Treading Darkness

Detective Bernadette Callahan Mystery #0.25

by Lyle Nicholson

Can one day change a life? Corporal Callahan's life is going nowhere in a small town in western Canada. Her dreams of becoming a detective are stymied by a sexist Commander who wants more of her than she is willing to give.On this day, a decision she makes will change her life.She is faced with a choice. Go after a suspect to save his life or wait for backup and keep herself safe. The clock is ticking, her options are fading as the suspect flees down a mine shaft.Callahan hates the dark. But her instincts to save a young man are strong. Will she put her life in danger to save the boy or wait for the search team?To find out how Corporal Callahan will fight her own fears in this fast-moving short story download this story now!

43 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 15, 2017

About the author

Lyle Nicholson was born in British Columbia Canada. His is the youngest of three sons born to a father who was a cook and mother who was a waitress.

His father, who died when Lyle was 15, was a story teller, something that Lyle adopted at an early age. His life would lead him to travels in Europe, then 5 years in a Monastery. He found he was not a good Monk, as poverty was easy - it was the chastity and obedience that was a stumbling block.

He left the Monastery in 1979, and met and married his wife in 1982. He would spend a few years working for companies, getting fired, starting business's that failed, until he finally started a sales agency that was a success. Lyle retired in 2011.

Retirement didn't work well for Lyle. His mind wanted to explore the regions he's experienced in both meditations and his extensive travels. This has resulted in the publication of one Novella, two Novels, and several free lance articles for magazines in Canada.

Lyle now resides in a small city in Western Canada where he continues to write his thrillers and mysteries with a twist.

Reviews

[Toni Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective Bernadette Callahan Mystery book # .25

This is a short and sweet mystery and a great introduction Mr. Nicholson provided to hook us. I rarely am interested in books advertised on Facebook but this offer of free sample picked my curiosity so I researched the offer and went for it. I do not regret my choice.

Set in a Western Canada this story of only 47 pages offers us an intense mystery to capture our interest in the lead character: Royal Canadian Mounted Police Corporal Bernadette Callahan. This is one day in her life before she became a Detective in the Serious Crime Division and what a day it was. It started with routine chase of a stolen car where the suspect escapes into in abandoned mine. Her duty is to catch him even if she is afraid of the dark.

Before she moved to the new division Bernadette was struggling with a sexist superior. She eventually dealt with it in her way. In his story Mr. Nicholson wanted to highlight the claim of sexual harassment in the RCMP force and Bernadette is his emissary and a good one at that.

Well-done

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Free short story from this excellent fellow British Columbian 🇨🇦 🍁 storyteller. He tackles serious pervasive subject matter in this novella, just one of them being the extreme sexual harassment of women in the RCMP. He builds a strong, overcoming character in Irish-Cree Corporal Bernadette Callahan. Thus, the slapstick, sexual innuendos, run-on sentences, and overall serious need for a proofreader/editor can still make a difference! Our First Nations people are in need of encouragement, so it's great to see this character. But there's no draw for First Nations people: such as in the Polar Dawn series, he could have the mystical 😉 👏 war canoe concluding scene featured on his cover. At least have a dark-haired Bernadette. Feature West Coast art style 😎 animal designs such as the salmon, frog, other familiar West Coast symbols for the draw. The cover maker is brilliant though. I took away a star this time, for his shabby treatment of the subject matter, poor editing and no hint of anything First Nations to draw other readers into what could truly be a much needed worldwide celebration of Aboriginal women RIGHT NOW! 🪶 ✒

[Liz Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady cops are the greatest

Bernadette is moving up to the ranks of the RCMPs but has to get by the misogyny of her superior officer. However, life has a way of evening things out. I liked that she set Ryan on a better path, but I liked it even more when she set his father straight.

[Margaret Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short Thriller

I wish that it was longerThe story moved along briskl, very well developed wi a lot of talk.I really liked the subjects and the realism .Will be buying his other books I reall enjoy the Canadian content.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this the day that the future of Corporal Bernadette Callahan of the RCMP is decided. What will be the result when chasing a car thief they both end up in an abandoned mine.
An entertaining short story.

[Cam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun read with some great dialogue, humor, and insight into Bernadette Callahan's early RCMP career.

[Charleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, there was a lot of good writing in a short story. One of the best short stories I have read. Excellent dramatics in a little amount of time.

[Pascal Ringoot · Rating 1 out of 5]

Short read, simplistic story, writing style was OK. I learned little about B Callahan, so not much worth as an introductory book. An unnecessary read.

[Mailmanr5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok short story.

[Hilda Baard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story was great. had me hooked from the first page.