My Sister's Keeper

Lori McLeod is a librarian with the Toronto Public Library.

In this second volume in a mystery series featuring Gillian Adams, a
history professor at British Columbia’s University of the Pacific
Northwest (UPNW), Gillian is convinced that Rita Gordon, a brilliant
graduate student, will be the recipient of the prestigious Carver
Fellowship. Rita is also an outspoken leader of the Feminist Union who
is lobbying for the establishment of a controversial women’s studies
department. When the Carver Fellowship is awarded to a male student,
Gillian believes that sexual discrimination has played a role in the
decision of the male-dominated committee. Shortly after the announcement
of the fellowship winner, Rita dies in a motorcycle accident. Or was it
murder?

My Sister’s Keeper is a mystery with a message. Its plot incorporates
issues drawn directly from newspaper headlines—sexual harassment,
sexual discrimination, and violence against women. On several occasions,
the author draws parallels between the Montreal massacre of 1989 and
some nasty incidents directed toward feminists by male students on the
campus of UPNW. The mystery itself is interesting and well plotted. A
change of scenery is welcomed when Gillian travels to London, England,
for a conference and resumes her romance with policeman Edward Gisborne.
Released from the cloistered walls of UPNW, Gillian becomes a more
likable character, no longer sounding as though she were addressing the
reader from a lecture podium.

I would recommend this book to mystery lovers, with one caveat: some
readers may not appreciate the heavy-handed way in which the author
delivers her message, however worthy.