Under Cold Stone (Constable Molly Smith Series #7)

by Vicki Delany

Overview

Paul Keller was enjoying a vacation in the Rocky Mountains with his girlfriend Lucky Smith when his estranged son called begging for help. Paul and Lucky arrive at Matt's apartment only to find a body on the floor and Matt long gone. Lucky's daughter, Constable Molly Smith of the Trafalgar City Police, abandons her chaotic Thanksgiving kitchen to offer her mom support. She has no intention of meddling in the police investigation, but when Matt's sad, shy girlfriend, Tracey, asks for her help, Molly finds herself not only interfering but putting herself on the wrong side of RCMP Sgt. Edward Blechta --

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781464202353
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/01/2014
Series:	Constable Molly Smith Series , #7
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Having taken early retirement from her job as a systems analyst in the high-pressure financial world, Vicki Delany is settling down to the rural life in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario, where she rarely wears a watch. Unreasonable Doubt is the eighth mystery in her Constable Molly Smith series. Vicki Delany won the 2019 Derrick Murdoch Award for contributions to the crime genre.

Editorial Reviews

02/24/2014
Delany’s engaging seventh Constable Molly Stone mystery (after 2013’s A Cold White Sun) takes Molly from Trafalgar, British Columbia, to Banff, Alberta. At a Banff restaurant, Molly’s widowed mother, Lucky Smith, and Lucky’s boyfriend, Chief Constable Paul Keller, who’s Molly’s boss, have a run-in with two abrasive men, one of whom turns out to be Paul’s estranged son, Matt Keller. Later, Matt goes on the run after he becomes a suspect in a murder. At Lucky’s request, Molly travels to Banff. Her colleague, Sgt. John Winters, remains in Trafalgar to face a potentially ugly protest against a new development, Grizzly Resort, which poses an environmental threat to the wilderness area. While the police search for Matt, Molly befriends Matt’s insecure girlfriend, Tracey McMillan, and questions his roommates, among others. Molly and John both display compassion and intelligence as they each deal with a host of distinctive and obstructive characters. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2014
Molly's mom, Lucky Smith, is on vacation in Canada's Banff National Park with Molly's boss, Chief Const. Paul Keller, but it turns into a busman's holiday when a murder case opens up. Surprisingly, Paul's semiestranged son, Matt (who works in Banff), is the prime suspect, since he's the victim's roommate—and he's skipped town. Lucky calls Molly, and the clever constable is soon on the scene, flexing her detective muscles while posing as concerned daughter. A small-time crime ring leads Molly, Paul, and the locals into a more extensive investigation that nabs the real killer. Meanwhile, back in Trafalgar, BC, Sgt. John Winters holds down the fort while dealing with environmental demonstrators protesting a proposed resort complex. The action accelerates dramatically when ecoterrorists infiltrate the scene. VERDICT Delany's Constable Smith series shines again with a fine mix of believable police officers coupled with believable cases. The author's ability to neatly dovetail her subplots makes for an engaging procedural, this being case number seven (after A Cold White Sun). Recommend for armchair travelers, Nevada Barr fans, and those favoring ensemble casts.

Library Journal

 
"Another brisk whodunit in a beautiful western Canadian setting with an appealing protagonist in Molly, whose personal life gets as much attention as her professional one."— Booklist  review of  Cold White Sun


"6th in her critically acclaimed Constable Molly Smith series, A COLD WHITE SUN places Vicki Delany's marvelous storytelling on full display. Delany's formidable Canadian sleuth, Molly Smith, pits her skills against an ice-cold killer, just as her personal life heats up. I love this series!"—Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times bestselling author of Through the Evil Days
 
"The intuitive Winters, taking advantage of a careful killer’s one mistake, finally puts an end to the puzzle in this sixth entry in the Molly Smith series, recently optioned for Canadian television. Another brisk whodunit in a beautiful western Canadian setting with an appealing protagonist in Molly, whose personal life gets as much attention as her professional one."— Booklist
 

From the Publisher

2014-02-06
A chief constable's son is wanted for murder in the new procedural from Delany (A Cold White Sun, 2013, etc.). Paul Keller, chief constable of Trafalgar, British Columbia, and his lover, Lucky Smith, a widow who is devoted to environmental causes, have come to vacation in Banff, a town known around the world for its beauty. When Lucky has a run-in with two extremely rude young men, she has no idea that one of them is Paul's estranged son, Matt. At first, Matt snubs his father, but he's quick to call him with the news that he's returned home from his bartending job to find one of his roommates dead. Unfortunately, he takes off before Paul and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrive, thereby promoting himself to the most likely suspect. Lucky's daughter, Molly, a Trafalgar constable, quickly heads for Banff to support her mother and her boss, the latter of whom seems to be aging before her eyes. Matt's mother, who blames Paul for all of Matt's problems, also arrives on the scene, accompanied by her wealthy boyfriend. Despite the resistance of the local RCMP sergeant, Molly—who keeps her identity as a cop well hidden—starts asking questions of Matt's roommates and his girlfriend, Tracey. Meanwhile, back in Trafalgar, Sgt. John Winters has his hands full with activists protesting the building of a large resort, including some outsiders with radical backgrounds. While the RCMP searches for the missing Matt, Molly digs up information that leads to a surprising suspect. The glorious scenery of British Columbia upstages Delany's regular cast in this plausible tale.

Kirkus Reviews