ARC Review: Cold Girl by RM Greenaway

Cold Girl
Author: RM Greenaway
Series: A B.C. Blues Crime Novel (Book 1)
Publication: Dundurn (April 19, 2016)

Description: A popular rockabilly singer has vanished in the snowbound Hazeltons of northern B.C. Lead RCMP investigator David Leith and his team work through the possibilities: has she been snatched by the so-called Pickup Killer, or does the answer lie here in the community, somewhere among her reticent fans and friends?

Leith has much to contend with: rough terrain and punishing weather, motel-living and wily witnesses. The local police force is tiny but headstrong, and one young constable seems more hindrance than help — until he wanders straight into the heart of the matter.

The urgency ramps up as one missing woman becomes two, the second barely a ghost passing through. Suspects multiply, but only at the bitter end does Leith discover who is the coldest girl of all.

My Thoughts: RCMP investigator David Leith is called to the Hazeltons in northern British Columbia when a popular young rockabilly singer vanishes. Leith has been working the case of the Pickup Killer for a couple of years and it looks like this disappearance could be another victim. He finds himself working with a small insular team of investigators who might be too familiar with the area and the suspects. The head of the local force has trouble believing that anyone she knows could be involved.

Also posted to the area is Dion who was previously a detective in a more prestigious city until a car accident killed his partner, left Dion in a coma for six days, and has left with with a brain injury. Apparently, no one in his new office read his files because he is thought to be some combination of stupid and incompetent by his supervisor and by Leith. I enjoyed the parts from his point of view which seemed like good descriptions of the issues people with brain injuries suffer. One moment his is bright and insightful and the next he is confused and bewildered. He has useful insights to the case but his reputation and the petty behavior of another officer almost lead to disaster.

This was a gritty police procedural that really showed that police work is a matter of putting together massive amounts of information much of it obtained from people who are lying. I enjoyed the mixed assortment of characters who were witnesses or suspects.

While this story is complete and has a satisfying conclusion, there are still questions I want answered especially about Dion and his past.

Favorite Quote:

Leith thought about murder and its aftermath, all the damage done. There were the victims themselves; that went without saying. Then there were those left behind, their lives forever bent out of shape. The family of the killer, also in tatters. There were the cops, working night and day and getting ulcers. Like himself.

I got this eARC from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.