Deadly Appearances

Description

222 pages
$24.95
ISBN 0-88894-703-8
DDC C813'.54

Author

Publisher

Year

1990

Contributor

Reviewed by Susan Patrick

Susan Patrick is a librarian at the Ryerson Poly-technical Institute.

Review

Bowen has written a well-crafted mystery set in Western Canada’s
political circles. The book holds the reader’s attention not only by
its intricate plot, with repercussions of scandalous events from 20
years before, but also by its interesting characters. It is almost a
psychological novel; it details political widow and speech writer Joanne
Kilbourn’s figurative descent into hell, and her eventual recovery, as
she unravels the mystery of who murdered popular Prairie politician Andy
Boychuk, and why. Bowen creates a believable picture of the wheelings
and dealings of backroom Canadian party politics, and of the emotional
stress felt by family members drawn unwillingly into the limelight. This
book passed one test of a successful murder mystery: this reader was
unable to put it down until discovering whodunit.

Citation

Bowen, Gail., “Deadly Appearances,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed December 21, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/11078.