Customer Reviews

Valley of the Lost (Trafalgar Mystery)

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New and interesting settings encourage me to take a second look at a book and I loved the scenes in this one - the mountain village of Trafalgar, a place of last resort for transients and ex-hippies in the rugged and beautiful British Columbia Kootenays. The plot gets strong kick start when an abandoned baby lying near his dead mother is discovered on the murky, brush strewn slopes of a forest. Equal to the mystery is Molly Smith, a young, ambitious constable eager to prove herself. I found the interplay between Molly and her mentor, Sergeant John Winters, really convincing. I also liked watching relationships between the town's characters unfold as we're caught up in the central intrigue. A very good read!

Valley of the Lost is an engaging, light-toned police procedural that doesn't shy away from exploring social problems in a small west coast town: underage pregnancy, sexual interference and illegal drugs. Constable Molly Smith is a sympathetic protagonist new to the job who must contend with a demanding boss and her aging hippy parents. Plenty of humour when her parents' views of the justice system and marihuana grow-ops don't quite line up with her own.

In a Canadian mountain town a young woman is discovered dead of a heroin overdose, her baby at her side. But the death may not be entirely accidental - and a growing investigation brings personal conflict for Probationary Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters. Who was the victim? A drug deal turns into something more dangerous in this riveting novel perfect for any mystery collection.

The small town of Trafalgar, BC, somewhere near Vancouver, is supposed to be idyllic, with all the friendliness and charm that such places are supposed to have. Then why do so many strange, and even terrible, things continue to happen there? There are even big-city problems like a drug culture, with heroin trafficking and large patches of marijuana growing all around.

At the heart of the plot of this latest chapter involving probationary constable Molly Smith and Sgt. John Winters is the death of a young woman of a drug overdose. Near her was a three-month-old baby, who is thereupon taken in by Molly's mother, Lucky. Who was the woman and where are the baby's relatives? Was the death just another drug deal gone wrong? Or is there more to the story?

Meanwhile, the customary themes of the first installment of the series: environmental issues, the closeness of the community, and Lucky's radical beliefs, permeate as background, as do the Canadian mountains and glaciers surrounding Trafalgar. The traditional mystery moves forward at a deliberate and well-measured pace. It is well-written, and recommended.

Valley of the Lost is the second in Vicki Delany's mystery series set in the beautiful Kootenay mountain region of British Columbia, in the fictitious town of Trafalgar. Many of the characters from the first book in the series, In the Shadow of the Glacier, have made it through to this volume. Chief among those are Probationary Constable Molly Smith, a rookie on the Trafalgar Police Department and Sergeant John Winters, a veteran detective who has found his way to the small community after many years with the Vancouver Police Department.

This second volume centers on the death of a young woman, Ashley, whose body is discovered by Constable Smith's mother, Lucky. She has also found, alongside Ashley's body, her healthy three-month-old baby boy, Miller, whom Lucky takes in until family can be located. The cause of Ashley's death is determined to be an accidental heroin overdose. But further investigation indicates the appearance of restraint marks on the girl's wrists and ankles, suggesting not an accident but a murder. No one in town can tell the police much about Ashley, other than that she occasionally appeared at the Trafalgar Women's Support Center, where Lucky happens to work. The police, led by Smith and assisted by Molly, must discover who Ashley was, where she came from and whom she may have left behind in search of her. That too, will determine Miller's life.

At the same time, the tension in Trafalgar is still high over a resort that has been proposed by a group of developers. Many in Trafalgar's population are still true to their hippie roots in their opposition to any kind of development for the town. Introduction of this sub-plot also opens the door to meeting an assortment of characters and allows the reader to conjure up various twists and turns to the overall story line.

I liked this book, as I did Delany's first in the mystery series. Valley of the Lost can definitely stand alone: that is, it certainly isn't necessary to have read the first. But it's interesting to see how Delany is developing her characters. Both Molly and Winters are gaining strength after earlier difficulties in their lives, and have greater rapport and confidence with each other. Delany is creating more back story for the main players, which grants the reader a clearer picture of just who these people are. And the plot is fairly solid: things make sense and tie together well. The writing is clean and fast paced and is well-suited to a traditional mystery such as this.

Valley of the Lost is a good, quick read. Nothing too heavy here but attention grabbing nonetheless. I hope that Ms. Delany plans to expand this series: very enjoyable.

by Janet Caplan
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Likeable characters, an intricate plot and a backdrop comprised of BC's stunning Trafalgar region come together in this latest novel by Canadian author Vicki Delany. Sergeant John Winters has left the urban chaos of Vancouver with his supermodel wife Eliza in search of a more peaceful existence. But even the placid mountain town of Trafalgar is not immune to violence.

When the body of a troubled woman is found in the bushes behind the home of "Lucky" Smith, a counsellor for inexperienced and abused mothers, the deceased's three-month-old son Miller is given a place near the hearth in Lucky's kitchen. However, Lucky's good intentions unwittingly pave the road to discord in her own family. Baby Miller will not stop crying!

Lucky's daughter, Constable Molly "Moonlight" Smith, could use a good night's sleep. The howling infant, his dead mother and Molly's own traumatic memories conspire to keep her awake.

It soon becomes clear that `sleep' will remain an unsatisfied craving in the Smith household so long as Miller's true identity remains a mystery.

Battling an unknown perpetrator with no apparent motive, an unsympathetic social worker, an overly-ambitious journalist and the darker side of BC's own drug culture, John Winters and Molly Smith set out to uncover Miller's past and catch his mother's killer.

A memorable read - perfect for a sunny Saturday afternoon at the cottage!

In Trafalgar, British Columbia, the townsfolk are shocked when the corpse of a young woman is found dead with her three month old son lying next to her. The case looks obvious as the victim died from a heroin overdose. However, the police do not close their investigation as there are strange marks on the victim that appear to have come from restraints of some sort.

Activist Lucky Smith takes the baby home while police lead investigator Sergeant John Winters asks her daughter Constable Molly Smith to assist him as he, as a newcomer, is less likely to get cooperation than she will. The cops know very little about the victim and clues are not easily found. Meanwhile, John's wife, Eliza has a potential modeling job with a resort development firm whose projects have strongly divided the community between development and environment.

The second British Columbia police procedural (see IN THE SHADOW OF THE GLACIER) is a terrific investigative tale due to a complex multifaceted story line and a strong cast of characters especially the cops and many townsfolk. The story line is fast-paced from the moment the corpse and the living infant are found and never slows down as John walks a slippery slope between his wife's desires and his role in the community. Vicky Delaney provides a strong Canadian Pacific complex whodunit.

Harriet Klausner