Mother Love

E. Jane Philipps is head of the Biology Library at Queen’s University
in Kingston.

From the chilling opening paragraphs to its emotionally and
intellectually satisfying conclusion, this latest Karl Alberg mystery,
involves the reader completely. Skilfully weaving apparently disparate
storylines and meshing past and present, Mother Love explores the nature
of the bond between mother and daughter and its fundamental impact on
the sense of identity. Maria Buscombe’s quest for the truth about her
parentage results in her desertion of her husband and adolescent
daughter. Seven years later she returns to explain and make amends, but
she never has the chance. Her brutal murder sets RCMP stalwart Alberg on
the trail that led to Maria’s tragedy and affects Maria’s daughter
and her daughter’s unborn child.

The author writes with humor, passion, and poetry, as well as an
astonishing and moving insight into the human psyche. Through her gift
for language, her evocation of place, and her deep understanding of
people, Wright creates a world and characters that live beyond the page.
The inevitable and inexorable merging of the various strands of the
plot, as past, present, and future come together, captivates and
enthrals. Readers of previous Alberg mysteries will revisit B.C.’s
Sunshine Coast and a familiar cast of characters.