When the Flood Falls

June 1, 2018
A former Royal Canadian Mounted Police corporal tackles a mystery that may help her gather together the remnants of her shattered life.Now that she's quit her job and the husband she thinks tried to kill her, Lacey McCrae works as a gofer for another former Mountie who's setting up security for a new museum near Bragg Creek, a small town close to Calgary. Nearly broke, she gets lucky when her former college roommate, realtor Dee Phillips, president of the museum's building committee, invites her to stay in her home nestled in the wooded foothills of the Rocky Mountains, a stone's throw from mansions owned by wealthy hockey fans. Ever since Dee was nearly run down and one of her dogs killed by a hockey player driving carelessly, she's been slow to recover and thinks she's being stalked. Projecting her own problems onto her friend, Lacey wonders if the stalker is Dee's ex-husband, Neil. Then Dee's nearly run down again by three hockey players driving a car belonging to her neighbor, much-married millionaire Jake Wyman, and Lacey's almost crushed to death by a malfunctioning picture rack in the museum's vault. Lacey gets off on the wrong foot with Dee's closest neighbors, Terry and Jan, when she assumes that Jan is a drug addict only to learn that she has an unusual disease which often leaves her unable to function. When Dee is run down once more and this time badly hurt, Jan and Rob, the museum manager, offer Lacey help in the search for Dee's stalker. Jarrad Fitch, who originally ran Dee into a ditch, is the protégé of former hockey great Mick Hardy, whose wife he's been romantically linked with. He's only one of the people who might have it in for Dee, but he moves to the top of the list when he vanishes.Beneath the many mysteries of Barnard's character-driven debut are enduring questions about the complexities of life and the choices people make.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2018

After her divorce from an abusive husband, Lacey McCrae left the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and headed to the Rocky Mountains foothills west of Calgary. Working security at a soon-to-be-opened arts center, she's staying with her university roommate, Dee Phillips, also recently divorced. Dee is scared to death. She swears she hears footsteps at night, but no one has seen a prowler. Initially Lacey suspects Dee's ex-husband, but then there are other incidents, including a murder at the museum and a hit-and-run accident involving Dee. Now the women are in danger; no longer possessing the legal authority she had as a RCMP officer, Lacey must confide in Dee's neighbor Jan Brenner, and the three women will have to rely on one another. VERDICT Winner of the Unhanged Arthur Ellis Award in 2016 as Canada's best unpublished mystery, this complex, unconventional debut, which revolves around the power of men to instill fear, unfolds slowly, introducing the voices of three individuals suffering from some form of trauma. Suggest to fans of Bryan Gruley's Starvation Lake.--Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2018
Barnard's debut novel won the 2016 Arthur Ellis Award for best unpublished crime novel, and it's easy to see why it's no longer unpublished. It has a gripping story: former RCMP officer Lacey McCrae is visiting with her friend Dee, who is still recovering from a hit-and-run that nearly killed her, and who says she hears a stranger moving around the house. Lacey must decide whether to get Dee to safety while she can, or hole up and deal with whatever happens. The novel also boasts vividly drawn characters and a strikingly evoked sense of place, rural Calgary. A fine debut, one hopes the first of many Lacey McCrae novels to come.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

June 1, 2018
A former Royal Canadian Mounted Police corporal tackles a mystery that may help her gather together the remnants of her shattered life.Now that she's quit her job and the husband she thinks tried to kill her, Lacey McCrae works as a gofer for another former Mountie who's setting up security for a new museum near Bragg Creek, a small town close to Calgary. Nearly broke, she gets lucky when her former college roommate, realtor Dee Phillips, president of the museum's building committee, invites her to stay in her home nestled in the wooded foothills of the Rocky Mountains, a stone's throw from mansions owned by wealthy hockey fans. Ever since Dee was nearly run down and one of her dogs killed by a hockey player driving carelessly, she's been slow to recover and thinks she's being stalked. Projecting her own problems onto her friend, Lacey wonders if the stalker is Dee's ex-husband, Neil. Then Dee's nearly run down again by three hockey players driving a car belonging to her neighbor, much-married millionaire Jake Wyman, and Lacey's almost crushed to death by a malfunctioning picture rack in the museum's vault. Lacey gets off on the wrong foot with Dee's closest neighbors, Terry and Jan, when she assumes that Jan is a drug addict only to learn that she has an unusual disease which often leaves her unable to function. When Dee is run down once more and this time badly hurt, Jan and Rob, the museum manager, offer Lacey help in the search for Dee's stalker. Jarrad Fitch, who originally ran Dee into a ditch, is the prot�g� of former hockey great Mick Hardy, whose wife he's been romantically linked with. He's only one of the people who might have it in for Dee, but he moves to the top of the list when he vanishes.Beneath the many mysteries of Barnard's character-driven debut are enduring questions about the complexities of life and the choices people make.

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.