A Killing Spring

More about the book

Gail Bowen, winner of the 1995 Arthur Ellis Award for best crime novel, returns with her most daring mystery yet. The story opens with the shocking discovery of Reed Gallagher, head of the School of Journalism, found dead in a rundown rooming house, dressed in women's lingerie with an electric cord around his neck. While the police declare it an accidental suicide, Joanne Kilbourn, who must inform Gallagher’s wife, senses something amiss. This death triggers a series of troubling events in her life, both professionally and personally. Shortly after Gallagher's death, the School of Journalism is vandalized, with offices wrecked and homophobic graffiti defacing the walls. Meanwhile, an unpopular journalism student in Joanne’s class stops attending after reporting sexual harassment to an unresponsive Joanne. As Joanne grapples with these issues, her relationship with Inspector Alex Kequahtooway becomes strained due to a stranger's casual racism. Compounding her troubles, she is abruptly dismissed from her long-time role on a political panel by her best friend. Determined to take action rather than succumb to despair, Joanne sets out to uncover the truth behind her student's disappearance, unwittingly plunging into a campus atmosphere rife with fear, deceit, and murder.