A Chill Rain in January [Hardcover]

L. R. Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 30, 1990

In a small village on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast, Zoe Strachan has carefully tucked away a secret past and is living a secluded, private, and happy life. But when her brother arrives on the scene with incriminating childhood diaries--and a blackmail demand--Zoe's fate falls into the hands of Royal Mounted Police Staff Sergeant Karl Allberg, who must use all his wits to unravel the mystery.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sechelt, a village on the British Columbia Sunshine Coast, is the locale of the successor to Wright's Edgar-winning The Suspect . Among the memorable characters from the first novel--RCMP Sgt. Karl Alberg and friends--is beautiful, aloof Zoe Strahan, a new resident. Alberg and the members of the community are, however, more concerned about elderly Ramona Orlitzki, who has disappeared from the nursing home. During the search, Zoe's brother arrives at her house with blackmail in mind and she kills him. As the reader knows, Zoe has been getting away with murder for years and seems about to persuade Alberg that her brother died in a fall down her cellar steps. But Ramona is hiding in a guest house on Zoe's land, where the killer's young nephew finds a refuge with the failing but tough-minded old woman. While Zoe uses her wiles on the sergeant, she plans a feral attack on the defenseless pair. The story is rich in humorous and poignant aspects as well as fierce suspense.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A small town on the Pacific coast of British Columbia provides the evocative backdrop for this work of striking clarity and forcefulness. After Zoe Strachan's ne'er-do-well, blackmailing brother "tumbles" down her basement steps to his death, she searches his house unsuccessfully for incriminating notebooks, and shelters his previously unknown adopted son. Zoe--aloof, beautiful, and truly bizarre--challenges all the resources of Mountie Karl Alberg, who only half-believes her story. Apparently effortless but finely crafted prose supports the narrowly focused plot, wonderful characters, and gorgeous descriptions.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (March 30, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670831298
• ISBN-13: 978-0670831296
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,832,390 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Something's missing, July 13, 2009

By 

Patto (Vermont) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: A Chill Rain in January (Karl Alberg Mysteries, No. 3) (Paperback)

All is not sunny on the Sunshine Coast of Canada. Something's missing in the intense gaze of the most beautiful woman police chief Karl Alberg has ever seen. He's disturbingly attracted to Zoe Strachan, as he looks around her house inspecting the scene of the accidental death of her brother.

According to Zoe, Benjamin Strachan had too much to drink and fell down the stairs in search of more booze, unluckily breaking his neck. Alberg can't help noticing Zoe's silky stockings as he questions her.

The next time he visits he finds a nine-year-old boy in the house. Zoe thought Benjamin had no family, but in fact he had adopted Kenny. The boy seems oddly terrified of Aunt Zoe. Alberg starts wondering about certain ambiguous findings in the post mortem following Benjamin Strachan's death.

Zoe Strachan's house feels strangely like a fortress, and nobody in Sechen knows anything about her. It's Alberg's job to unveil the mystery of this wildly seductive, visibly cold woman. Little Kenny is destined to help him - as well as an old lady with Alzheimer's, a runaway from the hospital.

I find Alberg's scenes with his divorced family a bit saccharine, and overall Alberg seems less interesting in this book than in The Suspect, first book in the series. But the book is well plotted, and the portrayal of an unstable amoral mind quite gripping.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a true mystery or suspense but engrossing, July 3, 2002

By 

sonytoao (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: A Chill Rain in January (Hardcover)

Since you know who committed the murder and why (as described in the editorial review and very early in the book) there is neither a mystery or very little suspense here. But like her other books in the series, Wright focuses more on character study and the relationships among those affected by the murder rather than lay out a typical who-dunit.

I frankly found the main character, Zoe Strachan, to be the most fascinating feature of the book because her gross inner imperfections contrasted sharply with her outward stunning beauty. The one fault I find with this book, however, is that Zoe is perceived by others and perhaps Wright herself as evil, when in fact many of her actions are driven by acute mental illness. The former has you rooting for the character's demise; the latter has you hoping she gets treatment.

All-in-all, a very good read.

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Killer, June 14, 2007

By 

Sonia D. (Maryland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Chill Rain in January (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed this book, though I thought a few aspects of the main crime were too clumsy. I never felt like she'd "get away with it" and that detracted from the suspense. But the character of Zoe was worth it, fascinating--very cold and literal. Good read.