Elsie Bergson, a 13 year old girl, is raped and murdered in a small Interior community. When the case is not solved by the RCMP, a group of residents, including the murderer, decide that Andrew Martin, a teacher who gave Elsie a ride on the day she was killed, was responsible. In Ernest Langford's Valley of Shadows (Battle Street $17.95) the emotions of a small community are manipulated by the murderer, propelling them towards a violent climax.

[BCBW 1997]