A Touch of Panic

C. Stephen Gray is Toronto-based communications consultant.

This is Wright’s sixth novel featuring Staff Sergeant Karl Alberg of
the Sechelt, B.C., detachment of the RCMP. Its multilayered plot focuses
on the fate of Alberg’s live-in partner, Cassandra Mitchell, who
unwittingly becomes the desired object of a maniacally obsessive,
thoroughly homicidal, ruthlessly insane misogynist, who has killed
before. The main action and most of the suspense stem from the stalking
and planned abduction of the unsuspecting Cassandra.

To keep the plot moving, there’s a string of bizarre thefts, a
possible suit against the RCMP for back rent on the station, a
burgeoning romance between the town’s amiably eccentric taxi driver
and her hated neighbor, and, of course, a murder to solve—but it’s a
distant crime that plays only a minor part in the overall storyline.

From start to finish, A Touch of Panic is an enjoyable read. With its
rapid pace and excellent construction, mystery buffs will consume it in
a matter of hours.