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A Collins-Burke Mystery #9
Lament for Bonnie
The ninth mystery in a series that “gets better with every book” (Globe and Mail)
Twelve-year-old Bonnie MacDonald — the beloved stepdancing, fiddling youngest member of Cape Breton’s famed Clan Donnie band — vanishes after a family party. There was no stranger spotted lurking around, but no one thinks for one minute that Bonnie ran away. Maura MacNeil, cousin to Clan Donnie, offers her husband’s legal services to the family as the police search for the missing girl. But fame attracts some strange characters and Clan Donnie has groupies. So, it turns out, does lawyer and bluesman Monty Collins.
Monty and Maura’s daughter, Normie, is much closer to the action as she gets to know her cousins, learns things she wishes she never had, and has nightmares — visions? — that bring her no closer to finding Bonnie. Her spooky great-grandmother makes no secret of the fact that she senses the presence of evil in their village — the kind of evil RCMP Sergeant Pierre Maguire left Montreal to escape. But he finds that vein of darkness running beneath the beauty and vibrant culture of Cape Breton.
Twelve-year-old Bonnie MacDonald — the beloved stepdancing, fiddling youngest member of Cape Breton’s famed Clan Donnie band — vanishes after a family party. There was no stranger spotted lurking around, but no one thinks for one minute that Bonnie ran away. Maura MacNeil, cousin to Clan Donnie, offers her husband’s legal services to the family as the police search for the missing girl. But fame attracts some strange characters and Clan Donnie has groupies. So, it turns out, does lawyer and bluesman Monty Collins.
Monty and Maura’s daughter, Normie, is much closer to the action as she gets to know her cousins, learns things she wishes she never had, and has nightmares — visions? — that bring her no closer to finding Bonnie. Her spooky great-grandmother makes no secret of the fact that she senses the presence of evil in their village — the kind of evil RCMP Sergeant Pierre Maguire left Montreal to escape. But he finds that vein of darkness running beneath the beauty and vibrant culture of Cape Breton.
344 pages, Hardcover
First published October 16, 2018
About the author
Anne Emery
17 books80 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Anne Emery is the author of SIGN OF THE CROSS (2006), OBIT (2007), BARRINGTON STREET BLUES (2008), CECILIAN VESPERS (2009) and CHILDREN IN THE MORNING (2010). Anne was born in Halifax and grew up in Moncton. She is a graduate of St. F.X. University and Dalhousie Law School. She has worked as a lawyer, legal affairs reporter and researcher. Apart from reading and writing, her interests include music, philosophy, architecture, travel and Irish history. Anne lives in Halifax with her husband and daughter.
Series:
* Monty Collins Mystery
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (2007): Sign of the Cross
Anne Emery is the author of SIGN OF THE CROSS (2006), OBIT (2007), BARRINGTON STREET BLUES (2008), CECILIAN VESPERS (2009) and CHILDREN IN THE MORNING (2010). Anne was born in Halifax and grew up in Moncton. She is a graduate of St. F.X. University and Dalhousie Law School. She has worked as a lawyer, legal affairs reporter and researcher. Apart from reading and writing, her interests include music, philosophy, architecture, travel and Irish history. Anne lives in Halifax with her husband and daughter.
Series:
* Monty Collins Mystery
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (2007): Sign of the Cross
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 20, 2021
Readers once again join Halifax criminal defense lawyer Monty Collins and his friend, hard drinking Irish priest Father Brennan Burke as they attempt to solve a mystery, this time in Cape Breton. The Collins family are headed to the island on a summer vacation and Father Burke has decided to visit some priests, attend a retreat at the Holy Christ Church in Glace Bay and join them, always ready to combine prayer and reflection with a bit of partying. There will be lots of fun with singing, piping, fiddling and step-dancing.
Shortly before they are to leave, Maura and Monty learn about the disappearance of twelve-year-old Bonnie MacDonald one of Maura’s cousins, a well-loved member of the Clan Donnie family band. She has been gone for two weeks and there is no sign of her. No one believes she has run away and many wonder if she has been kidnapped or come to some terrible harm.
After they arrive the Collins family join in the search for Bonnie but there few clues or forensic evidence to help them. Bonnie had disappeared after a late-night party that took place with over fifty people and sprawled out during the night between two houses. When Bonnie did not arrive home, her mother Sharon reported her missing. RCMP officer Pierre Maguire and Sydney police officer Dougald MacDonald teamed up to investigate, focusing most of their efforts on Bonnie’s father Collie MacDonald and her stepfather Andy Campbell.
Normie loves Cape Breton and the chance to visit her great grandmother, grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. She also uses the opportunity to take fiddling lessons from Mrs. Beaton, improve her Gaelic and learn more about the second sight, a facility she inherited from her great grandmother Morag.
She is bereft at the disappearance of her cousin Bonnie who she has always admired and participates in the search, teaming up with one of her older cousins, fifteen-year-old John Rory McDonald. She plays a major part in this novel which she narrates along with her Dad Monty Collins and RCMP officer Pierre Maguire. Those sections of the narrative Normie tells sound authentic, the thoughts she shares very much what one would expect coming from a girl her age.
Readers are introduced to Maura’s large sprawling family and the members who make up the band. Each has his own story and lately there have been rumours of discard and gossip that have swirled around them, although they pay little attention to what appears to be coming from unknown outside sources. At times it is difficult for the reader to keep the relations straight, between current wives, a bitter ex-wife, an alcoholic ex-husband and all the cousins. There are also characters outside the family that are part of the community. Lee Kaulbeck is an ambulance worker stationed in Sydney who is the boyfriend of Nancy Campbell, daughter of Andy Campbell and one of the cousins. Lee is an overconfident young man in his twenties, who throws around medical terms and believes he can do everything the doctors in the hospital do, if only he were allowed. Another character in the small town is Jeff McCurdy, a fifteen-year-old teen ager whose father Bonsai has long been known to police. Jeff is rough, often rude and not well liked by his schoolmates who try to avoid his company. There are also a number of people who hang around the band, the groupies and obsessive fans that follow them from one gig to the next. Even Monty, a member of the blues band Functus, has a woman who follows him closely, reportedly writing a book about the music of Nova Scotia, currently writing a chapter on Celtic music. She always attends his concerts in Halifax and this time has followed him to Cape Breton to attend the huge concert taking place at the Savoy Theater in Glace Bay.
As the investigation proceeds and the story unfolds, more information is revealed, shifting focus from one of the many suspects to the next.
Emery immerses her story in the vibrant traditional Cape Breton culture with its clan feuds, distinctive Gaelic language, music, and folklore. We learn more about the second sight, the ability Normie has inherited from her great grandmother Morag. Normie finds the premonitions, visions and intuitions she has frightening, but her conversations with Morag are helping her work through and understand them.
Emery, who is a Nova Scotia lawyer as well as a writer, continues this prize-winning series she started in 2006 with the first book “Sign of the Cross”. Each of the books has a strong sense of place, historically accurate backdrops, interesting characters and intriguing twisty plots. There are still more novels in the series and I intend to move on to the next one.
Shortly before they are to leave, Maura and Monty learn about the disappearance of twelve-year-old Bonnie MacDonald one of Maura’s cousins, a well-loved member of the Clan Donnie family band. She has been gone for two weeks and there is no sign of her. No one believes she has run away and many wonder if she has been kidnapped or come to some terrible harm.
After they arrive the Collins family join in the search for Bonnie but there few clues or forensic evidence to help them. Bonnie had disappeared after a late-night party that took place with over fifty people and sprawled out during the night between two houses. When Bonnie did not arrive home, her mother Sharon reported her missing. RCMP officer Pierre Maguire and Sydney police officer Dougald MacDonald teamed up to investigate, focusing most of their efforts on Bonnie’s father Collie MacDonald and her stepfather Andy Campbell.
Normie loves Cape Breton and the chance to visit her great grandmother, grandmothers, aunts, uncles and cousins. She also uses the opportunity to take fiddling lessons from Mrs. Beaton, improve her Gaelic and learn more about the second sight, a facility she inherited from her great grandmother Morag.
She is bereft at the disappearance of her cousin Bonnie who she has always admired and participates in the search, teaming up with one of her older cousins, fifteen-year-old John Rory McDonald. She plays a major part in this novel which she narrates along with her Dad Monty Collins and RCMP officer Pierre Maguire. Those sections of the narrative Normie tells sound authentic, the thoughts she shares very much what one would expect coming from a girl her age.
Readers are introduced to Maura’s large sprawling family and the members who make up the band. Each has his own story and lately there have been rumours of discard and gossip that have swirled around them, although they pay little attention to what appears to be coming from unknown outside sources. At times it is difficult for the reader to keep the relations straight, between current wives, a bitter ex-wife, an alcoholic ex-husband and all the cousins. There are also characters outside the family that are part of the community. Lee Kaulbeck is an ambulance worker stationed in Sydney who is the boyfriend of Nancy Campbell, daughter of Andy Campbell and one of the cousins. Lee is an overconfident young man in his twenties, who throws around medical terms and believes he can do everything the doctors in the hospital do, if only he were allowed. Another character in the small town is Jeff McCurdy, a fifteen-year-old teen ager whose father Bonsai has long been known to police. Jeff is rough, often rude and not well liked by his schoolmates who try to avoid his company. There are also a number of people who hang around the band, the groupies and obsessive fans that follow them from one gig to the next. Even Monty, a member of the blues band Functus, has a woman who follows him closely, reportedly writing a book about the music of Nova Scotia, currently writing a chapter on Celtic music. She always attends his concerts in Halifax and this time has followed him to Cape Breton to attend the huge concert taking place at the Savoy Theater in Glace Bay.
As the investigation proceeds and the story unfolds, more information is revealed, shifting focus from one of the many suspects to the next.
Emery immerses her story in the vibrant traditional Cape Breton culture with its clan feuds, distinctive Gaelic language, music, and folklore. We learn more about the second sight, the ability Normie has inherited from her great grandmother Morag. Normie finds the premonitions, visions and intuitions she has frightening, but her conversations with Morag are helping her work through and understand them.
Emery, who is a Nova Scotia lawyer as well as a writer, continues this prize-winning series she started in 2006 with the first book “Sign of the Cross”. Each of the books has a strong sense of place, historically accurate backdrops, interesting characters and intriguing twisty plots. There are still more novels in the series and I intend to move on to the next one.
February 21, 2020
I continue to harbor mixed feelings about Anne Emery. I've really enjoy several of her books. One I just couldn't finish and wasn't even interested enough to find out who committed the murder. The last one was good, but I mentioned that it could have used some editing. This book engendered the same reaction. In fact, toward the end, I just started skipping some of the extraneous stuff. For instance, did we really need to know the ruminations and other criminals that the mounties also caught. If they were the main characters, yes. In fact, again Emery ignored her main characters until almost the end. Also, yes, I like Monty's young daughter, Normie, but once again the ruminations of an 11 year old no matter how bright and cute really should have been cut back a little.
This was an interesting story and I enjoyed the history of Gaelic music in Nova Scotia and the Cape Breton area. Bonnie is the daughter of one of Maura's sisters. Maura and Monty are now back to living with one another, but he always feels like he is walking on eggs. The family is there on vacation and Father Brendan Burke has arranged to be part of a priests' retreat in the same area. How convenient! Bonnie disappears when two parties are going on.
She is a gifted violinist and dancer and part of the family band. She and Normie are the same age, but both are, of course, precocious and cute. Normie is spending a lot of time with her great grandmother, Morag. She shares her gift of second sight which means she can see things that are about to happen or may happen in the future. For a while I was wondering if this was going to degenerate into a pseudo Stephen King novel. It didn't. There was a logical explanation for it.
It all comes together in the end and, admittedly, a little far fetched, but it's an interesting read.
This was an interesting story and I enjoyed the history of Gaelic music in Nova Scotia and the Cape Breton area. Bonnie is the daughter of one of Maura's sisters. Maura and Monty are now back to living with one another, but he always feels like he is walking on eggs. The family is there on vacation and Father Brendan Burke has arranged to be part of a priests' retreat in the same area. How convenient! Bonnie disappears when two parties are going on.
She is a gifted violinist and dancer and part of the family band. She and Normie are the same age, but both are, of course, precocious and cute. Normie is spending a lot of time with her great grandmother, Morag. She shares her gift of second sight which means she can see things that are about to happen or may happen in the future. For a while I was wondering if this was going to degenerate into a pseudo Stephen King novel. It didn't. There was a logical explanation for it.
It all comes together in the end and, admittedly, a little far fetched, but it's an interesting read.
November 21, 2018
I have really enjoyed Anne Emery's Collins-Burke series and have recommended it frequently. I think Brenden Burke is one of the most fascinating and tragic characters ever developed. Her plots are tight, the ending is never obvious and all of her characters are well developed. There is a lot of Catholicism in her books, and I would usually find that annoying. But she tends to incorporate the good and the bad of the Catholic faith, so they never seem to proselytize.
However, I have also felt, since the first book in the series, that the character Normie, Monty Collins daughter is one of the most annoying, dislikable, poorly developed child characters I have ever read. She grates on my nerves big time to the point that I skim right over a section as soon as her name pops up. I don't know if Emery has had little contact with children, or what the problem is, but if I had to pick the most dislikable character in any of the series I read, Normie would win hands down. There are comments about how bright she is. But she sounds incredibly immature for her age and very dimwitted.
Since Lament for Bonnie is largely told from Normie's perspective, I avoided reading it. But the next book in the series is now out and I thought I should read Lament for Bonnie in case it is closely tied to the next book. It was awful. A complete waste of my time. The only thing harder than reading a book where Normie periodically shows up as a minor character is reading a book where she is the primary character. I should have stuck with my original plan to skip this one entirely.
However, I have also felt, since the first book in the series, that the character Normie, Monty Collins daughter is one of the most annoying, dislikable, poorly developed child characters I have ever read. She grates on my nerves big time to the point that I skim right over a section as soon as her name pops up. I don't know if Emery has had little contact with children, or what the problem is, but if I had to pick the most dislikable character in any of the series I read, Normie would win hands down. There are comments about how bright she is. But she sounds incredibly immature for her age and very dimwitted.
Since Lament for Bonnie is largely told from Normie's perspective, I avoided reading it. But the next book in the series is now out and I thought I should read Lament for Bonnie in case it is closely tied to the next book. It was awful. A complete waste of my time. The only thing harder than reading a book where Normie periodically shows up as a minor character is reading a book where she is the primary character. I should have stuck with my original plan to skip this one entirely.
October 30, 2022
This prolific Canadian author was recommended to me because of my interest in the Louise Penny series involving Armand Gamache. This particular novel, the ninth in the series, is set in Cape Breton, is steeped in the history, music and culture of the area, and is very dark. There seems to be a group of recurring characters with long connections to one another, and I didn't need to be familiar with previous novels to follow the complicated plot down some diabolical paths. The evil embedded in the book, the story of its origin and the way it played out, struck me as disturbing but gratuitous, and will keep me from reading any others in the series.
May 30, 2019
3.5 stars rounded up. I would have given this 4 stars but the ending was not as good as the rest of the story. Interesting historical references and overall I liked the characters and would read others in this series.
May 26, 2017
Gave up on this book. The mystery takes place on Cape Breton Island. Too many characters and just did not grab me. Didn't even bother to find out who did it.
December 30, 2017
I’m sorry I tried I really did but I could not get through this book there were too many characters and back-and-forth in different situations for me to keep track of
December 31, 2021
This story of a missing girl takes place in Cape Breton, with Normie taking on a bigger role. Hidden family secrets resurface. There was enough suspicion to keep the end a surprise.
Read
July 18, 2024Couldn’t finish - read like a children’s book - audiobook. 4 narrators. Awful
March 15, 2017
By and large well done, though the final solution was telegraphed well in advance.
The Cape Breton setting was interesting, and it was a nice touch to bring in real performers like Men of the Deeps and Rita McNeil.
Not necessary to bring in the "second sight" as it didn't contribute to the resolution -- though it was a point of bonding between 11 year old Norman and her great grandmother Morag.
I liked the people and may look for others in the series.
The Cape Breton setting was interesting, and it was a nice touch to bring in real performers like Men of the Deeps and Rita McNeil.
Not necessary to bring in the "second sight" as it didn't contribute to the resolution -- though it was a point of bonding between 11 year old Norman and her great grandmother Morag.
I liked the people and may look for others in the series.
January 14, 2017
All the usual characters are here; even though the story is set in Cape Breton. Emery's knowledge of English, French, Gaelic, and Latin are put to good use (and not in a show-off way). Lots to keep you going until the very last page!
September 15, 2016
Anne Emery’s novel Lament for Bonnie is a mystery set in Cape Breton in 1994. Bonnie MacDonald, twelve-year-old singer, fiddler, and step-dancer in the popular celtic music band Clan Donnie and member of a sprawling Cape Breton family, has disappeared. The novel follows Bonnie’s family, community, and local police officers as they search for the girl, probing the elaborate relationships and histories of the family and the band. The mystery narrative is compelling, engaging, and satisfying.
The novel itself is told through the voices of Bonnie’s uncle, her cousin, and a member of the RCMP charged with discovering what has happened to the girl. The descriptions are sparse, and the narrative is dominated by dialogue. As a result, the novel has a brisk cinematic feel; this is one of those rare novels that could translate easily to film with no real loss to the depth of the story. The characters are interesting, distinct, and well-wrought.
My only real quarrel with this novel is the heavy regional and historical detail that is often stagey and distracting. Because the story is told primarily in dialogue, the characters tell each other things about Cape Breton and the community and family history that the characters would either already know, or that would be unlikely to come up in conversation. Often, when these details are related in the narrative rather than dialogue, they are extraneous to the plot or the characters, and they distract, rather than contribute to the story. I often wish that Emery had scaled back on the geographic and historical detail. It would have been possible to create the rich and evocative Cape Breton community with a lighter touch, offering only details that enhance rather than distract from the plot and characters. In contrast, Emery paints the 1994 setting deftly, and without a heavy reliance on extraneous detail.
Despite its heavy regionalism, Lament for Bonnie offers readers the compelling narrative of a good mystery novel with the rich and nuanced character development of literary fiction.
The novel itself is told through the voices of Bonnie’s uncle, her cousin, and a member of the RCMP charged with discovering what has happened to the girl. The descriptions are sparse, and the narrative is dominated by dialogue. As a result, the novel has a brisk cinematic feel; this is one of those rare novels that could translate easily to film with no real loss to the depth of the story. The characters are interesting, distinct, and well-wrought.
My only real quarrel with this novel is the heavy regional and historical detail that is often stagey and distracting. Because the story is told primarily in dialogue, the characters tell each other things about Cape Breton and the community and family history that the characters would either already know, or that would be unlikely to come up in conversation. Often, when these details are related in the narrative rather than dialogue, they are extraneous to the plot or the characters, and they distract, rather than contribute to the story. I often wish that Emery had scaled back on the geographic and historical detail. It would have been possible to create the rich and evocative Cape Breton community with a lighter touch, offering only details that enhance rather than distract from the plot and characters. In contrast, Emery paints the 1994 setting deftly, and without a heavy reliance on extraneous detail.
Despite its heavy regionalism, Lament for Bonnie offers readers the compelling narrative of a good mystery novel with the rich and nuanced character development of literary fiction.
July 31, 2016
Lament for Bonnie by Anne Emery is set in Cape Breton, an island in Nova Scotia Province. Early settlers were part of the Highland Clearances, and these forced Scottish immigrants brought their highland music and traditions with them.
The island is still famous for its Celtic music, and twelve-year-old Bonnie MacDonald is part of the famous Clan Donnie band. When Bonnie disappears from a family party, the entire clan is determined to find her, but Monte Collins' daughter Normie has insights that the adults do not--partly because of her place among the younger generation and partly because Normie has a gift inherited from her grandmother.
I read one other Monte Collins novel in 2009 (Cecilian Vespers) and found it interesting for entirely different reasons. Monte Collins was the main character, the setting was Halifax, and the complications were all involved with Vatican II. Lament for Bonnie is set in beautiful Cape Breton, Normie is an intriguing young protagonist, and the emphasis is on the highland music.
Read in May; blog rev. scheduled for Aug. 26, 2016. A Garden Carried in the Pocket
Mystery. Sept. 13, 2016. Print length: 300 pages.
The island is still famous for its Celtic music, and twelve-year-old Bonnie MacDonald is part of the famous Clan Donnie band. When Bonnie disappears from a family party, the entire clan is determined to find her, but Monte Collins' daughter Normie has insights that the adults do not--partly because of her place among the younger generation and partly because Normie has a gift inherited from her grandmother.
I read one other Monte Collins novel in 2009 (Cecilian Vespers) and found it interesting for entirely different reasons. Monte Collins was the main character, the setting was Halifax, and the complications were all involved with Vatican II. Lament for Bonnie is set in beautiful Cape Breton, Normie is an intriguing young protagonist, and the emphasis is on the highland music.
Read in May; blog rev. scheduled for Aug. 26, 2016. A Garden Carried in the Pocket
Mystery. Sept. 13, 2016. Print length: 300 pages.
November 5, 2016
This book is apparently the 9th in a series of detective mysteries. I'm not sure that I have read any of them before.
An interesting book, with many moving plot pieces. A little foreshadowing of ultimate ending, although details wait to the end. A lovely Atlantic coast mix of history of English, Scots, Irish and French history (sometimes not too far from the original countries) and the musical popularity of the area, along with human dynamics.
An interesting book, with many moving plot pieces. A little foreshadowing of ultimate ending, although details wait to the end. A lovely Atlantic coast mix of history of English, Scots, Irish and French history (sometimes not too far from the original countries) and the musical popularity of the area, along with human dynamics.
October 2, 2016
A book by Anne Emery, that gives you a little background on the history of Nova Scotia while unraveling a mystery within a family. The disappearance of a 12 year old step dancer brings out the skeletons in the family closets. Just when you think it is 1 person, clues take your interest to another, not your typical "I know who dunnit" novel. A real page turner
January 29, 2017
A good mystery, keeps you guessing til the end. For Outlander fans, fun, lots of Scotland references and Gaelic words.
January 19, 2019
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