Let Darkness Bury the Dead

Canada's premier author of historical mystery fiction returns with a brand new and highly anticipated Murdoch Mystery, with an older and wiser Detective Murdoch.

It is November 1917. The Great War is grinding on, chewing up young men by the thousands. Initially, in the loyal Dominion of Canada, people are mostly eager to support the Motherland and fight for the Empire. Men perceived as slackers or cowards are shunned. But the carnage is horrendous and with enforced conscription, the enthusiasm for war is dimming.
     William Murdoch is a widower, a senior detective who, thanks to the new temperance laws, spends his time tracking down bootleggers and tipplers; most unsatisfying. His wife, Amy, died giving birth to their second child, a girl who lived only a few hours more. Murdoch, racked by grief, withdrew from four-year-old, Jack. This he regrets and would dearly love to make up for his negligence.
     As we enter the story, Jack, now twenty-one, has returned from France after being wounded and gassed at the Battle of Passchendaele. It is soon apparent that he is deeply troubled but he's not confiding in his father. He does, however, seem to be bound by shared secrets to another wounded former soldier, Percy McKinnon.
     Murdoch suddenly has much more serious crimes than rum-running on his hands. The night after Jack and McKinnon arrive home, a young man is found stabbed to death in the impoverished area of Toronto known as the Ward. Soon after, Murdoch has to deal with a tragic suicide, also a young man. Two more murders follow in quick succession. The only common denominator is that all of the men were exempted from conscription.
     Increasingly worried that Jack knows more than he is letting on, Murdoch must solve these crimes before more innocents lose their lives. It is a solution that will give him only sorrow.“Jennings provides a melancholy and nuanced meditation on the war and a welcome return for fans of this long-dormant series.” —Kirkus Review

“One of the best in this series.” —Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail 

“Jennings has picked up where she left off . . . with the same polished storytelling that makes character, dialogue and setting the heartbeat of a fine story that is tinged with the good and bad of the era, the pain and compassion of Toronto—giving an undeniable urge to read just one more chapter. This award winning writing raised but one concern with me—when is the next Murdoch arriving in my bookstore.” —The Bay Observer MAUREEN JENNINGS was born in the UK and emigrated to Canada as a teenager. After a long career as a psychotherapist, she became an award-winning writer. She is the author of four series in the crime fiction genre—Christine Morris, Tom Tyler, Murdoch Mysteries, and Charlotte Frayne P.I.—as well as a book on creativity, one novella, and four plays. The Murdoch Mystery series has been adapted into the beloved television series Murdoch Mysteries shown in over 120 territories worldwide, and the Tom Tyler series served as the inspiration for the television series Bomb Girls. In 2011, Jennings was the recipient of the Grant Allen Award for her contribution to Canadian crime writing. She lives in Toronto with her husband and their dog, Murdoch.