Edmonton, Alberta, reporter Leo Desroches gets the inside scoop on the dead body story handed to him, but after that he fights hard for every clue. The victim-a local prostitute of Native heritage-was strangled and dumped, and not a lot more is known. Leo, a deeply flawed, recovering gambling addict, questions the system when he realizes a serial killer has been knocking off prostitutes and disposing of them for at least 20 years in fields around the region. Seemingly, no one in law enforcement has cared enough to investigate a possible pattern. As Leo obsesses about the victims, grapples with his own Native heritage, and interviews sources, his own life is threatened more than once. Arthurson slowly pulls in all the elements to conjure the writing of a feature story, but his pace picks up exponentially, and this makes for a very satisfying debut. Leo's gambling addiction is alive and well, which adds yet another unsettling element. VERDICT Think Nancy Pickard for region and atmosphere, Brad Parks for journalism, and Timothy Hallinan for social concerns and attitude. Highly recommended. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

In Canadian journalist Arthurson's impressive first novel, journalist Leo Desroches, a recovering compulsive gambler whose life and career were nearly destroyed by his addictions, receives unprecedented access to the body of Grace Cardinal, a young Native prostitute found in a cold Alberta field. Half Native himself, Leo uses the opportunity to publicize what would otherwise be a quickly forgotten murder. It soon becomes clear that the police have missed a serial killer who targets marginalized women whose murders won't attract determined investigation. When the trail points directly at the Edmonton Police Service, Leo finds himself kidnapped by rogue cops and taken on a trip that may prove his very last. Arthurson demonstrates a fine sense of place and casts a sympathetic but informed eye on Edmonton's varied cultures. Only one detail-the manner in which Leo deals with his need for thrills-rings false in an otherwise exceptional debut. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

This strange, haunting first novel hits familiar genre notes. The hero is an ordinary joe with job-family-money problems. He uncovers bad things and starts asking questions. He spends the final chapters trying to stay alive when the bad people turn on him. That's what happens. Sort of. Leo Desroches is a reporter for a Canadian newspaper. He's also a gambling addict, a thief, and a one-time derelict trying to reform. Nothing raffish about him. One senses that Desroches, like the prose used to create him, exudes wicked energy kept under stern control. He interviews the police about a murdered prostitute and then begins his own inquiries, which are recounted in a series of highly charged, stunningly written set pieces, all the more effective for their understated, almost droning, manner. There'll be no more spoilers here. Just think of Spillane's Mike Hammer describing himself: I was the evil that opposed other evil. This is a genre-bender, its twists all the more startling for being unexpected.--Crinklaw, Don Copyright 2010 Booklist

Newspaper gumshoe yarn from the author ofFinal Season(2002).Fighting compulsive gambling and consequent mental problems, estrangement from his wife and children and homelessness, Leo Desrocheshalf Cree, half French-Canadianhas dragged himself off the streets and into the newsroom of a busy Edmonton daily newspaper. When Leo's first on the scene when a corpse is found in a field outside the city, a sympathetic detective gives him unprecedented access to the crime-scene tent, and his scoop is that the victim was a young Native prostitute. Unfortunately, Leo is still a compulsive gambler and robs banks to feed his addictionall it takes is a note passed to the teller and a look of determination. The police drag their feet over the case, yet Leo learns from the victim's friends that girls all avoid a yellow pickup. More, Leo finds a series of similar crimes going back decades, but again the police show no interest. The paper's editor, whom Leo once hired, gives Leo the job of Aboriginal Issues reporter, an assignment he accepts reluctantly, though it does help him reconnect with his Cree roots. Then a retired detective, Mike Gardiner, gives Leo an old, stolen file whose contents threaten to expose wrongdoing among swaths of the Edmonton Police Service's brass. Regrettably, watching Leo piece his life back together is far more rewarding than observing his fitful and inexpert investigations of typical crimes where motives are obvious, evidence lacking and suspects in short supply.A promising protagonist is marred by tepid sleuthing and an ending that leaves a bad taste in the mouth.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.