Jennings, Maureen – EXCEPT THE DYING

[LJ Roberts]

EXCEPT THE DYING (Police Procedural-Toronto-1895)- G+
Jennings, Maureen – 1st in series
St. Martin’s Press, 1997- Hardcover

Detective William Murdoch is called to a crime scene. A young woman has been found nude and dead in the snow. It is apparent she is not a street person or street person, but she is pregnant, had been given opium and smothered. Murdoch’s challenge is to find out who she is and who killed her.

It was refreshing to read an historical mystery set in Canada. Ms. Jennings did an admirable job of creating a sense of time and place. Murdoch is an interesting character, particularly his relationship to his friends and dead fiancée. There were very interesting secondary characters spanning all economic levels. The motive was never quite clear to me, but I appreciated that Ms. Jennings tied up all the story lines at the end. It was a very enjoyable read and I look forward to others in the series.