Does Your Mother Know?

Christine Morris #1

by Maureen Jennings

Christine Morris has been sent to Edinburgh to attend a conference on the latest in police methodology. There she is tracked down by the Northern Constabulary, Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, who inform her that her estranged mother has been involved in a vehicular homicide and has gone missing. Reluctantly, Christine agrees to fly up to Stornoway, where her mother was last seen. Her arrival is followed by the suspicious death of one of the islanders. What unfolds is a deepening involvement in the life of the community, an unexpected reconnection with her mother, and a nefarious plot against one of the young princes, who is planning a visit to the island. Set against the backdrop of a breathtaking landscape and a people who are fiercely proud of their traditional way of life, Does Your Mother Know? races along to a galloping finish in this complex tale of suspense.

Genres: Mystery, Canada, Fiction, Scotland, Murder Mystery, Mystery Thriller

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Maureen Jennings, now a Canadian Citizen, was born on Eastfield Road in Birmingham, England and spent her formative years there until she emigrated to Canada at the age of seventeen with her mother.

This has meant that she still feels a deep connection with her homeland. It has also no doubt been a strong influence in her love for, and her writing about, the Victorian period. She attended the University of Windsor where she attained a BA in philosophy and psychology.

A couple of years trying to decide what she really wanted to do with her life resulted in her returning to university, the University of Toronto, this time where she earned an MA in English literature.For the next eight years, she taught English at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute at a time when the English department seemed to be chock full of writers. Eric Wright, went on to write the highly successful Charlie Salter mystery series, Graeme Gibson, Peter Such, and others were writing both novels and poetry. An exciting time in so many ways but after eight years, another change of direction and in 1972, Maureen left Ryerson to become a psychotherapist, which was a long time interest. She has continued in private practice since then, although nowadays she mostly conducts creative expression groups and writes. Always passionate about dogs, she is happy to own a border collie named Jeremy-Brett and a mixed breed named Varley.

Series:
* Detective Murdoch
* Christine Morris
* Detective Inspector Tom Tyler

Reviews

[Kristine Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maureen Jennings is the author of the Detective Murdoch mysteries (on which the Murdoch Mysteries tv show is based). When I checked out her website, I noticed she had a Sergeant Constable Christine Morris series. Kind of hard to resist. Anyway, typical cop murder mystery novel. A mystery, a bunch of clues and a rapid solving of everything at the very end. I enjoyed it, but only because I read about 1 murder mystery a year. Maybe two.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coffin Road, the Peter May book I read before this one was set in the Outer Hebrides, same islands as Jennings book, so I was familiar with the landscape and the local residents. However, Jennings was not nearly as descriptive as May, of the setting and her main character, Christine Morris, not nearly as fleshed out. Her locals were pretty spot on and I liked them far better especially Gillies in the police and Lisa, the housekeeper in the murdered fellow's house, Tomrod. Let me start over here. Christine Morris, in her 40's and single, is a cop at a conference in Edinburgh. She's started a new job with the RCMP as a profiler and as far as I can gather at the onset is fleeing from nearly 20 years as a beat cop and a last call gone badly compounded with a tumultuous relationship with her mother Joan. And she carries a boulder not a chip on her shoulder because of her mother. I find her most unlikeable and want to give her a good shake for her smug tones, bossiness and over the top feminist sensitivities. She ends up in Harris because of Joan. Seems she is in Scotland, too, and has been involved in fleeing the scene of an accident! One thing leads to another and Chris gets mired in the case and works in tandem as an incomer, mind, with Gillies. The story line is solid and good, and Chris comes across at times like a female Inspector Murdoch, not all bad but not too comely for a woman. She 'tells' too much and too often. As the book progresses we can sense her thawing, thanks to Gillies, Lisa, Mairi and even Joan herself once she surfaces. Hurt feelings are being mended, Chris tracks down the killer and even helps expose a plot to undo a visit by Wills, the Royal Prince! Quite a fun bit of writing there. By the time the book winds down, we like Chris but it takes a long while to get on her side. There's a great bit watching border collies herd sheep and do tricks and another with Chris sending her mother into a trance, something she learned at a Quantico course, to get at the truth about the accident. More thawing for Chris when she discovers via Joan that she has family on the island. I did enjoy this overall and would read another in the series.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Police procedural with a bit of heart. Christine Morris, Canadian police officer recovering from a bad arrest situation, visits Scotland for a conference and ends up drawn into a case where her unreliable recovered alcoholic mother is missing and assumed guilty. I like Jennings’ work and this is decidedly lighter than the Murdoch series despite the crimes.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jennings is a Canadian writer, so it may be difficult to find her books in a US bookstore. I bought several of them when I was visiting my sister in Toronto. I have read this and its sequel from this newer of series by Jennings. The main character is a newly-promoted profiler who has spent 20+ years on the front line as a Toronto police officer. This novel is set on the isle of Lewis in the Hebrides (that's Scotland), and I especially liked that setting since I've been to Scotland a few times. I like the main character because she is not your typical young/cute/sexy detective but is older and wiser. Also she was an English major so there are literary allusions sprinkled throughout. :-)

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The protagonist is boring, and she doesn't belong in this investigation in the slightest. The setting is mildly interesting, but not as interesting as the author's Victorian Toronto. The story is adequate, but since it involves essentially uninteresting people, I didn't get too worked up about the outcome. Then it turned out to be the obvious solution in the case of both mysteries. The investigation process was repetitive and artificially frustrating. All in all, a very unsatisfying read.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I prefer my mysteries a bit more complex, but this is a good first installment of what promises to be a solid second series from Jennings. I still prefer Murdoch. Perhaps I'm just smitten with the giant bicycle.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christine Morris, Forensic Profiler. Set in the Hebrides. Despite everything I still don't like Joan. I need to be more forgiving. Enjoyed learning about Scotland and its culture/customs.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read five books by Maureen Jennings in as many weeks. I have been jumping series and am now alternating books in three of her four series. This is book one in the Christine Morris series. And wow, what a tale. This was another book by Jennings that I could hardly put down. It is a masterfully written story.

Christine Morris is a newly trained police profiler. A new role to her after years on the force in Toronto. This story begins with her in Edinburgh at a conference on new police methods and practices. While there she receives a call from the Northern Constabulary, Stornoway, Outer Hebrides, and that her mother was involved with a motor vehicle death and is now missing. Chris has not had contact with her mother in a few years, and they relationship has been rocky as long as she can remember. Yet once again it appears that her mother’s sins are about to be visited on the daughter. After a near sleepless night she packs up to head to Stornoway to se what she can figure out.

The novel is filled with incredible scenery. The countryside, the people, the secrets. It is a tale that was incredibly hard to put down. There is one dead from the auto accident, another that the Dr says is suspicious, and yet Christie finds clues that all is not as it appears. You have family conflict. Family secrets. And Generations learning to come to terms with events both current and some much older.

I have yet to encounter anything by Jennings that I have not enjoyed! And this book was a real page turner. I only wish I had begun reading her books years ago when I first started watching the Murdoch TV series, then I would not be so far behind on the book. But at my current pace of about a book a week, I should have them all done this year. Every time I finish one I purchase 2 or three more, to have them read to go. An excellent read and I look forward to the next in the series and hope they will be more soon.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Maureen Jennings.

[Linda Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, a different mystery by Maureen Jennings. Love Detective Murdoch both as a television show and as her book series even the original old Detective Murdock. This one was interesting too, a murder in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland investigated ( but not quite) by a Canadian Detective who has a personal connection to the deceased and the possible killer!! Wow tangled web ( to say nothing about possible conflict of interest). I must say she was way more forgiving of her mother after years of determined neglect and disappointment than I would ever be. And what about the blossoming love interest, what happened to them?? I will have to read the next one to see what happens.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

#1 Christine Morris

As I’ve mentioned before, Jennings, now a Canadian citizen, is the author of the Detective Murdoch mystery series on which the popular CBC television series is based.

Does Your Mother Know is the first in a series featuring Christine Morris, a forensic profiler with the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) in Toronto, Canada. In this debut, Christine is on leave in Scotland, investigating the disappearance of her estranged mother, who has been involved in a “vehicular homicide”.

Decent, but not outstanding or particularly memorable.

3½ stars

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christine is attending a police conference in Edinburgh. After she receives a call regarding her estranged mother who may have been involved in a vehicle accident, she travels to the Hebrides. Christine unofficially works with the police investigator which leads her to some involvement in the close knit community life on the island. She soon learns more than she expected about her own beginnings. This is an excellent mystery story featuring Christine, a new character created by Maureen Jennings.

[Carol McKnight · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is by Maureen Jennings, who wrote the books for the Murdoch Mystery TV series. Like the Murdoch books, Does your mother know has a somewhat light weight police detective and a fairly slow plot. But unlike the Murdoch books, it is set on the Scotland isles, a beautiful and brooding place, which adds to the characters.

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The family relationships were difficult to follow at times but one picks up the essentials eventually and the "surprise" about Christine's father was not such a big surprise to me. However I enjoyed the book and look forward to the sequel.

[Carol Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. The characters were realistic and I could easily relate to them. The setting was in Scotland, which just happens to be the country of most of my ancestry. The plot was interesting and serious, without being too heavy. And the ending was quite satisfactory!

[Tracee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author has a style that I enjoy reading - easy to read and not a lot of time wasted on nonsense. However, the family tree did get a bit confusing 😅
Turns out she’s the author of The Murdoch Mysteries, of which I’ve never read nor watched, but may check out.

[Teddi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't hold my attention. Unfinished

[Vickie Bray · Rating 3 out of 5]

A tad bit slow

This book was okay,but I found myself "trying" to finish it. This is the first book I've read by this author. I hope the next is better.

[Cybercrone · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. See how the rest of the series goes.

[Zora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another terrific book from the author. How wonderful to find a new (to me) author who has another half-dozen books I can read, knowing I am in the hands of a professional.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down.

[Letitia Moffitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great setting and a solid, twisty plot. A few moments clunked a little but all-in-all a good read.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mystery about family secrets. Good plot, decent characters, good writing and enough plot twists to keep the reader interested.

[LAB · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the detective mysteries I've read seem to run along recipe lines: Detective who is having a rough time at work, aggressive investigative techniques that cross the line toward illegal, persons of interest who have some personal connection to the detective, and so forth. Settings vary, character development is hit or miss, and in the end the detective still faces his/her personal angst. It is getting a bit boring.

When I picked up Does Your Mother Know? by Maureen Jennings (2006) I was anticipating something similar. I was surprised, and pleasantly so. Although her book has all of the recipe ingredients, her presentation was sufficiently different to immediately capture my attention.

The detective in this instance is Christine Morris, a Canadian criminal profiler who is attending a training session in Scotland. Since she is out of her jurisdiction, Morris tries to keep her nose clean when she is informed that a victim in a local car accident is missing. The missing person is her estranged mother. But Christine is more caught up by the apparent natural death of an elderly villager. Her cop-sense tells her he was murdered. As she unofficially roots around she uncovers secrets about her own life that leave her rattled, angry, and astonished.

This was a good read, hard to put down. The author has written several other detective mysteries featuring other characters, and I might look some up. Her writing is worth trying again.

[Patti · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

I've been reading Maureen Jennings historical series set in Toronto in 1895--this title comes from a completely different direction.

Christine Morris is a forensic profiler from Canada, who is in Edinburgh for a training course. Part of the reason she's in Scotland is to also recover from a difficult case.

Christine is tracked down by the police because her mother was in a car accident in the Hebrides and is now missing. She is estranged from her mother, and didn't know that her mother was even traveling. Christine goes to the Hebrides, which can be insular, but still enjoys tourists spending their money. She doesn't quite get involved with the investigating officer, she finds and reconnects with her mother, and contributes to solving the car accident in addition to another situation.

What I liked about this novel is that it was told in the first person, and I felt more involved with Christine than I have felt with Inspector Murdoch. I look forward to reading the 2nd book in this series (there are only 2) and continuing to read about Inspector Murdoch also.

Recommended.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I decided to check out a Maureen Jennings because of Murdoch Mysteries. My local library doesn't have any of the Murdoch Mysteries, so I had to content myself with a mystery about one Christine Morris, a female cop from modern-day Toronto.

There's a bit of a setting disconnect because Christine is a Canadian, with Canadian sensibilities, but the book is set on the Scottish isle of Lewis. There's also a bit of confusion in the plot, which is written in first-person point of view, because Christine refers to events related to a baby, and at first I thought maybe I hadn't picked up book 1 in the series. As the story progresses, all the details related to the baby are revealed. The plot is a bit thin, and much of it relates to Christine's mother and her involvement in a fatal car accident on the island.

It isn't an uninteresting book by any stretch; it made me want to keep picking it up, to find out how it all connected it, but I didn't mind putting it down.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been out for 3 years, and even though I really liked Maureen Jennings' historical mysteries, I hadn't got around to reading this one. This is a new contemporary series featuring Christine Morris, a forensic profiler, who works for the Ontario police. When the book opens she has only been at her position for a week, but has been sent to a conference in Edinburgh. There, she gets a phone call saying that her (estranged) mother has been involved in a car accident, and is now missing. It is the police from Lewis Island in the Outer Hebrides who are calling. She flies up there, and the story develops from there - the mystery of the car accident, another possibly suspicious death, and her mother's whereabouts.

Jennings is a good writer and I liked the sense of place. There are even several Toronto mentions. The solution was satisfying.

[Donna Mcnab · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maureen Jennings has written the "Detective Murdoch" series, which I have watched on TV but never read the books on which the series was based. In this book, she has come up with a new character, Christine Morris, who is a forensic profiler working out of Orillia, Ontario. However, this story takes place in Scotland, where Christine has been sent to a conference on the latest in police methodology. While there, she gets a call that her mother has disappeared after being involved in an accident, in which the other occupant of the vehicle was killed. As Christine has been out of touch with her mother for years, she is surprised to learn, not only that she is part of a police investigation, but also that she has been holidaying at Stornoway. I will be keeping an eye out for more Christine Morris books, as it sounds like this is the beginning of a new series for the author.

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

My thought on reading the book was the coincidence that the mother should happen to be in
Scotland mending bridges from her past while her daughter was at a conference in Edinburgh. The mother is in an automobile accident killing the other person in the car, but the mother has disappeared. Was the mother driving and responsible for the death of the other person? Where is the mother? Hiding on an island where everyone knows everyone? Christine leaves conference to fly to the island to help find her mother as well as find out what her mother is doing there. The mother is found; mother finally lets Christine know about her life; about Christine’s dad and supposedly explains why she was such a poor mother. I was disappointed in the story. I did like most of the characters and the setting is one I knew.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good book, but not as good as the Murdoch and Tom Tyler series. The main character, Christine Morris, a new-to-the-job forensic profiler, is in Scotland at a conference for law enforcement officials when she gets news that her estranged mother is in a serious car accident and is missing, and she is also in Scotland. Christine has to first find her mother and then piece together the clues to a supposed accident where her mother was last seen. The best part of the book was the budding relationship between Christine and the family liaison officer, Sergeant Gordon Gillies. When Christine does find her mother, years of conflict between the two finally come to a head. Christine does find that her family does expand in this first book of the series.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given their remote location and sparse population, .it's amazing how often the Hebrides and Fair Isles are used as mystery venues. The detective in this case is a visitor from Toronto who gets involved when her feckless mother goes missing after a traffic fatality. The first half of this book is excellent, but the second half drags a bit with the emotional and prolonged uncovering of the full truth of her parentage.
Still better than average.