FINAL MAY

THE LAST GOOD DAY

Joanne Kilbourn is on holiday at a cottage borrowed from a lawyer friend, one of a cluster of summer homes owned by lawyers from the same prestigious firm. When one of them kills himself the night after a long talk with Joanne, she is pushed into investigating just what her neighbours are involved with, an investigation that has startling – and fatal – consequences.

Bowen’s depiction of this community of lawyers, each in his or her way now divorced from the ideals of justice and mercy that once motivated them all, is both compassionate and hard-nosed. There is Zack, the charming but controlling paraplegic; Blake and Lily, whose daughter, Gracie, struggles to keep her dignity as her parents’ marriage falls apart; Noah, who would rather practise carpentry than the law, and his wife, Delia, who is consumed by worry about the firm. The mounting stress among these lawyers is palpable as Joanne delves into their lives. And Joanne faces her own personal anxieties too when she discovers that her former lover, Inspector Alex Kequahtooway, is mixed up in what seems to be some very sordid legal business.



THE ENDLESS KNOT

When journalist Kathryn Morrissey’s sensational book on the lives of thirteen adult children of prominent Canadians is published, one of the parents, Sam Parker, is furious enough to take a pot shot at the author, grazing her shoulder. Charges are laid, and Joanne’s new beau, Zack Shreve, is hired by Parker as his defence counsel. On the day of the verdict, Morrissey is brutally murdered, and Joanne’s investigation quickly has her trying to unravel the endless knot of the relationship between parent and child.








THE BRUTAL HEART

With a general election just weeks away, Joanne Kilbourn is following the campaign of Ginny Monaghan, a woman who has her eyes set on the leadership of the federal Conservative Party and whose success depends, not so much on the election-day poll, but on the outcome of a custody battle she’s fighting with her ex. Joanne thinks this is perfect material for a TV program she’s putting together on women and party politics. Happy to be back in the political fray that used to be her life during her first marriage, Joanne is soon also glad of the distraction it provides. A local call girl has been murdered — a woman whose regular clientele included several of Regina’s most prominent lawyers, including — until he met Joanne — her own husband, Zach Shreve.

Her new marriage creaking under the strain of this revelation, Joanne throws herself into her project — and into finding out why the dead woman had started to threaten her clients with blackmail, an investigation that leads to the truth — and to death.

Finally up to date with all the Gail Bowen novels. I felt compelled to finish before moving on to any other titles. Only fault I can find is with some continutity in the last novels. Minor points but certainly noticeable when you read them back to back. I will be watching to see if any new stories hit the shelves.



May DVD:
Marley and Me
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
The Secret Life of Bees
Fever Pitch
Valkyrie
Frost/Nixon
PS I love you
Midnight at the Museum
Theatre:
Star Trek

3 books
Month end: 12
To date: 57