Blackflies Are Murder: A Belle Palmer Mystery

Lou Allin. Napoleon Publishing, $10.95 (280pp) ISBN 978-0-929141-93-0

Middle-aged Canadian realtor Belle Palmer returns to investigate old scandals and new deaths after 2000's Northern Winters Are Murder in Lou Allin's Blackflies Are Murder: A Belle Palmer Mystery. The details of daily life dinners, clothing choices mesh with a meandering exploration of town history and personal troubles, as Belle becomes privy to an old case of sexual abuse at a school for native children, and as her growing attraction for a new neighbor begins to conflict with her sense that he's somehow involved in the crimes.

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