On Haida Gwaii, Meg unravels a story of betrayal that reaches back more than a century.

While visiting Vancouver, Meg Harris encounters the crime scene of a murdered Haida carver. She and her husband Eric are forced to confront Eric’s painful past when the young victim’s identity is discovered. The repercussions send them up the coast to the islands of Haida Gwaii, land of the Haida, in search of the murdered boy’s family and his killer. As the search progresses, a totem pole carver sets out to depict the ancient tale of a long-ago chief’s treasure and how it incited deception and shame. This tragedy reaches its nasty tentacles into the present where Meg and Eric find themselves embroiled in a modern-day story of betrayal.

R.J. Harlick is an escapee from the high tech jungle. After working for over twenty-five years in the computer industry, first for major corporations then for her own management consultancy practice, she decided that pursuing killers by pen would be more fun than chasing the elusive computer bug. Originally from Toronto, she, along with her husband Jim and giant poodle DeMontigny, now divides her time between her home in Ottawa and log cabin in West Quebec. A lover of the outdoors, she can often be found roaming the surrounding forests or canoeing the waterways. Because of this love for the untamed wilds, she decided that she would bring its seductive allure alive in her writings.

R.J. Harlick's profile page

It wasn’t long ago that I paid a visit to British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. There on display, are the ‘Totems of Shame’, long ago removed from their original villages. It was with a shudder of recognition that I joined [characters] Meg and Eric for a much-remembered tour of the red cedar carvings of the coast.

Sun Times

By showing both sides of the Indian-versus-European cultural dispute, [Harlick] wisely avoids the trap of painting one side’s history as pure evil, the other’s as sinless. This even-handedness brings complexity and depth to what could have been a mere diatribe. Instead, we get a superb novel that lends itself to reread after reread.

Mystery Scene Magazine

Harlick’s prose and characterization is as competent as ever and the slow reveal of the reasons why Allistair was murdered is skillfully handled.

Publishers Weekly

Fans of the earlier books in the series will give this one an enthusiastic thumbs-up, and it will work fine as a jumping-off point for new readers.

Booklist

This is the best Harlick yet.

Globe and Mail