Sleep of the Innocent: An Inspector John Sanders-Harriet Jeffries Mystery

B.J. Busch is Associate Librarian (Access and Information Services) at
the University of Alberta.

The latest in the Inspector John Sanders/Harriet Jeffries mystery
series, this work focuses on the adventures of Sergeant Rob Lucas of the
Metropolitan Toronto police force. Although billed as a Sanders/Jeffries
detective story, this book actually gives John and Harriet very minor
roles. Sergeant Lucas, a reluctant investigator covering for one of his
partner’s “late, long, boozy, and erotic lunches,” stumbles into a
murder case that will turn out to have many twists and turns, some of
which will place him in extreme jeopardy. When a wealthy businessman is
killed in a downtown luxury hotel, and a suspicious young rock singer is
caught coming down the hotel’s back stairway by police arriving on the
scene, the stage is set for intrigue. The characters in this work turn
out to be multifaceted, and no one’s life is quite what it seems to be
on the surface, including that of Sergeant Lucas. Attempting to discover
the truth behind the facades keeps the reader turning the pages to the
very end. Those readers who have come to look forward to new adventures
of John and Harriet, the detective-inspector/photographer team, might be
disappointed because this work involves them so little. However, Sale
weaves her story in a crisp, highly readable prose that entices her
readers and captures their imaginations as they follow Lucas in his
quest for the truth.