Old Wounds

Gillian Adams #4

by Nora Kelly

Vancouver historian Gillian Adams abandons her academic career and a sojourn in London with her C.I.D. lover to return to her childhood home up the Hudson to care for her elderly mother, but her serenity is soon turned upside down by the murder of a student on a lonely road in the area. Reprint.

Genres: Mystery

298 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 1998

About the author

Nora Kelly is an American-born Canadian mystery writer best known for her Gillian Adams series. She earned degrees from the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University and studied at Cambridge. Kelly won the Arthur Ellis Award for Old Wounds in 1999. Based in Vancouver's Strathcona neighborhood, she is a founding president of City Opera Vancouver and has contributed as an associate producer and librettist. She also authored a history of nursing in Vancouver.

Reviews

[Itanbi]

This book took me to a high ride and never brought me back. I imagine myself sitting on the first roller coaster cart that's going up and up then it suddenly stopped at the peak and now it's just ... there.

The beginning started off with just right amount of slow build up and anticipations. My Sherlock brain going "Someone got murdered, who did it? Why?" The plot worked well into that anticipation. I enjoyed the view my ride provided as I moved up and up with many twist and why questions. "Why? Why? Why?" There were too many whys as I leafed through the book. The climax was mind boggling. There was part of me that found him creepy but that revelation surprised me a little. It was the perfect tonic for murderino like me. I was at the edge of my chair as I looked forward to the resolution thinking "oh he is going to get arrested. Now tell me why and how you did it, old bastard!" I anticipated the explanation for how he did it and all, but then I noticed how little pages I had left to read. Hmm, nagging feeling ignored, I continued riding that high waiting for that drop. Then, .... nothing. NADA! that drop had apparently nopped outta this story. It never arrived. The ride left me hanging in terms of arrest and following drama as well as Estelle's health. Like hell!

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing in this book reminded me if a British mystery. Unfortunately, it didn't carry the same excitement along the current as some of my favourites do. This novel had it's moments of goodness, but it was hard to concentrate on the dull bits. By the end, I didn't really care who killed Nicole or even why. I was far more interested in Estelle's health and the novel was left on a cliffhanger.

[Sue Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story, good characters. Author is a Canadian historian.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dated, but a competent mystery intersperced with problems of dealing with aging parents.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Gillian returns to her childhood home on the Hudson to care for her mother. Then a student is found murdered at nearby Stanton College.