Is Nicole Patterson herself heading for trouble by pretending to be a detective?

Nicole Patterson is a young, green and very eager probationary constable with the Ontario Provincial Police. Although she spends much of her time breaking up bar fights, giving out traffic tickets and finding lost kids, she dreams of one day becoming a detective. Late one bitterly cold winter night, she comes across the body of a young woman lying on the edge of a snow-covered field on the outskirts of town. The girl appears to have been strangled. Nicole recognizes the victim as a local high school student with a somewhat sullied reputation, the daughter of the town drunk. Though both under-qualified and unauthorized, Nicole feels compelled to throw herself into the murder investigation. Was the murdered girl really as promiscuous as her classmates described or the victim of bullying? What was her relationship with the star of the football team? And what is the significance of the ring with the large blue stone found near her body?

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for older teen readers and adults who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Vicki Delany began her writing career as a Sunday writer: a single mother of three high-spirited daughters with a full-time job as a computer programmer. The years passed, as they tend to do, and the three daughters, somewhat hesitantly, flew the coop, leaving Vicki more time to devote to her writing. She was able to write three novels of suspense, set in Ontario, two of which, Scare the Light Away and Burden of Memory, were published to critical acclaim by Poisoned Pen Press of Scottsdale, Arizona. In 2007, In the Shadow of the Glacier, the first book in a police procedural series set in the British Columbia Interior was published. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Vicki was raised mostly in Ontario. Vicki majored in modern history at Carleton, her interest more in the lives of ordinary women and men and the circumstances of their times than ‘big men’ and their wars. It was on a canoeing trip in Algonquin Park that Vicki, realizing that she was doing for fun what people in the past would have considered a hardship, told her trip mates stories about the incredible difficulties people endured in their attempts to get to the Klondike in search of gold, and the idea for a series of Klondike Gold Rush mysteries was set.

Vicki Delany's profile page

• Short-listed, The Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award - Best Crime Novella
• Commended, TriState Young Adult Book Review Committee Book of Note

"Intended as a hi-low option for adults this title could certainly be read and enjoyed by teens as well...Though the sentences are short...and the vocabulary simple, this is a very readable mystery which keeps the reader hooked as to the true murderer until very close to the end. This would be a useful purchase for schools and libraries where items are needed for students with low reading levels as well as ESL students."

Southwest Ohio Young Adult Material Review Group

"A fast-paced, easy-to-read, contemporary story...Although plot driven, the story manages to touch on contemporary issues, like the casual cruelty of teenagers, dysfunctional families, teen pregnancy, and parental ambitions. Complete with a thoughtful and observant protagonist, a sympathetic victim, varied supporting characters, a snappy 'whodunit' plot, short, easy-to-read sentences (RL 2.8), some graphic yet realistic language, and enough detail to engage readers, this quick read fits the series well and should appeal to an audience accustomed to the pace of television crime dramas. Highly Recommended."

CM Magazine

"This quick read will grab the reader's attention from page one...As the case unfolds, the reader is drawn into the life of Nicole the investigator...A very satisfying read for reluctant readers."

Tri State YA Book Review Committee