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Title: A Colder Kind of Death

Subtitle: A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery

Author: Gail Bowen

Narrator: Lisa Bunting

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-13-15

Publisher: Post Hypnotic Press Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When a prisoner is shot to death in the exercise yard of a Saskatchewan penitentiary, Joanne Kilbourn finds herself haunted by a part of her past she wished had never happened. The dead prisoner is Kevin Tarpley, the man who six years earlier had brutally killed her politician husband, Ian, in a seemingly senseless act alongside the TransCanada Highway.

The haunting takes on a more menacing cast several days later when Tarpley's sinister wife, Maureen, is discovered dead in a snow-swept Regina parking lot. A brightly colored scarf is found wound tightly around her neck, a scarf that belongs to none other than Joanne Kilbourn. Soon this single mother, author, university professor, and TV-show panelist is deemed the number-one suspect in Maureen Tarpley's demise.

Joanne knows there has to be a connection between these two murders. But what is it? A cryptic letter sent to Joanne by Kevin Tarpley just days before his death intimates that Ian Kilbourn's killing may not have been as senseless as first assumed. In fact there are hints that some of Ian's political colleagues may have been involved. But how deeply and in what way?

Then there's the faded photograph of a pretty young woman and her baby that Joanne finds tucked in the wallet of her dead husband. Does it offer any clue to Ian's murder or to the deaths of the Tarpleys? Warily, Joanne Kilbourn is forced to follow a tangled trail deep into a heartbreaking past she never knew existed.

A Colder Kind of Death is the fourth novel featuring Gail Bowen's reluctant sleuth, Joanne Kilbourn. With its deft mix of wry humor and mayhem, closely observed family scenes and gripping suspense, warm characterization and betrayal, it confirms Gail Bowen's stature as one of the greats of mystery fiction.

Members Reviews:

Excellent

Lisa Bunting is perfect as the narrator of this well woven story. So enjoy Gail Bowen's writing.

Devious murder & hidden secrets!

Note: While this is Book 4 in the series, it works mostly well as a stand alone. There are definitely some character backstories that I was a bit muddled on, but in regards to the main plot, they dd not matter.

Set in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Joanne Kilbourn is a parent, a professor, a TV panelist, and a widow. Now her past comes back to her with the news that Kevin Tarpley, the man who killed her husband, Ian, six years ago, was shot to death in the exercise yard of a Saskatchewan prison. Odd as that is, it pales in comparison to the unexpected photo of a young mother with her baby in Ians old wallet. Then Maureen, Kevins wife, shows up for cocktail drinks at one of Joannes local haunts and ends up dead. Joanne starts digging into her husbands past in order to unravel her current mystery.

I can see why this series is so popular! I really enjoyed this Canadian mystery. Joanne is a very interesting character with her multiple professions and her single parenting skills. Toss in the 6-year-old case of her husbands murder with the recent death of Maureen, and you have quite the engaging story. Joanne was really caught in this balancing act does she ask the questions and possibly dig up hurtful information or does she let things lie and cherish the memories of the husband she knew?

Even though Maureen ends up dead in the first quarter of the book, I found her character rather seductive. She obviously has quite the ego on her.