Whidbey Island General Hospital nurse Sandro Vasiliadis has supposedly died of a heroin overdose. When at the viewing his mother claims the body in the casket is not Sandro, Kyra Rachel and her partner Noel Franklin are called in to investigate. As the two investigate they encounter hesitant friends, a secretive family and more questions. What on the surface should be a simple case of identification of the body proves to be anything but simple as our investigators find themselves uncovering secrets that certain individuals wish to keep secret.

After reading this book, I can happily report that I do enjoy this mystery series. The setting is familiar, it is easy to relate to the Canadian-American banter between Bellingham-based Kyra and Naniamo-based Noel and the mysteries are not as simple as they appear to be on the surface. I enjoyed this one for a number of reasons. The characters are a nice range of humanity (the good, the bad and everything in between). Of particular interest for me was that it deals in part with the fascinating medical/scientific topic of transgendered sexual identity and sexual reassignment procedures. I thought I would mention this as a heads up for any readers that might not be comfortable reading about this topic when they thought they were picking up a murder mystery. The main characters - Kyra and Noel - have developed nicely from their introductory roles in book one and show signs of further character development to come. Lastly, I like how the reader is privy to the various viewpoints and activities of key players in this mystery, which our investigators (and the other key players) are not necessarily aware of, without giving away the whole story.

Not a gripping police procedural or fast-paced thriller but a good page-turning mystery nonetheless and a great way to spend a lazy Sunday reading! ( )