Fifth Son

Michael Payne is head of the Research and Publications Program at the
Historic Sites and Archives Service, Alberta Community Development, and
the co-author of A Narrative History of Fort Dunvegan.

This is Barbara Fradkin’s fourth mystery featuring Inspector Michael
Green of the Ottawa Police. One of the characteristic features of this
series is a close attention to setting.

The boundaries of Ottawa have in recent years expanded to incorporate a
number of rural areas. The once-distinct towns and villages in those
areas have been turned into dormitory communities where urban commuters
mix uneasily with long-time residents. Inspector Green is forced out of
the chaos of his urban existence to investigate the death of a
mysterious stranger in Ashford Landing, a quaint Ottawa River village on
the outer edge of the new metropolitan Ottawa. Green is a fish out of
water in such a rural backwater, but Sergeant Brian Sullivan, who has a
better grasp of how such communities operate, assists him in the
investigation. Green also finds his problematic daughter helpful with
the case, leading to a certain welcome domestic rapprochement.

Much of the story involves unravelling the history of the residents of
Ashford Landing, first to establish who the stranger is and what his
connection to Ashford Landing might be, and then to determine whether
the death is a case of murder or suicide. The victim apparently jumped
from the steeple of an abandoned church, but did he jump willingly or
was he forced into this desperate act?

It turns out that Ashford Landing is not the idyllic community it
appears to be, and the story of one of its old farm families, the
Pettigrews, holds the key to explaining who the victim is and why he
died. However, before the solution is found, there will be other crimes
committed and some literal skeletons in proverbial closets revealed. The
mystery is complex enough to satisfy readers with a taste for whodunits,
and there are some good forensic touches to keep fans of police
procedurals happy as well.