Do or Die

Susan Patrick is a librarian at Ryerson University in Toronto.

It’s not a typical night in the University of Ottawa library when a
shelver discovers a young graduate student from a wealthy family
murdered in the stacks. In Do or Die, short-story writer Barbara Fradkin
presents her first Inspector Green mystery. Green is a flawed hero, a
maverick workaholic inspector with the Ottawa police force and a new
father whose marriage is falling apart. Assigned to clean up the bungled
case, Green goes his own way looking for answers. What he finds puts
several lives in grave danger.

Interesting characters, plenty of local color, a clever plot that keeps
the reader guessing until the final pages, and a richly drawn portrait
of institutional politics and rivalries (in both academia and the police
force) are the book’s main strengths. Gory details and violence are
kept to the minimum. Mystery buffs will enjoy Do or Die.