. In A Chill Wind in January, she offers a
finely crafted story with superb characterization of two vastly
different women.

Zoe Strachan, a beautiful newcomer to the village of Sechelt on British
Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, jealously guards her privacy with all the
means at her disposal. When the body of her ne’er-do-well brother is
found at the bottom of Zoe’s basement stairs, it is up to rcmp
Sergeant Karl Alberg to determine whether Benjamin fell or was pushed.
At the same time Alberg is searching for an elderly widow, Ramona
Orlitzki, who has managed to focus her wits long enough to run away from
her nursing home. Ramona takes refuge in Zoe’s empty guest cottage—a
decision that leads to another death.

This third mystery featuring Alberg is every bit as suspenseful as the
other two. Wright is great at building tension from the psychological
state of her characters. She also makes good use of atmosphere. Her
latest mystery is a nail-biting page turner!