Intertwining mysteries drive the fast-paced plot of this suspenseful, wintry novel from Ottawa crime writer Brenda Chapman. When wealthy businessman Tom Underwood disappears one week before Christmas, police recruit Kala Stonechild’s first assignment is to get him home for the holidays. But the deeper Kala gets into her investigation, the larger the suspect pool becomes – there are more than enough people, in both his family and his business, who might wish Tom ill.

Kala’s backstory is as much of a mystery as Tom’s disappearance. We quickly learn that Kala, a First Nations woman who has left her Northern Ontario detachment to join a specialized Ottawa crime unit, is highly independent, but also rather guarded. Chapman parcels out snippets of Kala’s past by way of phone calls to a friend back home. While this secondary mystery adds depth and interest to the narrative, it also renders Kala less relatable as a character.

By contrast, Kala’s boss, the smart and experienced Detective Jacques Rouleau, who has been put through the ringer both professionally and personally, is instantly likeable. Divorced in part as a result of his obsession with his job, Rouleau has had to learn how to balance his relationships and career; this allows him to develop a friendship with Kala outside of a work environment. The colleagues’ developing camaraderie is rather one-sided, however, as the reader can easily empathize with him, but is much less able to do so with her.

What makes this mystery most interesting are the tightly knit details. Chapman never tips her hand as she presents readers with a wide-open field of suspects. For the majority of the novel, the list of potential culprits is lengthy, and the author skilfully deploys twists and decoys to misdirect us, while also dropping tiny clues to help make the final reveal seem perfectly logical.