From Publishers Weekly
It turns out that being 60 isn't any easier than being 16 for retired Toronto policeman Mel Pickett, who showed up in one of Wright's Charlie Salter novels, A Sensitive Case. What distinguishes Wright's crime writing is the wry sensitivity with which he explores the uncertainties that dog his older characters?that, and his sure way with a murder plot. Both these gifts are in evidence in this series launch. In the small town of Larch River, 150 miles north of Toronto, widower Mel has built his dream cabin from scratch, made a few good friends and gently romanced Charlotte Mercer, who runs the local diner. But full-fledged retirement and leisure are put on the back burner when Timmy Marlow is found dead. Timmy's only grieving relative is his sister Betty, girlfriend of the local cop. The cop hated Timmy's guts, as did the legions of women he loved and left. At the time of his death, Timmy had one stupid pal, a spotty job record and some money that belonged to Betty. Mel is often comically unsure of himself for a man of retirement age, and he occasionally manages to foul up his life in an effort to avoid embarrassment. But his cop's mind seldom lets him down, and the solution to the murder is a cunning one. Missing out on Charlie Salter is a high price for following Mel on the trail. But it's a price worth paying. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Retired Toronto cop Mel Pickett, a supporting character from A Sensitive Case (LJ 4/1/90), comes to the defense of a man falsely accused of murder in remote Larch River.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Wright, a master at the police procedural and the author of the Charlie Salter novels, introduces a new series and a new hero. Retired Toronto cop Mel Pickett has picked remote Larch River as an idyllic site for a weekend retreat and is busily engaged in building a cabin. Unfortunately, murder follows Mel to his new home when the body of a man is found in the woods nearby. The inexperienced local police chief is in over his head, and even though outside investigators are enlisted, Mel finds himself involved in the case despite his intention to put his detecting days behind him. The clues are baffling, the motive murky, and the crime seemingly unsolvable, but Mel keeps sniffing around, prying information out of the local townsfolk and tracking down obscure bits of evidence. The "aw-shucks" writing style tends to disguise Wright's inventive plotting and keep-'em-off-balance twists. A good choice for most libraries, this one heralds a series to watch. Emily Melton

From Kirkus Reviews
``Timmy didn't do it,'' says his sister Betty Cullen when she hears about the body they've found at the bottom of a gully outside Larch River, Ontario. Right she is, because the corpse is that of shiftless Timmy Marlow himself. The local police assume first that a jealous husband--there are several likely candidates--shot Marlow; then they follow a trail of $50 bills marked with Betty's initials to sometime guide Siggy Siggurdson, whose telltale new boots make him an even more promising suspect. But when Siggy's mother tells Mel Pickett, retired to Larch River from his supporting role on the Toronto force (A Sensitive Case, 1990), that although her son might well be a thief, he's no killer, Pickett reluctantly agrees to give the case a more independent look--despite his awkwardly close relationship with Larch River police chief (and police force) Lyman Caxton and his old friend Abraham Wilkie, another refugee from Toronto--and despite Siggy's complete lack of cooperation--and finds the key to the case in a robbery miles and years away. The uncompelling plot is neatly solved by Pickett, who's already, in his first starring role, as sententious (about log cabins and the Canadian railways) and as little drawn to crime as Wright's long-running hero Charlie Salter (Death by Degrees, 1993, etc.). -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Pickett is a rich man by many of the standards that count most. A widower and retired Toronto cop, he owns his city home free and clear, he has a good pension and enough savings in the bank, and he's just rebuilt a century-old log cabin in a rustic area north of the city. Life for Pickett seems almost idyllic as he settles in with his dog, Willis, to enjoy a peaceful existence in his cabin. He begins to build ties to the town of Larch River - to police chief Lyman Caxton, to the local dramatic society, and, most of all, to Charlotte Mercer, who manages a small cafe and gives him hope that he may not be too old for romance after all. Pickett's police days are supposedly over, but he can't help being an interested spectator when young Timmy Marlow is found mauled and shot to death near a wooded trail just a mile or two from Pickett's cabin. The death is a shock to the community. For Timmy's sister, Betty Cullen, it is a catastrophe. She suspects that her brother, a womanizer, may have been killed by a jealous husband, and the shame is enough to drive her from Larch River. But is the answer to the murder so simple? When an arrest is finally made, Pickett questions whether justice has been done. A twisted trail into the victim's past takes Pickett a thousand miles away to uncover the shocking information that brings him back to the truth.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

It turns out that being 60 isn't any easier than being 16 for retired Toronto policeman Mel Pickett, who showed up in one of Wright's Charlie Salter novels, A Sensitive Case. What distinguishes Wright's crime writing is the wry sensitivity with which he explores the uncertainties that dog his older characters-that, and his sure way with a murder plot. Both these gifts are in evidence in this series launch. In the small town of Larch River, 150 miles north of Toronto, widower Mel has built his dream cabin from scratch, made a few good friends and gently romanced Charlotte Mercer, who runs the local diner. But full-fledged retirement and leisure are put on the back burner when Timmy Marlow is found dead. Timmy's only grieving relative is his sister Betty, girlfriend of the local cop. The cop hated Timmy's guts, as did the legions of women he loved and left. At the time of his death, Timmy had one stupid pal, a spotty job record and some money that belonged to Betty. Mel is often comically unsure of himself for a man of retirement age, and he occasionally manages to foul up his life in an effort to avoid embarrassment. But his cop's mind seldom lets him down, and the solution to the murder is a cunning one. Missing out on Charlie Salter is a high price for following Mel on the trail. But it's a price worth paying. (Mar.)

Library Journal

Retired Toronto cop Mel Pickett, a supporting character from A Sensitive Case (LJ 4/1/90), comes to the defense of a man falsely accused of murder in remote Larch River.

BookList - Emily Melton

Wright, a master at the police procedural and the author of the Charlie Salter novels, introduces a new series and a new hero. Retired Toronto cop Mel Pickett has picked remote Larch River as an idyllic site for a weekend retreat and is busily engaged in building a cabin. Unfortunately, murder follows Mel to his new home when the body of a man is found in the woods nearby. The inexperienced local police chief is in over his head, and even though outside investigators are enlisted, Mel finds himself involved in the case despite his intention to put his detecting days behind him. The clues are baffling, the motive murky, and the crime seemingly unsolvable, but Mel keeps sniffing around, prying information out of the local townsfolk and tracking down obscure bits of evidence. The "aw-shucks" writing style tends to disguise Wright's inventive plotting and keep-'em-off-balance twists. A good choice for most libraries, this one heralds a series to watch.

Kirkus Reviews

"Timmy didn't do it," says his sister Betty Cullen when she hears about the body they've found at the bottom of a gully outside Larch River, Ontario. Right she is, because the corpse is that of shiftless Timmy Marlow himself. The local police assume first that a jealous husband—there are several likely candidates—shot Marlow; then they follow a trail of $50 bills marked with Betty's initials to sometime guide Siggy Siggurdson, whose telltale new boots make him an even more promising suspect. But when Siggy's mother tells Mel Pickett, retired to Larch River from his supporting role on the Toronto force (A Sensitive Case, 1990), that although her son might well be a thief, he's no killer, Pickett reluctantly agrees to give the case a more independent look—despite his awkwardly close relationship with Larch River police chief (and police force) Lyman Caxton and his old friend Abraham Wilkie, another refugee from Toronto—and despite Siggy's complete lack of cooperation—and finds the key to the case in a robbery miles and years away.

The uncompelling plot is neatly solved by Pickett, who's already, in his first starring role, as sententious (about log cabins and the Canadian railways) and as little drawn to crime as Wright's long-running hero Charlie Salter