A Violent End

by Maggie Wheeler

Following the death of her mother, university history professor Farran Mackenzie begins searching for her parents’ past in the Lost Villages of the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Her arrival surprises the old-timers, and stirs up memories amongst the former villagers, many of whom were already rattled by the recent reappearance of Farran’s father ─ from beneath the waters of the St. Lawrence where his body had unknowingly lain since the flooding, forty years before.  Then, when a friend of her parents dies in a suspicious accident soon after her arrival, Farran is forced to put her research skills to new use, before her father’s murderer finds her.

Genres: Mystery

272 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Margo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wondeful story involving The Lost Villages, which were flooded or moved, during the building of The St. Lawrence Seaway. A lot of history. There are 4 other books in this series.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live on the St. Lawrence River, on the American side - so I found this book particularly interesting, well written, and fun to read. I only wish there had been some pictures in it. I have been to Upper Canada Village, also, but not for many years, and I did not previously realize that some of the homes & artifacts were actually from the lost villages.

[Ulrike Lewald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book as it relates to the history of Eastern Ontario in the 50s and the displacement of approximately 6,000 people and their homes due to the installation of the Seaway power plant. Lots of irrelevant characters. Author sometimes uses their first names, other times their last names and other times their titles (i.e. Detective inspector). A bit dragged out and a tad soapy.

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie, you are a beautiful writer. This book is so well done and now, I look forward, to the second book. You put the feelings and actual heart into an era where people were traumatized, at a time that should always be remembered.

[Connie Paddle · Rating 5 out of 5]

l Very good book, a good look at what it must have been like for the people living in the villages along the St. Lawrence that were affected by the building of the Seaway.

[Roger Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. There are two sides to this book. The foirst is the building of the St Lawrence Seaway and the power dam at Cornwall, Ontario and how it affected the people of the area. The descendants of the original settlers were uprooted and moved from the farms and villages and placed in new towns and this books describes the experiances of various (fictional) people. On top of this story is a murder mystery. I figured out who the murder was fairly early on, then I changed my mind, then I changed it again. I was correct in the beginning, but by the end I di not think so. An excellent mystery and an excellent description of the historical events. The story was well researched and the places which can be visited today, are well described. My cousin was one of those up-rooted people and even though I was in my early teens at the time, I remember her and the effect the project had on her was very much as Maggie Wheeler describes. An excellent read for the history buff who likes mysteries or vice versa.

[Lynne Page · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in the history of the Lost Villages, have a love for Upper Canada Village, or simply grew up in the area, this book will probably keep you entertained.

I enjoyed knowing precisely what Wheeler was talking about when Farran described certain landmarks and areas that she visited. It made the story seem... real.

This is a good little murder mystery, especially as the main character tried to piece the mystery together 40 years after it happened.

Wheeler's voice is easy to read, which makes getting through this novel a breeze. There are a few typos that should have been addressed.

[Kristine Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past summer I spent some time near Cornwall and learned about the Lost Villages. I visited (for the first time) Upper Canada Village and the Cornwall Generating Station. So it was really quite neat to read about these places back as they would have been in the 1950s. I'm not much of a murder mystery fan, but I enjoyed this one. A nice balance between plot and character development - in this case the character was the place - Aultsville. Because the main character, Farran, is not a detective, but is investigating the murder of her father when he was only 18, the book has a rather melancholy tone to it. I would definitely read the sequel.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another example of a book that I would never have picked up, except that it was a choice for our book club and I'm glad it was. I have a few issues with it (it reads like it's been rather poorly edited, it has parachuted-in characters that seem to add nothing to the story, and the writing seems a bit amateur) but the pro's outweigh those con's for me (LOVE the Canadian history, the sorrow and tragedy of the flooding is well used as background mood, and there are some real gems for literary quotes.) An easy read that added knowledge to my starving brain and fed my romantic soul.