Fatal Harvest: A Hunter and Tate Mystery

by Brenda Chapman

Small Towns can be Murder

Eleven-year-old Matt Clark is staying in the outlying village of Ashton for the summer while his parents work out their separation. He’s been told to keep his head down and to stay off social media. Labour Day has come and gone, and Matt believes he’ll be home soon, completely unaware that someone has been posting his photo and location on one of the sites, and trouble is on its way.

Detective Liam Hunter gets the call — a double murder and a missing boy. While he spearheads the investigation, true crime podcaster Ella Tate undertakes her own search for the killer with mixed results. Meanwhile Homicide and Major Crimes is undergoing a major upheaval and the top position is up for grabs as Hunter’s partner struggles to keep her job.

The rainiest September in recent history proves a fitting backdrop for this haunting story of lies, betrayal, and deadly repercussions.



"If you’re looking for a mystery with intrigue, heart, a finely drawn setting and relatable characters finding their way through tragic circumstances, Fatal Harvest is for you. Brenda Chapman knows how to tell a story and is, quite frankly, one of the most readable Canadian mystery writers of our time." – Anthony Bidulka, author of Going to Beautiful, Crime Writers of Canada 2023 Best Crime Novel

"This was hugely readable and compelling. And there are enough dangling threads regarding the principal characters to make Book 4 a must!" - Susan Rothery, Editor

Genres: Canada

332 pages, Paperback

Published April 11, 2024

About the author

I'm an Ottawa author with 18 published novels in the mystery genre, both adult and YA. I am currently writing two adult mystery series: The Stonechild and Rouleau police procedurals from Dundurn include Cold Mourning (2014), which was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for crime novel of the year, Butterfly Kills, Tumbled Graves, Shallow End and Bleeding Darkness. Turning Secrets, 6th in the series, will be released spring 2019.

The Anna Sweet mysteries are novellas from Grass Roots Press for adult literacy or those wanting a quick read. My Sister's Keeper and No Trace were both shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis award and The Hard Fall and No Trace were shortlisted for the Golden Oak award.

Previous published fiction includes: the Jennifer Bannon mysteries for ages 10+, a full length adult murder mystery In Winter's Grip (Dundurn 2010), and a Rapid Reads mystery The Second Wife (Orca 2011), which was shortlisted for a Golden Oak award. Second Chances, a YA novel for ages 13+ was released by Dundurn in September 2012.

Reviews

[CarolG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eleven-year-old Matt Clark is spending the summer in a small town outside of Ottawa Canada with Devina and Stu Petrie, friends of his mother's. He returns from fishing with his buddy Jimmy to find them murdered and immediately goes into hiding.

It seems that I've read many books lately that take place during heavy rains which we've also been experiencing off and on. As the blurb for this book states: "The rainiest September in recent history proves a fitting backdrop for this haunting story of lies, betrayal, and deadly repercussions.".

This is the third in the Hunter & Tate mystery series but I think it could be read as a standalone without too much difficulty. You'd miss out on the background of the characters but each book follows a different case, sometimes more than one. Liam Hunter is a detective with the Ottawa Police and Ella Tate is a podcaster/freelance reporter who has collaborated with Liam in the past and is conducting her own investigation into the double murder.

This book focuses more on Liam Hunter's new partner, Rosie Thorburn, and her acquaintance with another detective, including his attempts to thwart her career. Meanwhile the mystery behind the deaths of the Petries and the search for young Matt intensifies as connections to New York are uncovered and the FBI becomes involved. There really isn't much interaction between Ella and Liam this time nor did Ella's showy neighbour Tony have a big role in this book but it was still a quick and entertaining read. I understand the author is currently writing book 4 so I'll be keeping an eye out for it. 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thanks to Ivy Bay Press via Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication: April 15, 2024

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Ivy Bay for the eARC.
Brenda Chapman is one of my favorite Canadian authors and I loved this, the 3rd in the Hunter and Tate series and there's going to be a no. 4!
A double murder and a missing young man, just outside of Ottawa, are keeping Hunter and Tate on their toes. Hunter is also working with Rosie, a fledgling police officer, who shows promise. Unfortunately Augur wants to destroy Rosie's life and career and I hope he'll get his comeuppance in the 4th book!
A great read, I loved it and highly recommend it!

[Joanne Hurley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Fatal Harvest", the third book in the Hunter and Tate Mysteries series. I have to confess that, although I am a fan of Brenda Chapman, the author (having read one of her other series), I had not read any of the previous books - so I did just that.

Maybe it's because I had read and greatly enjoyed the first two books of the series one after the other, I found book three - while being well written and a good mystery - not quite up to the the standards of the first two. The mystery is a good one: a young boy goes missing after the couple he has been staying with in a small rural community is brutally murdered; Detectives Hunter and Thorburn (who we were introduced to in Book 2) don't know whether the adolescent Matt Clark is another victim, the perpetrator or just a terrified witness.

Ella Tate is dealing with things at home: a new, possible boyfriend, Tony her neighbour who delights in mothering her and her friend, Finn, who is now a single father; but she still manages to get involved in the case - first in the persona of her freelance reporter gig and then as part of her true crime podcast. But it seems that Ella and the detectives spend most of the story going over the same territory. A lot of time is spent interviewing and re-interviewing the neighbours and whittling out the backstories that may have led to the murders.

When hints of Matt's backstory begin to make it to the investigators, the possible reasons for the double homicide begin to become more complex - for a time. But the mystery is soon solved in a satisfying (but somewhat predictable) manner.

There is a lot going on in this one that I see as the setup for the promised fourth book in the series (and I hope that some of it is dealt with quickly). Recommended, but not really a standalone read.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chapman is an experienced and prolific writer. This, her latest, 18th, is a formulaic police procedural with a ‘surprise ending’, except you get the feeling all along that Nelson the detective is on the wrong track, we just don’t who donit.
The multiple character side stories can be distracting keeping all the players, and their love interests, straight can be tedious.
The fact that the story takes in a little hamlet close to Ottawa is appealing for its realism, and to this reader, familiarity.
Probably a 3.5.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Ivy Bay Press for an advance copy of Fatal Harvest, the third novel to feature Detective Liam Hunter of Ottawa’s Major Crimes Unit and podcaster/freelance journalist Ella Tate.

Eleven year old Matt Clark is staying with Stu and Devina Petrie over the summer in the rural town of Ashton while his parents work out some troubles. He comes home to find the Petries murdered and realises it isn’t safe for him. Hunter heads the investigation into the double murder and Matt’s disappearance while Ella takes her own approach to the case.

I thoroughly enjoyed Fatal Harvest, which is an interesting police procedural with a twist in the tail. It is, however, a novel of two halves. The first half is slow as it sets the scene and the investigation, which is necessarily slow with apparently harmless victims and no clues, while the second half pulls all the scene setting together and ramps up the action/tension culminating in a big twist.

The novel is in some senses character driven. Liam and Ella don’t give much away emotionally and are more drivers than participants in the plot. The emotion lies in Matt, his friend Jimmy and Liam’s investigative partner Rosie Thorburn, who goes through a different wringer in this novel. There is one unusual theme in the novel, that of acceptance and unwillingness to fight, especially when the examples of trying to change things always end badly. I think that what I’m trying to say is that passivity seems to be the way forward otherwise bad things happen. It may be realistic but it’s a bit depressing in fiction.

The plot follows the typical procedural trope by starting with a wide open field of suspects and narrowing it down with sold investigating. The reason for Matt’s stay in Ashton gets a lot of attention and might well have a bearing on the murders, but it might not. The author isn’t saying before the denouement and creates such a mystery that the solution comes as a big surprise.

Fatal Harvest is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven-year-old Matt has been spending the summer in a small town outside of Ottawa with Devina and Stu, friends of his mother's. He comes home after fishing with his buddy, Jimmy, to find them murdered and there's a man still lurking about. He panics and takes off into hiding. When Devina and Stu's bodies are found, the police wonder about Matt. Did he kill them? Was he kidnapped or also murdered?

Police officers Liam Hunter and Rosie Thornburn investigate. In the meantime, there are internal changes and tension happening within their department which could be distracting. Liam usually works on the sly with Ella Tate, a true crime podcaster, exchanging information on cases, though they didn't spend a lot of time together in this story.

I have read quite a few of this author's books and enjoy them. This one is written in third person perspective depending on where the action was. Though it is the third in the Hunter and Tate series (and I've read the first two), you can read it as a stand alone but I'd recommend you read the first two first so you'll have the background of the characters. The whodunnit was an interesting twist. I like that it is set in Ottawa, ON, and the author doesn't try to hide it.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2024/04...

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an egalley of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Chapman's characters are so realistic that you feel like you know them. I always enjoy getting the opportunity to read stories set where I live.

Overall, the writing was extremely approachable and made for an easy read! Having read the other two books in this series, I did feel like it was missing the core Hunter and Tate interactions, and spent a lot of the novel on the outside characters, which really led me to miss the dynamics between our two protagonists.

As usual, I can never really figure out where the twists are going and I am always surprised and impressed with how the mysteries resolve. Rounding up from a 3.5, because I really did miss those interactions between the titular Ella and Liam and wanted so badly to see some evolution in their relationship. I am very interested to see where things will go with Rosie, however!

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about series that obviously continue the story lines from one book to the next. On one hand, the familiarity can be comfortable (if you have read/remembered things from the previous books). On the other, the cozy continuity can get in the way of each book's being a complete piece that stands on its own merit.

This one seemed to focus too much on moving various disconnected themes along - the obvious smoldering of the relationship between Ella and Liam, whatever is going on with the bullying/sexual abuse of Rosie by Auger and Ella's confusing home front. So of course there is going to be another book. Because all of these continuing themes were left completely up in the air.

As for the actual plot of this one, it seemed thin and I felt it was left unresolved. While the whodunnit part was answered in a very prosaic way re the murders, I was left with questions about the secondary crime even though there was a lot of work done to set it up as a big mystery.

[Grace Koshida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ottawa homicide detective Liam Hunter's newest case is a gruesome double murder in the small village of Ashton. Eleven-year old Matt Clark had been staying with the deceased couple during the summer & is now missing. Is Matt a kidnap victim, a fleeing witness or the killer? And where are Matt's parents?

True-crime podcaster Ella Tate is hovering around the scenes looking for information but I miss the frequent interactions between Ella & Liam that were present in previous books. Meanwhile, Hunter's new partner Rosie is dealing with both personal and professional challenges & this storyline adds another layer to the book.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Ivy Bay Press. All opinions are my own.

[Jessica Livengood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a must read. There is a double murder in a small town and a boy goes missing. The race is on to solve the murders and locate the boy. Each chapter brought a new twist on who could possibly have committed such a crime. The characters are easy to like and develop as the book goes on. Just when you think you have everything figured out, there is a huge twist that just leaves your mind blown. I will definitely be reading more books by Brenda Chapman. Many thanks to Brenda Chapman and NetGalley for the advanced read.

[Lis Angus · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third in prolific author Brenda Chapman's new series featuring Ottawa police detective Liam Hunter and freelance journalist Ella Tate, this one is set mainly in Ashton, a small rural village west of urban Ottawa. A farming couple has been brutally murdered in their home, and the twelve-year-old boy who was spending the summer with them is missing. With lots of suspense, some great interplay between characters (among the police as well as civilians) and a couple of great twists, this is a terrific read with some intriguing storylines that intertwine and lead to a satisfying ending.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fatal Harvest by Brenda Chapman started out okay, but I felt there was too much extra information added to the story that I found myself skimming.

It was a good story, though, and I liked Matt and Jimmy. The story had some good twists and a good plot.

Overall, a good read. I will read more from this author.

#FatalHarvest #NetGalley @ibpa

[Bill Lalonde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has interesting characters and a well-paced plot. I have read other books in this series and this one did not disappoint. The action is mainly set in a small village outside of Ottawa where a murder has been committed. A young boy who returned home around the time of the murder goes on the run, fearing for his own safety. There are enough things going on to keep the reader interested.

[Jane Francis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good police procedural, set in Ottawa, or mostly in Ashton. A boy comes home from fishing to find the couple he is staying with shot dead in the living room. He hears a truck drive up and escapes through this bedroom window, staying missing for several days. Farm country, neighbours all know each other but are farm distance apart. Lots of focus on the Ashton Brew Pub.

[Brian R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brenda’s best book yet

I have read all of her books over the years and they continue to get better and better. Great story with lots of interesting characters and always an excellent balance between the characters and the story. Looking forward to reading more.

[Carole · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid continuation of the Hunter and Tate series. The mystery is well done and we get some more insight into Ella Tate and Liam Hunter but perhaps a bit too much obvious foreshadowing of where that's going to go. As always, I enjoyed the Ottawa setting.

3.5*

[Kathy Sales · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5