Death's Golden Whisper: A Meg Harris Mystery [Paperback]

R.J. Harlick (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Meg Harris Mystery | Publication Date: November 1, 2004

In the remote wilderness of West Quebec, where trees outnumber people a million to one and lakes a thousand to one, Death's Golden Whisper opens with the sudden arrival of float planes bringing what Meg Harris believes are fishermen to the isolated northern lake she lives on. Within hours, she discovers that these men have come to develop a gold mine. She combines forces with Eric Odjik, chief of the neighbouring Migiskan reserve, to fight the mining company. The mine splits the Migiskan band into two opposing forces and ignites events that threaten Meg and lead to the mysterious disappearance of her friend Marie. As the search for Marie becomes more frustrating, another story unfolds and Meg discovers the mystery behind the intense feelings that bound her great-aunt to this lonely land until the day she died.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Meg Harris believes are fishermen to the isolated northern lake she lives on. Within hours, she discovers that these men have come to develop a gold mine. She combines forces with Eric Odjik, chief of the neighbouring Migiskan reserve, to fight the mining company.

About the Author

R.J. Harlick is an escapee from the high tech jungle. After working for over twenty-five years in the computer industry, first for major corporations then for her own management consultancy practice, she decided that pursuing killers by pen would be more fun than chasing the elusive computer bug. Originally from Toronto, she, along with her husband Jim and giant poodle DeMontigny, now divides her time between her home in Ottawa and log cabin in West Quebec. A lover of the outdoors, she can often be found roaming the surrounding forests or canoeing the waterways. Because of this love for the untamed wilds, she decided that she would bring its seductive allure alive in her writings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Napolean and Co (November 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1894917111
• ISBN-13: 978-1894917117
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,163,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Described by the Ottawa Citizen as "one of the brightest new voices in the mystery business", Canadian writer R.J. Harlick is an escapee from the high tech jungle. After working for over twenty-five years in the computer industry, she decided that pursuing killers by pen would be more fun than chasing the elusive computer bug. She bides her time between her home in Ottawa and her log cabin in West Quebec, where she spends much of her time roaming its forests or paddling its many lakes and rivers.

R.J. writes the compelling Meg Harris Mystery series set in this same Quebec wilderness, where, she likes to say, lakes out number people a thousand to one and trees, a million to one. In this series, R.J. interweaves the seductive allure of this wilderness with the tensions between the people that share it, English Canadians, Québécois and the Algonquin First Nation. Her series has an underlying native theme, much in the manner of Tony Hillerman.

Her heroine, Meg Harris lives at Three Deer Point, an isolated 1500 acre property she inherited from her Great Aunt Agatha. Meg's closest neighbour is the Migiskan Anishinabeg Reserve and her only companion, Sergei, her black standard poodle. Fleeing an abusive marriage, she came to this northern paradise to heal. But as the seasons change her sought after peace is shattered by injustice and murder. Unable to ignore it, she becomes enmeshed in intrigue and murder and finds herself racing to find the killer before it's too late.

Arctic Blue Death, the 4th book in the Meg Harris mystery series, was a finalist in the 2010 Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Golden Beginnings, November 28, 2004

By 

Lou Allin "Islander" (Vancouver Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death's Golden Whisper: A Meg Harris Mystery (Paperback)

Ottawa author R.J. Harlick has moved from the established foundation of her renowned short stories to the larger stage of novels with DEATH'S GOLDEN WHISPER, and the transition is a sweet one. Still smarting from a bitter divorce, pushing forty, Meg Harris escapes Toronto to find serenity in her great-grandfather's quaint Victorian cabin in the wilds of West Quebec. Yet one morning her peace is invaded by the roar of float planes. Apparently a motherlode of gold has been discovered on mysterious Whispers Island, and development is not far behind. Standing by her side against the interlopers in an effort to preserve the environment is her good friend Eric, the local band chief of the neighbouring Migiskan Reserve. When her wheeling-and-dealing ex-husband Gareth arrives to make a speciously disguised offer on her property, she knows that the roots of greed run deep. Then her friend Marie Whiteduck disappears and Marie's drunken husband is found murdered. Why does Marie's lawyer son seem so hostile to Meg?
Harlick's characters are full-featured, bearing all-too-human faults. Whether she is describing the abused Marie, proud but stubborn, or the stoic Eric, facing a revolt within the band, or well-meaning but flawed Meg, facing her battles with the vodka bottle and taking her standard poodle for granted, Harlick never stints at the truth. Traditional themes run true in the book, the everpresent tensions among the three founding races trying to share the land, English Canadian, Quebecois, and First Nations. Will the environment pay the price in a war about resources? Or is it about jobs? Who can judge? Parallel to the plot weaves an old family secret that takes Meg back over eighty years into the dusty pages of letters in the attic. What made her maiden Great-Aunt Agatha so reclusive that she shut herself away in the cottage? And who is the handsome man in the picture hidden from prying eyes? What happened in the mists of legend to link her family with the Migiskans? The glorious fall setting is a character in itself, and Harlick paints with the talented brush of an ambassador for the pristine but amoral bush. The pines sing a symphony, and the shy stag comes to the lick as evening falls. Even the ominous landing of the first plane which threatens her privacy poeticizes the landscape: "With their wing tips shimmering in the autumn sun, the planes circled over the gold-drenched hills and back down towards the lake like giant ospreys, talons extended, zeroing in for the kill." She has laid the groundwork for a fascinating series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Debut, March 29, 2005

By 

Tania Hutchison (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Death's Golden Whisper: A Meg Harris Mystery (Paperback)

This is a wonderful story with various subplots that are all interwoven superbly with the main (mystery) storyline. We learn about Meg's family history, the Algonquin way of life, and even a bit of the trials and tribulations with living with a dog! The author manages to paint a wonderful picture of life in the wilderness of West Quebec. This book made me smile, cheer, and think.

This was a much too brief introduction to a wonderful group of characters and setting. I can't wait to learn more in the second instalment in the series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Death's Golden Whisper, May 22, 2005

By 

Anne K. Edwards "AKE" (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death's Golden Whisper: A Meg Harris Mystery (Paperback)

Have you ever wanted to be alone to lick your wounds from a broken marriage? Have you ever hidden out in a cabin waiting for the pieces of you life to fit together again? That's what Meg Harris did. She fled to the isolation of a cabin inherited from an aunt in the wilds of Canada where her only neighbors were Algonquins. But life intruded here in the form of gold hunters on Whisper Island and they were a threat to more than Meg's peace of mind. Echo Lake was threatened with contamination from mind runoff, Meg's ex-husband, Gareth, was brought back into her life by the mining company, a double murder is committed, and a mystery from her dead aunt's past involves itself in the murders. The aunt is very much a character in the story. Can Meg and her friend from the Fishing Camp, Eric, save the lake? Who owns Whisper Island? How did her aunt's hidden secret come to involve Meg in murder? These are a few of the many questions that need answers while the search for a murderer goes on. Talented R. J. harlick invites us into the beautiful wilderness of Canada to take part in a hunt for a murderer and the unraveling of an intriguing secret from the past that affects the present. Bring your hiking boots and life preserver as you'll be venturing onto the surface of Echo Lake while low flying planes threaten you. Highly recommended as a read to hold your attention with characters you will either love or hate and want to know more about their lives. You'll be looking for other books by this creative author. Lots of action and mystery.