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Shaded Light
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Shaded Light by
N.J. Lindquist
St Kitts Press
337 pages, 1999
ISBN 0966187946
Reviewed by PJ Nunn



Shaded Light is a recipe for murder and mystery that simmers slowly and emits an enticing aroma reminiscent of earlier delights. It’s not a taut, edge of the seat thriller but then it wasn’t intended to be.

Ellen Brodie has planned a weekend gathering on the Canadian estate she shares with her husband George, a corporate attorney. She hopes to do a little matchmaking, but that becomes less and less likely as guests of the uninvited variety begin to descend. Everyone seems to have an agenda for the weekend, but finding a body in the garden can effectively foil even the best-laid plans.

Enter Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan, an unlikely pair of cops assigned to sort out the mess. The two have their own issues to deal with, but there’s no time for that now. There’s a house full of suspects, all with their own secrets, and a murder to solve before someone else ends up dead.

Shaded Light is just that – a convergence of shadows. Purposely patterned after Agatha’s best, readers are led down the garden path where nothing is quite as it seems, and suspects appear at every turn. The killer, revealed at the end, might be a surprise to some. The true joy is in the investigation and the revelation of character quirks and investigative processes. With any luck, we’ll see more of Manziuk and Ryan in years to come.


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