A police constable named Oliver Wicken has apparently committed suicide, leaving his mother and his invalid sister to fend for themselves. The evidence, according to the coroner, is irrefutable. Wicken was shot in the temple with his own revolver and a farewell note has been found beside his body. But new and disturbing evidence is brought to light that leads Detective Murdoch to suspect that the suicide was not what it seemed. Whether describing a tooth extraction, the unquestioning prejudice toward the few Chinese immigrants in the city, or the well-intentioned, but bizarre, treatment of mentally ill women, Maureen Jennings once again brings late-Victorian Toronto vividly to life.

Author Biography

MAUREEN JENNINGS's first novel in the Detective Murdoch series, “Except the Dying,” was published to rave reviews and shortlisted for both the Arthur Ellis and the Anthony first novel awards. The influential Drood Review picked “Poor Tom Is Cold "as one of its favourite mysteries of 2001. "Let Loose the Dogs” was shortlisted for the 2004 Anthony Award for best historical mystery. “Night's Child” was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award, the Bruce Alexander Historical Mystery Award, the Barry Award, and the Macavity Historical Mystery Award. And “A Journeyman to Grief "was nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award. Three of the Detective Murdoch novels have been adapted for television, and a Granada International television series, "The Murdoch Mysteries,” based on the characters from the novels, is entering its third season on CityTV and UKTV. The author lives in Toronto.