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Constable Molly Smith #2
Valley of the Lost
2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada In the mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, a young woman is found dead of a heroin overdose, her baby lying at her side. While this should be an open-and-shut drug case, restraint marks on the victim suggest that the death might not have been accidental. As the investigation into the young woman's death and life grows, the case becomes increasingly personal for Probationary Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters. Only two things are known about the dead her first name is Ashley, and she has a three-month-old baby boy. Who was she? Was this is just a drug deal gone wrong, or is there something more sinister at play? Smith's mother, Lucky, has taken in the lost does he hold the key to solving his mother's murder? In the meantime, Winters' wife, Eliza, is considering a modeling contract with the same planned resort that seems to be ripping the close-knit community apart. Has the controversial resort development pushed one of the members of this quiet community to murder?
452 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2009
136 people are currently reading
473 people want to read
About the author
Vicki Delany
58 books1,917 followers“It’s a crime not to read Delany,” so says the London Free Press.
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most varied and prolific crime writers.
She is the author of four cozy mystery series: The Tea by the Sea series from Kensington Books, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane and the Year Round Christmas series from Penguin. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she writes the Lighthouse Library Series.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com , www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor, and twitter: @vickidelany
Vicki is part of Mystery Lovers Kitchen (http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com) and Killer Characters (http://www.killercharacters.com)
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com
Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most varied and prolific crime writers.
She is the author of four cozy mystery series: The Tea by the Sea series from Kensington Books, the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane and the Year Round Christmas series from Penguin. Under the pen name of Eva Gates she writes the Lighthouse Library Series.
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com , www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor, and twitter: @vickidelany
Vicki is part of Mystery Lovers Kitchen (http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com) and Killer Characters (http://www.killercharacters.com)
Visit Vicki at www.vickidelany.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
August 24, 2021
DNF at Page 215. Scribd.com's English text, and translation for Portuguese + audio in English from Google Translate. Continuing the Project Learning English by myself.
October 12, 2016
2.5 stars.
Why the heck is Molly kidnapped a second time in this book? Is the author intending to make the rookie police officer nothing but a damsel in distress?
I get that Molly encounters not only casual sexism from her fellow officers, and also verbal and physical assaults from men and some women when she's on patrol or aiding in an investigation, but I don't think having her get rescued twice in two books is helping me see her as someone learning and growing into her job.
The next book better improve.....
Why the heck is Molly kidnapped a second time in this book? Is the author intending to make the rookie police officer nothing but a damsel in distress?
I get that Molly encounters not only casual sexism from her fellow officers, and also verbal and physical assaults from men and some women when she's on patrol or aiding in an investigation, but I don't think having her get rescued twice in two books is helping me see her as someone learning and growing into her job.
The next book better improve.....
November 25, 2018
Hmm... I have a fear that this will be another series that I am unsure if I like it, and another protagonist where I am unsure if I like her, but that I keep reading to keep trying to figure it out. Ah well, I get the books from the library so it costs me nothing more than time that I am spending on my transit commute anyway...
I really am unsure if I like Molly, but am leaning more towards no. Fortunately, in this book she does not have a really strong role. Instead, John Winters reads as the protagonist, and I am liking him more than I did in the first book. Molly, on the other hand, is cooling down for me. She is so totally bland as a character, especially one who is supposed to be a protagonist. She also seems not very bright. E.g. she seriously thinks an otherwise healthy baby will starve, to death, from not having eaten for more than a few hours?!? OK, true she might not know anything about babies. But, does she know nothing about the world? All over the planet families including their infants, unfortunately, do not have enough food. They go for days without food, but Molly is worried about a few hours? And, she has experience working in poor neighbourhoods, where people have had to make difficult choices about finances? Who is that clueless?!?
After that, the plot plods along. Not spectacular, not terrible, just plods along. I am not sure that I cared about all of the side stories and information about the characters' off-hours lives. But, at the same time, I am not sure that I disliked having this information either. These scenes add a bit to the book but also slow down the pace of the story.
Yup, I am afraid that this will be one of those series where I keep reading and reading trying to decide if I actually like it or not. Fortunately, my library has the next one of the series too.
I really am unsure if I like Molly, but am leaning more towards no. Fortunately, in this book she does not have a really strong role. Instead, John Winters reads as the protagonist, and I am liking him more than I did in the first book. Molly, on the other hand, is cooling down for me. She is so totally bland as a character, especially one who is supposed to be a protagonist. She also seems not very bright. E.g. she seriously thinks an otherwise healthy baby will starve, to death, from not having eaten for more than a few hours?!? OK, true she might not know anything about babies. But, does she know nothing about the world? All over the planet families including their infants, unfortunately, do not have enough food. They go for days without food, but Molly is worried about a few hours? And, she has experience working in poor neighbourhoods, where people have had to make difficult choices about finances? Who is that clueless?!?
After that, the plot plods along. Not spectacular, not terrible, just plods along. I am not sure that I cared about all of the side stories and information about the characters' off-hours lives. But, at the same time, I am not sure that I disliked having this information either. These scenes add a bit to the book but also slow down the pace of the story.
Yup, I am afraid that this will be one of those series where I keep reading and reading trying to decide if I actually like it or not. Fortunately, my library has the next one of the series too.
March 9, 2019
Probationary Constable Molly Smith of Trafalgar, a small town in the Kootenays in British Columbia, finds herself accompanying Detective Sergeant John Winters to the center where her Mom volunteers when her mother discovers an abandoned baby and his "mother" murdered nearby. It appears to be a case of a heroin overdose, but those closest to her know she gave up drugs and was unlikely to return to them. The woman used a fake name, making it difficult to notify next of kin, and the two people most likely to know about her past--her roommate and a counselor who recently returned to Trafalgar from Vancouver--are not cooperating with the police. Molly's mother takes the baby home to care for him until the next of kin can be located. The baby disrupts life in the household.
A controversial development courts Sergeant Winters' wife Eliza to star in an advertisement for the planned resort. Officials launch an investigation into Trafalgar's role in illegal trafficking. The ending provides some hints of what might be to come in the series. This is a solid police procedural on the cozier rather than noir side. I listened to the audio version. (3.5 stars)
A controversial development courts Sergeant Winters' wife Eliza to star in an advertisement for the planned resort. Officials launch an investigation into Trafalgar's role in illegal trafficking. The ending provides some hints of what might be to come in the series. This is a solid police procedural on the cozier rather than noir side. I listened to the audio version. (3.5 stars)
July 1, 2025
Valley of the Lost is the second book in the Constable Molly Smith series, set in Trafalgar, British Columbia. In this one, Molly's mother finds a baby lying next to a dead woman. She is surprised to discover the baby is still alive. She calls the police and her constable daughter, Molly, along with Detective Sergeant John Winters start their investigation. Initially it looks like the young mother overdosed on heroin, but all evidence points to the fact that she's been off drugs for over a year. When the autopsy reveals she has never given birth, the investigation expands to try and find out who the baby is and who his real parents are.
At the same time, the tension in Trafalgar is high over a resort that has been proposed by a group of developers. Many in Trafalgar's population are ex-hippies who moved to Trafalgar during the Vietnam war and they oppose any kind of development for the town. We also meet a lot of different characters which helps give the book some real twists and turns. The contrast between the peaceful community of Trafalgar and big money land development, drug trade, and murder make this an intriguing mystery.
I recently read the first book of this series and liked it enough to buy the second one. It can definitely be read as a stand-alone mystery. I feel like the characters are developing nicely. The strong secondary characters, especially Molly's mother, Lucky, are exceptionally well done. I think this neither a cozy mystery nor a gritty mystery, but a traditional mystery combined with an interesting police procedural. I love the setting of British Columbia and definitely plan to follow up with the next book in the series.
At the same time, the tension in Trafalgar is high over a resort that has been proposed by a group of developers. Many in Trafalgar's population are ex-hippies who moved to Trafalgar during the Vietnam war and they oppose any kind of development for the town. We also meet a lot of different characters which helps give the book some real twists and turns. The contrast between the peaceful community of Trafalgar and big money land development, drug trade, and murder make this an intriguing mystery.
I recently read the first book of this series and liked it enough to buy the second one. It can definitely be read as a stand-alone mystery. I feel like the characters are developing nicely. The strong secondary characters, especially Molly's mother, Lucky, are exceptionally well done. I think this neither a cozy mystery nor a gritty mystery, but a traditional mystery combined with an interesting police procedural. I love the setting of British Columbia and definitely plan to follow up with the next book in the series.
February 11, 2020
I am enjoying this series set in Trafalgar, a small town in the Kootenays in British Columbia. The scenery is beautiful and the mysteries are very satisfying.
February 3, 2024
The book started out slow, but halfway through it, I could not put it down until I finished.
May 7, 2024
Lucky Smith, Molly's mom, is volunteering at the women's shelter when she hears a cry in the night, and discovers a baby next to a dead body. The police can't find any traces of who the girl was - and some of her acquaintances aren't giving any more information. There seems to be some drug involvement...but the baby isn't hers.
Then the book takes a massive twist and turns, creates information out of nowhere that wasn't a part of the story at all...and then the ending is crazy. What???
I was enjoying this book right up until the part where the author suddenly wrote a new plot about 70% in to wrap the whole thing up. No hint of this earlier, no way you could have seen this coming. I'm not a fan of that style of mystery writing.
I've enjoyed enough other of Vicki Delany's books that I probably will try the third in this series eventually. I just need a bit of a break first.
Then the book takes a massive twist and turns, creates information out of nowhere that wasn't a part of the story at all...and then the ending is crazy. What???
I was enjoying this book right up until the part where the author suddenly wrote a new plot about 70% in to wrap the whole thing up. No hint of this earlier, no way you could have seen this coming. I'm not a fan of that style of mystery writing.
I've enjoyed enough other of Vicki Delany's books that I probably will try the third in this series eventually. I just need a bit of a break first.
Read
August 8, 2011This is the second book in the Molly Smith/John Winters mystery series. It's set in the small-ish fictional town of Trafalgar in Canada (I say small-ish, because although it's described as small, it has a 20-constable police force which, around here would be big-ish).
I like the characters, the setting and the writing in these books. The mystery is nothing special and it suffers--as the first book did--from escalating too much at the end, but the characters and their lives carry it.
Good book for dog walking. I'll likely read the next one in the series.
I like the characters, the setting and the writing in these books. The mystery is nothing special and it suffers--as the first book did--from escalating too much at the end, but the characters and their lives carry it.
Good book for dog walking. I'll likely read the next one in the series.
April 8, 2016
I love this series. It has the right mix of character study and mystery set in a Canadian setting. I enjoy seeing a mystery from the Canadian point of view. I enjoy the quirky personalities involved, including Molly/Moonlight's parents and their hippy past John Winters and his model wife are also interesting. This mystery kept the reader on his/her toes in looking at various suspects and motives. It was fairly fast-paced, while still filling out the characters we are growing to lovel The drugs, counseling, and greed angles were well done.
August 3, 2019
Molly is living at home trying to get used to her new job. Winters a detective, sees something in her that indicates she could become a good police officer. So he decides to take her under his tutelage to see what she can do. The mystery in this book has lots of complications, what seems to be a straightforward death just isn't.
The characters just seem too clicheist.
Will try the next book to see if I'll read the rest of the series.
The characters just seem too clicheist.
Will try the next book to see if I'll read the rest of the series.
February 12, 2013
Miss Lilly, the cat, is no longer with us but her wonderful cafe is still in Picton. The attached bookstore, 'Books & Company' is one of the best anywhere. That is where I bought this book which I purchased because I was curious as the author lives in the area. I thought it was very good & I'm madly in love with Moonlight.
July 18, 2019
Story was okay, but not as interesting as the previous book. Whispersync "reader" skipped sections, so I bought Audible copy. Only Chapter 1 downloaded. Twenty four hours later the rest of Audible version showed up.
January 27, 2018
I really liked the storyline, however I can't stand Molly or her family. I'd move to Trafalgar, if it were a real place and the Smith family moved out.
October 6, 2018
Might come back to the series, maybe
April 21, 2024
This second book in the Constable Molly Smith series was an improvement over the first. The murder case was better developed, with clues laid out along the way. Nonetheless, the resolution was once again random, and Molly’s police work contributed nothing to solving the case. Throughout these first two books she has done nothing to indicate any investigative skill. Additionally, with the exception of her mother, Lucky, many of the supporting characters are unlikable. Molly’s dad is a jerk and her best friend is whiny and immature, even accounting for her trauma. The other problematic character for me is Eliza Winters. I think we are supposed to like her…but she is a snob. She attends her husband’s work functions only to supervise him, and describes what seemed like a perfectly nice gathering of friendly people as a “dreadful bore.” When referring to the young woman her husband is mentoring and becoming fond of, she says she doesn’t much care if she ever meets her. I found her superior attitude off-putting. Overall, I am not sure where Delaney is planning to take these characters, and I am not at all convinced it will work. That being said, I’ll probably read the next in the series, as it is one of the few series still available on my library’s audiobook collection. Hopefully things pick up!
December 22, 2017
#2 in the Constable Molly Smith series. Enjoyable read in this series about a probationary female constable in a rural British Columbia town. The writing in this 2009 entry is more under control than it was in the debut of the series, In the Shadow of the Glacier (2007). If I still have a quibble, it's that the plot (and villain) is predictable. But the main character is enjoyable, her family dynamic is hilarious, and her law enforcement colleagues are interesting.
In the town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, a young woman is found dead of a heroin overdose, her baby lying at her side. While this should be an open-and-shut drug case, restraint marks on the victim suggest that the death might not have been completely accidental. As the investigation into the young woman’s death and life grows, the case becomes increasingly personal for Probationary Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters. Only two things are known about the dead woman: her first name is Ashley, and she has a three-month-old baby boy. Smith’s mother, Lucky, has taken in the lost baby: does he hold the key to solving his mother’s murder? In the meantime, Winters’ wife, Eliza, is considering a modeling contract with the same resort development that seems to be ripping the community apart.
In the town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, a young woman is found dead of a heroin overdose, her baby lying at her side. While this should be an open-and-shut drug case, restraint marks on the victim suggest that the death might not have been completely accidental. As the investigation into the young woman’s death and life grows, the case becomes increasingly personal for Probationary Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters. Only two things are known about the dead woman: her first name is Ashley, and she has a three-month-old baby boy. Smith’s mother, Lucky, has taken in the lost baby: does he hold the key to solving his mother’s murder? In the meantime, Winters’ wife, Eliza, is considering a modeling contract with the same resort development that seems to be ripping the community apart.
Read
June 22, 2017Setting: British Columbia, Canada, resort town. The inconveniences for the locals living in an expensive tourist locale are presented well. That's not a factor in the mystery just a reality for the year round residents. I live in a place that gets overrun by seasonal tourism also. It's a familiar situation presented realistically, without griping.
Audio: The reader's voice is annoying to me, especially her voice for Constable Molly Smith. That voice conjures up a very different image than the character description in the book. She doubts her abilities but is not described as weak or whiney on the job. I can understand her hanging onto teenage agnst with her parents but that persona/voice should not carryover into her work.
I want to read more Canadian authors so I'll continue despite the reader. If the setting was the US I would abandon the series.
Style: The author uses a lot of metaphors. That's not something I usually notice so I think it must be considerable. I find myself guessing the conclusion of the metaphor when I hear like or as.
The author does respect the reader's intelligence and attention. Everything isn't spoon fed. I like that. It's a big plus for me.
Violence: No gore porn or torture. So far it is a light mystery, one death.
I'll continue series.
Audio: The reader's voice is annoying to me, especially her voice for Constable Molly Smith. That voice conjures up a very different image than the character description in the book. She doubts her abilities but is not described as weak or whiney on the job. I can understand her hanging onto teenage agnst with her parents but that persona/voice should not carryover into her work.
I want to read more Canadian authors so I'll continue despite the reader. If the setting was the US I would abandon the series.
Style: The author uses a lot of metaphors. That's not something I usually notice so I think it must be considerable. I find myself guessing the conclusion of the metaphor when I hear like or as.
The author does respect the reader's intelligence and attention. Everything isn't spoon fed. I like that. It's a big plus for me.
Violence: No gore porn or torture. So far it is a light mystery, one death.
I'll continue series.
September 28, 2023
I find it interesting that this series it called the Constable Molly Smith series, given Delany's treatment of her heroine. I assume the goal here was a gritter book, perhaps the chance to watch a character grow into an instigator over time. Personally, I prefer cozier, escapist mysteries and wish this series, with all its potential (I just love the fictional town of Trafalgar and its real-life Kootenays inspirations) could be cozier. At least the blood and gore is minimal! But alas, the Constable Molly Smith series is not really about Constable Molly Smith, at least not in this book. Molly certainly makes an appearance but isn't a particularly compelling character (yet?). I'd love to see her do some actual solving, instead of .
I enjoyed seeing more of Lucky Smith in this novel and wonder if this should just be the Lucky Smith series! Though she can be a bit unhinged.
Looking forward to continuing!
I enjoyed seeing more of Lucky Smith in this novel and wonder if this should just be the Lucky Smith series! Though she can be a bit unhinged.
Looking forward to continuing!
October 3, 2025
I grabbed these books because I'm always looking for a series of police/thrillers that can keep my interest and fill the evening. Molly is fun and reminds me of Trixie Belden, but older and in Canada. Her simpleness is endearing, but she needs better friends. (She needs a Honey sidekick for anyone who read Trixie.) Christa, her "jerk" of a best friend, and Meredith, her "more of a jerk" frenemy, are not helpful.
Frankly, she needs to move out of her parents' dysfunctional home. Lucky is a disaster and I would not be able to live with her for 5 seconds.
I'm hoping the writer starts developing Molly a bit better/more and gives her some spirit, helping her to make better decisions. Unfortunately, based on some of the reviews I've read, I should not get too hopeful.
Frankly, she needs to move out of her parents' dysfunctional home. Lucky is a disaster and I would not be able to live with her for 5 seconds.
I'm hoping the writer starts developing Molly a bit better/more and gives her some spirit, helping her to make better decisions. Unfortunately, based on some of the reviews I've read, I should not get too hopeful.
August 10, 2017
This is the second in this series set in the Kootenay valley of British Columbia. This story revolves around the murder of an unidentified young woman and an abandoned baby in the town on Trafalgar. As Smith and her superiors try to solve the murder and identify the baby, the case becomes more complicated. Information needed for the reader to solve the mystery is finally presented late in the book, although there are really no surprises along the way. The characters are fairly well developed, building on the first book in this series. A pleasant read, but clearly not among the top ranks of mystery fiction.
November 27, 2022
This is the 2nd in the series with Molly a probationary constable trying to solve another mystery. I just need to say Molly is a brat! Sometimes we are influenced in our thoughts about a book because of our own life circumstances when we are reading it. I am taking care of my elderly mother who is similar to Molly in terms of being critical and yelling. Molly's family has taken her in, loaned her their cars and cared for her but she is yelling and complaining throughout this book. It is time for her to move out which is mentioned in the book.
The mystery as all good mysteries has some twists and turns.
The mystery as all good mysteries has some twists and turns.
June 16, 2019
Finished 08/14/2013. Very good story of Molly Smith and her anti war hippie parents and Inspector John Winter. A baby and a young girl's body are found behind the center for aid to young mothers by Lucy "Lucky" Smith, Molly's mom. John's wife is hired to model for an ad campaign for Grizzly Development, a high profile destroyer of the environment, and the baby who is keeping the Smith family awake is the focus of people who killed his mother and plan to do away with him in order to inherit from a very, very rich man who is about to die.
April 5, 2022
A good follow up, but one big hole. Constable Smith finds a dead woman and a baby, and the mystery starts from there. Her mother, lucky, takes care of the baby and proves to be mentally unstable and an annoying character. The bigger hole is just the nonsense of the bad person . Those drag this all the way down to average.
January 11, 2024
Una indagine vecchia maniera senza pretese ma portata avanti in modo coerente. Un libro onesto che non spicca per stile o originalità ma si fa ascoltare volentieri.
Una giovane poliziotta in prova in un piccolo centro abitato del Canada, si trova a indagare sull'omicidio di una ragazza da poco trasferitasi nel paese con il suo figlioletto neonato.
Risulta difficile identificare la ragazza e non conoscere la sua identità rende più complesso risalire all'autore e alle motivazioni del crimine. Un pizzico di fortuna aiuta l'indagine ma senza disturbare.
Una giovane poliziotta in prova in un piccolo centro abitato del Canada, si trova a indagare sull'omicidio di una ragazza da poco trasferitasi nel paese con il suo figlioletto neonato.
Risulta difficile identificare la ragazza e non conoscere la sua identità rende più complesso risalire all'autore e alle motivazioni del crimine. Un pizzico di fortuna aiuta l'indagine ma senza disturbare.
October 17, 2019
A baby found in the bushes leads to a possibly murdered girl and Constable Molly Smith is once again in the thick of things. Great characters and a well thought out plot keep you listening intently or flipping pages as fast as you can read them to find out what happens next. The audio version is quite well done and the reader enhances the characters personalities with their spin on the voicing. I'm quite intrigued to see what happens in the next book!
March 26, 2023
3.5 rounded up to 4
The story felt a little long. The characters were interesting. The plot kept me interested but so much in the middle seemed not to move the story forward. There was a thread that didn’t get solved in the end. Not sure if saving for the next book, I just missed it (did I say the story was long), or it was forgotten given everything else in the story.
Molly aka Moonlight seems a bit naive, maybe she will seem less so in the next book.
Happy Reading
The story felt a little long. The characters were interesting. The plot kept me interested but so much in the middle seemed not to move the story forward. There was a thread that didn’t get solved in the end. Not sure if saving for the next book, I just missed it (did I say the story was long), or it was forgotten given everything else in the story.
Molly aka Moonlight seems a bit naive, maybe she will seem less so in the next book.
Happy Reading
October 28, 2020
Another very will written romantic thriller mystery in the Constable Molly Smith. The characters are interesting and will developed.The story line is complicated with lots of misdirection leading to the unexpected conclusion. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys will written mysteries. Enjoy reading 📚2020😁💄👠
January 12, 2022
Not sure about the connection of the title to the story. And I think Vicki Delany’s books have more typos in them than any other author I’ve ever read. But once I got into this story (halfway?) it had me glad I could keep reading without interruption. Rotten, evil, & weak people having it in for a little baby. Sad ending for the baby. I kinda wanted an epilog that he ended up ok.
September 23, 2022
The main character, Molly, is very spoiled and not too bright. She lives with her parents and expects her mother to cook a pot luck item for a work event.
I was hoping her character would grow in this 2nd book of the series, but alas it didn’t happen.
I will probably read the 3rd book, hopeful that Molly becomes likable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews