The Extortionist and His Dolls

Sheree Haughian is an elementary-school teacher-librarian with the
Dufferin County Board of Education and the author of The Private Journal
of Day Applepenny, Prisoner.

Jessica March is back again with another mystery to solve in Toronto’s
Parkdale neighborhood. Young refugee women in her school are being
brutally terrorized by an extortionist who demands money in return for
safe passage on the streets. Because their experiences in their home
countries have caused these recent immigrants to fear people in uniform,
the girls are unwilling to go to the police. Jessica is asked to head up
a committee formed to protect the community’s girls.

Not all the threats to school solidarity are caused by the criminal.
Boys in the school, including Jessica’s friend Jon, feel excluded from
the safety plan. The committee itself is plagued by divisiveness and the
seeming presence of an informer. Why do all their attempts to bring down
the extortionist end in failure? Jessica decides to act as “bait” to
find out.

Although the actions of the extortionist provide the necessary element
of suspense, much of this psychologically complex mystery is concerned
with exploring the emotional dynamics of a community under siege and the
internally divided committee that is supposed to deliver it from
exploitation. Highly recommended.