bout de papier, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2015) — Spring 2015 // Printemps 2015, p. 35
A Quiet Kil
A QUIET KILL: A FORSYTH AND HAY MYSTERY, by Janet Brons, TouchWood Editions, 2014, 192 pp., $14.95.
This short mystery novel (just under 200 pages) begins with a bang, or rather a pool of blood, when the Senior Trade Commissioner is found with her head bashed in and her throat slit in the dining room of the Canadian Official Residence in London. What follows is a complicated investigation by RCMP officer Liz Forsyth, sent from Ottawa to handle the crisis, and DCI Stephen Hay of Scotland Yard who team up to find the killer.
It should be noted that the author is a former Canadian Foreign Service Officer with several postings abroad, so much of the internal government machinery is clearly something with which the author has first-hand experience. The story takes place in 1997 allowing the author to avoid references to current government policies and characters, but it seems some things and some stereotypes never change.
There is a wide range of possible suspects revealed, from a possible random serial killer off the street, to a variety of diplomatic staff and locally engaged help. The murder of a Canadian business man, with a possible similar motive, throws an even bigger wrench into the mix.
Because of the wide range of characters (and most get their own point of view), there are moments when the narrative seems a bit choppy, occasionally skipping from character to character without any clear logic for doing so. However, in the end some of those narrative hops make more sense. In part the technique leads you down the garden path with each Suspect, ensuring that you see each one as a viable candidate for the role of the murderer; I confess, I didn’t guess who it was until very near the big reveal.
Some head hopping threw me off a bit. For example, Inspector Forsyth is out for a solo birthday dinner, and in the middle of her rather morose inner thoughts, there is one paragraph of what the waiter thought about a solo female diner. It didn’t add anything to the story and I wasn’t sure why it mattered what he thought. Some readers find that kind of head-hopping annoying,
although I am one of those who don’t really mind and, as a rule, it was easy enough to follow whose point of view you were reading.
As far as the reality of life as a public servant is concerned, I believe the author captured this quite well, whether in 1997 or 2015.
“With the reductions in staff it was hardly surprising that the real work of the High Commission was not being done. Who had time to advance foreign policy, to deal effectively with bilateral relations, to maintain multilateral efforts, or to thoughtfully analyze the issues when working as a glorified travel agent? That headquarters was in the middle of yet another departmental reorganization made matters even worse: most of the high-priced help at Foreign Affairs were using their brains studying new reporting arrangements and organization charts, not working on foreign policy.”
There is also an undercurrent of possible attraction and friendship between Forsyth and Hay and, given the title of the book, it appears there will be more stories starring the two detectives in the future.
I found Kay Forsyth a sympathetic character. She’s a mature divorced woman, more about common sense than social status and looks. The stylish social-conscious wife of the High Commissioner rubs her the wrong way, and when she’s forced to purchase something suitable to wear to the Christmas reception, I could relate to poor Kay’s attempts to find something suitable:
“So far everything had been too young, or too old, too tight or not tight enough, too colourful or too dreary. She was even past looking at the price tags. She couldn’t understand why some women loved shopping. To her, every dress that didn’t work was a personal insult, a shortcoming, an affront.”
After finding success with a dress…
“Now came the hard part. If it was one thing she hated more than buying dresses, was buying shoes.”
It took me a while to keep all the characters straight as I was reading, a common cnaracters. But, once got it straight who was who, I did enjoy the characterization, if stereotypical, of the many suspects. That includes those of the diplomatic staff whom most of us in the Service will recognize bits and pieces of in our fellow officers, and perhaps in ourselves.
The book is not without its flaws in structure and perhaps has an overabundance of characters for such a short novel. That said, if you are a fan of murder mysteries on the lighter side (and if you’ve ever held a grudge against a Senior Trade Commissioner!), perhaps this is your chance to live vicariously through the characters you’ll encounter.
Tammy Ames is currently the Senior Trade Commissioner in Kuwait and has had postings in Prague and Warsaw, along with assignments at HQ in various Geographics and the Investment Bureau. She also served on the PAFSO Executive Committee for three years.
Visit Janet Brons at members shaw ca/janetbrons/
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Originally published in bout de papier, Vol. 28, No. 4 (2015) — Spring 2015 // Printemps 2015, p. 35. Read the rest of this issue →
