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The Extra Cadaver Murder
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by James Paley
Roy Innes' The Extra Cadaver Murder (NeWest $15.95) has an opening that is hard to beat. A first-year medical school class gathers in the old anatomy lab at UBC. Many have never even seen a dead body before-let alone cut into one.
Soaked in formaldehyde and wrapped in burlap, these cadavers are real. But wait a second. The med students literally uncover a problem. Why is there an extra corpse?
At the outset of Roy Innes' fourth Inspector Coswell novel, we learn the uninvited, very dead, very naked, extra guest is Dr. Patrick Kelly, head of UBC's department of surgery. Given that he's both a cruel perfectionist and a drunken, gambling troublemaker, his murder is not as surprising as it should be.
Six suspects ultimately emerge, each investigated with Coswell's characteristic intensity. His ex-wife could well have done him in for his philandering. Or maybe it was Dr. Struthers, next in line for his job.
Coswell, the great detective, is slipping. On occasion, he's actually forgetting a suspect's name. Whenever Corporal Bostock or Corporal James catch something he has missed, there's a double sting to his pride. He is only 58 years old but he worries about early Alzheimer's disease. It doesn't help that he can't keep abreast of technology, even ignoring the convenience of the average smartphone.
His formerly keen mind is further befuddled when he becomes besotted by the victim's ex-wife, also a professor in the medical school and a stunningly beautiful woman.
*
Readers of Innes' first three mysteries had urged him to generate a plot utilizing his medical background. Recalling his own medical training at UBC, he had a great beginning but stuck after that opening scene.
"Then I got an unexpected email on my website,"; he says. "That person's name instantly registered. It brought back a clear memory."; Forty years ago a dark-eyed, serious little girl calmly climbed into his examining chair. "Presto! That was the key. The plot virtually flowed from there.";
Introduction of a female cohort for Inspector Coswell this time enabled Innes to integrate sexual harassment within the RCMP after Coswell's usual sidekick, Corporal James, has been shuffled sideways for a stint in the coroner's office.
Corporal James, who is gay, remains in the picture assisting in the investigation and also serving as a confidante to Bostock. The duo helping Coswell empathize with one another over the prejudices faced in their professional lives.
Bostock proves to be an exemplary officer at every turn, performing above and beyond Coswell's expectations of her. Gradually he is won over after his initial dismay when she was assigned to him.
The investigation veers off campus to locales around Vancouver. Eventually an undercover visit to an Irish pub leads the team to Larry, a gang member, whose boss, Conor Donohan, is named by an escort as Kelly's gambling connection.
The three detectives also explore Roy Innes' old stomping grounds such as the student residence, the Pit Pub and UBC Endowment Lands trails, as well as the Vancouver General Hospital complex where Innes did residencies in Internal Medicine and then Eye Surgery.
The Extra Cadaver Murder is a multi-faceted novel, with complex characters and realistic details, doubling as a sympathetic portrayal of the difficulties faced by women officers in the RCMP.
[BCBW 2016]
by James Paley
Roy Innes' The Extra Cadaver Murder (NeWest $15.95) has an opening that is hard to beat. A first-year medical school class gathers in the old anatomy lab at UBC. Many have never even seen a dead body before-let alone cut into one.
Soaked in formaldehyde and wrapped in burlap, these cadavers are real. But wait a second. The med students literally uncover a problem. Why is there an extra corpse?
At the outset of Roy Innes' fourth Inspector Coswell novel, we learn the uninvited, very dead, very naked, extra guest is Dr. Patrick Kelly, head of UBC's department of surgery. Given that he's both a cruel perfectionist and a drunken, gambling troublemaker, his murder is not as surprising as it should be.
Six suspects ultimately emerge, each investigated with Coswell's characteristic intensity. His ex-wife could well have done him in for his philandering. Or maybe it was Dr. Struthers, next in line for his job.
Coswell, the great detective, is slipping. On occasion, he's actually forgetting a suspect's name. Whenever Corporal Bostock or Corporal James catch something he has missed, there's a double sting to his pride. He is only 58 years old but he worries about early Alzheimer's disease. It doesn't help that he can't keep abreast of technology, even ignoring the convenience of the average smartphone.
His formerly keen mind is further befuddled when he becomes besotted by the victim's ex-wife, also a professor in the medical school and a stunningly beautiful woman.
*
Readers of Innes' first three mysteries had urged him to generate a plot utilizing his medical background. Recalling his own medical training at UBC, he had a great beginning but stuck after that opening scene.
"Then I got an unexpected email on my website,"; he says. "That person's name instantly registered. It brought back a clear memory."; Forty years ago a dark-eyed, serious little girl calmly climbed into his examining chair. "Presto! That was the key. The plot virtually flowed from there.";
Introduction of a female cohort for Inspector Coswell this time enabled Innes to integrate sexual harassment within the RCMP after Coswell's usual sidekick, Corporal James, has been shuffled sideways for a stint in the coroner's office.
Corporal James, who is gay, remains in the picture assisting in the investigation and also serving as a confidante to Bostock. The duo helping Coswell empathize with one another over the prejudices faced in their professional lives.
Bostock proves to be an exemplary officer at every turn, performing above and beyond Coswell's expectations of her. Gradually he is won over after his initial dismay when she was assigned to him.
The investigation veers off campus to locales around Vancouver. Eventually an undercover visit to an Irish pub leads the team to Larry, a gang member, whose boss, Conor Donohan, is named by an escort as Kelly's gambling connection.
The three detectives also explore Roy Innes' old stomping grounds such as the student residence, the Pit Pub and UBC Endowment Lands trails, as well as the Vancouver General Hospital complex where Innes did residencies in Internal Medicine and then Eye Surgery.
The Extra Cadaver Murder is a multi-faceted novel, with complex characters and realistic details, doubling as a sympathetic portrayal of the difficulties faced by women officers in the RCMP.
[BCBW 2016]
Submitted on November 9, 2016 in By David.
