The ninth and final book in the Alberg & Cassandra series makes a wonderfully elegant end to the saga of the tiny town on Canada’s Sunshine Coast, the policeman who tries to catch the town’s baddies, and the sensual, smart-mouthed librarian he loves.

Alberg and Cassandra are at long last getting married—in fact, they’re hitched by the end of the book—and Alberg has a new sergeant, a beautiful and enigmatic woman who seems destined, clearly, for her own series of adventures. But don’t be fooled by all the sunshine: Sechelt harbors more dead bodies than any small town outside of Cabot Cove, and the serial killer who’s busy knocking off the residents—and their children!—is one of the darkest characters in the Alberg canon. It’s always hard to say goodbye, but this series ends on a brilliant and supremely satisfying note.

L.R. Wright's profile page

L.R. Wright (Bunny" to her family and friends) was best known for her celebrated mystery series set in a little town on Western Canada's Sunshine Coast, featuring Karl Alberg of the Canadian police. In 1986 the first book in the series, The Suspect, won the Edgar Award for Best Novel of the Year, making Wright the first Canadian to be so honored. Two other books in the series - A Chill Rain in January and Mother Love - won Arthur Ellis Awards (now the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence). Wright died in 2001, and in 2024 the Alberg series was adapted for television as Murder In a Small Town ."

“Magical....[Wright is] unexcelled at rooting violence in the rhythms of everyday life and banal desires” —Kirkus

“Tightly plotted, well-written, and richly atmospheric” —Booklist

“A deftly written novel abounding with intrigue” —Publishers Weekly