From Sweetgrass Bridge
Anthony Bidulka
Stonehouse Publishing
978-1988754543 $16.95
Website: www.anthonybidulka.com
Ordering link: https://www.amazon.com/Sweetgrass-Bridge-Anthony-Bidulka/dp/1988754542
Midwest Book Review, D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer
The second book in the Merry Bell trilogy, From Sweetgrass Bridge, gives mystery readers a fine follow-up continuation of the conundrums and intrigue that spiced Livingsky. It poses the specter of missing beloved Saskatchewan Roughrider quarterback Dustin Thomson and how his disappearance not only sparks an investigation, but impacts a community.
The family hires P.I. Merry Bell to traverse from the waters below Sweetgrass Bridge to the Little Turtle Lake First Nation in search of answers. But these raise more dangerous personal and political quandaries as Merry confronts her tangled personal life,fields questions about friends and enemies, and confronts the uncertainties surrounding her newfound six-month-old P.I. business, Livingsky Sharpe Investigations.
Merry Bell is only back home on the prairies as a temporary respite so she can regroup and return to her beloved Vancouver to fulfill her dream of living her life the way she wants to. But home has a way of presenting returnees with both familiar and unfamiliar scenarios. Much as Merry is in transition, so is her sense of home and knowledge of two very different worlds.
Anthony Bidulka’s story requires no prior familiarity with Merry or her world (though returning readers will here find a nice continuation of her struggles and perceptions, that both fills in blanks and expands her perspectives and objectives).
He creates a powerful female investigator who doesn’t hesitate to tackle the hard questions surrounding both her life and her latest mystery, cultivates a cozy small-town atmosphere against the larger backdrop of LGBTQ+ issues and lives, and injects his story with the realism of a savvy female investigator.
Readers will be engrossed as Merry uncovers clues to solve her own life problems, evolving ever deeper into her past, community makeup, and scenarios which connect her to more than one star-crossed romance.
“Truth is good, truth is powerful.” The pursuit and questions that drive Merry to seek answers from the First Nations community, as well as her own, create excellent contrasts between cultures, values, perceptions, and new possibilities in investigative routines and questioning.
As she unfolds the layers of Dustin’s life, Merry uncovers a series of events and perspectives that lead her to question his public image as a beloved sports figure:
“Was a different picture of the football hero beginning to emerge? Was Dustin lovesick? A spurned lover? Or was there something more disturbing here?”
If he was both lonely and yet happy, how could suicide be Dustin’s ultimate destiny? Or, does that happiness stem from making a final decision (“It was not uncommon for family members to report how happy their loved one seemed immediately prior to ending their lives. What they couldn’t have known was that the happiness came from relief; relief at finally having committed to a plan that would end their excruciating internal pain.”).
The secrets that unfold over what happened to Dustin segue neatly into those Merry keeps about her own life and its changes.
The transformative facelift given to the cozy mystery genre, provided via this sense of place, purpose, and community, makes From Sweetgrass Bridge highly recommended, whether it’s chosen as a stand-alone mystery or as an important part of the trilogy.
Libraries and readers looking for the uncommon combination of a cozy mystery steeped in LGBTQ+ experiences and concerns will find this intersection satisfyingly thought-provoking. From Sweetgrass Bridge enhances the mystery component with the added value of Indigenous insights and culture, adding a full-bodied feel to the unexpected series of events that lead Merry both far from her stated objectives and closer to a new life.
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