Monty Collins’s appealing preteen daughter, Normie, applies her eerie “second sight” to crime solving in Emery’s engrossing fifth mystery to feature the Halifax, Nova Scotia, defense attorney (after 2009’s Cecilian Vespers
). Monty’s latest client, celebrated lawyer Beau Delaney, stands accused of killing his wife of nearly 20 years, Peggy, by pushing her down their basement stairs one night and clobbering her with a stone. Peggy’s last reported words referred to Hell’s Angels, a possible clue to Beau’s troubled past. Normie’s unsettling dreams supply more leads. Meanwhile, Monty’s rocky relationship with Normie’s mother, who’s terrified she may lose custody of her baby to her angry Italian ex-boyfriend, adds more drama. The whole city of Halifax follows Beau’s trial, worried what will happen to his 10 children if he’s convicted, while Monty wonders if some cases are ever closed. Despite the book’s somewhat slow start, fans of traditional whodunits will be well satisfied. (May)
