What I enjoy most in Whishaw's books are the mentions of the area in British Columbia near where I now live such as Nelson and Balfour. Each time I drive along that road I try to imagine the King's Cove buildings, separated by paths and overlooking the lake as described in the series. The recollection of life in the 1940s is not always rosy, especially when homeless, abandoned children were involved. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the budding romance between Lane and Inspector Darling, and look forward to reading more books in the series. ( )

I can't get enough of this series, and it's disruptively hard to put the book down once I start reading. It's the sense of time and place -- the tension between an idyllic locale and a tiny community and people who have come through the wars. The romance is also very good, but I think the ling I love the most is watching lane fall in love with herself and her own independence. I also love that each of the households has their own character -- the Hughes are relentlessly productive and garden focused, the Armstrongs are mail and kind little gifts, Lane is still figuring herself out and learning her land -- its just satisfying to read. I also love that the series is following the seasons. ( )

I enjoyed this, the third installment in the series. The plot is far less tightly drawn, or interesting than in the previous two volumes, but there is greater character development. The reader is gradually becoming more deeply acquainted with not only Lane and Darling, but with the residents of the town. The story is not always comfortable for modern readers, who might find it dark and depressing. The author uses her small, isolated setting well and through it manages capture the tremendous changes that were occurring in the first half of the twentieth century, and especially following WWII as well as how different life was in what is, actually, not that distant of the past. I look forward to reading more. ( )

The third book in the Lane Winslow mystery series begins with the discovery of human remains buried on top of a neighbour’s root cellar. The skeleton is believed to belong to a child buried about 35 years earlier. Inspector Darling asks Lane to speak to the residents of King’s Cove to help identify the child. Attention quickly focuses on the Anscomb family who left with their many children shortly after the building of the root cellar in 1910. Flashbacks give the reader knowledge unknown to Lane and the police, and it becomes clear that not everyone in the tiny community is forthcoming with important information.

There are two sub-plots. One involves a young girl who vandalizes a local saw mill. The other, of course, is the relationship between Lane and Darling. This latter plot is also featured in the first two books in the series; fortunately, this third book brings a resolution of sorts.

I enjoyed reading about the investigation of a cold case. Having watched Cold Case on television and having read Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Department Q books and others, it is intriguing to see how a cold case would have been approached in 1947. Forensics as we know it now did not exist, so there is so much that remains unknown about the human remains.

As in the previous book, this one touches on historical events. This time the reader learns about British Home Children, impoverished children sent to Canada. The novel explores what happened to some of those children. There is also considerable discussion of gender inequality; a young girl rails at the lack of options she is given for her future.

By the third book, Lane’s character is well established, and the reader is not surprised at her behaviour. More than once her determination leads her into difficulty; she even acknowledges that her “single-mindedness . . . made Darling uneasy. It led to a lack of caution.” Gladys Hughes and her daughters Gwen and Mabel appear in the other books, but they are more central in this one, so there is more character development of them. I’m convinced that if I were ever to meet these fictional characters, I’d recognize them immediately.

This is another pleasant read. Especially because of the last chapter, I’m interested in following up on what awaits Lane in the next book. This is a mystery series that maintains the reader’s interest.

Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski). ( )

Another saga wherein Lane unintentionally becomes embroiled in the discovery of a long-ago murder. Two storylines run through this plot and the mild romance between Lane and the Nelson police detective falters and flames by turns. This is a clever mystery, although I found the historical backstory rather convoluted at times. Just enough suspense to add some tension plus a comfortable conclusion. ( )