Opening sentence: RCMP
Constable Danutia Dranchuk pinned another crime scene photo to the board, this
one showing Esther Mike’s distorted face, her eyes and neck bulging from the
red ribbon used to strangle her.
More than a mystery,
Sitting Lady Sutra is a culturally fascinating tale of families forced apart –
and drawn together – by violent crimes. While the investigation into a serial
killer forms the backdrop for this novel set in 1996 Victoria, BC,
the characters and their interactions are the greater draw.
Constable Dranchuk is
intent on proving herself as Special Investigator into the serial killings of
Aboriginal women while maintaining an unspoken rivalry with Corporal Farrell
and a guilty avoidance of her parents’ phone calls. Ex-con Ritchie, torn
between hope and fear over his daughter’s whereabouts, is putting off phoning her
mother for fear of what he might hear. Surinder Sharma juggles his fractious
sons, furious mother, and conflicted, half-Anglo niece in between mentoring
Danutia through her investigation. Troubled Trav watches his mother die of
cancer and drink. Behind them are other
ex-cons, other cops, parks workers, party people, Aboriginals young and old,
all going about their lives while Sitting Lady Falls rush and ebb with the
cycles of seasonal rainfall, and the Gorge waterway seduces the unwary with its
deceptively smooth surface, and death walks among them.
While the natural
waterways flow through the story, racism runs like a sewer through the lives of
these characters. It is balanced by the beauty of Emily Carr’s art and by
delicately performed cultural rituals. This feels like a much larger story than
is contained in the slim hardback put out by Touchwood. I look forward to
reading the next in the series, “Unholy Rites,” in hopes of resolution to some
of the issues haunting Corporal Dranchuk both personally and professionally.
#2 in the Danutia
Dranchuk Mystery series
By Kay Stewart
Touchwood Editions
2011
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