Not even sure why I checked out this one, maybe a Goodreads recommendation?? Anyway, I picked it up from the library.  This is a Canadian based series, similar to Louise Penny’s series that is so popular.

I really wanted to like this.  I had a lot of sympathy for the protagonist, a Detective Inspector with a chronic pain injury, recently divorced and dealing with some issues related to alcohol and to not being able to let of her ex.  Hazel is a well drawn character, however her actions and even attitudes don’t always make a whole lot of sense, especially when you think of her as a law enforcement professional.  Maybe it was all the drugs she takes for her pain?  There is a token gay character, who has a reveal scene that really adds nothing to the plot and seems just meaningless, like a box to be checked.

The whole law enforcement/procedural piece is very unflattering to Canadian law enforcement.  The serial killer piece is confusing, slowly paced and not entirely clear even at the resolution.  For a killer with an interesting, to say the least, method of “work”, it was just not that engaging.

I understand that this is work written by a literary writer under a pseudonym, but it just didn’t really work for me.