murder in Prince Edward Island involves visiting Toronto policeman

Inspector Charlie Salter is visiting Prince Edward Island with his wife and two sons. His wife's family is from the Island, and the trip is a yearly tradition, so Salter doesn't expect things to be terribly eventful. But then local historian Clive Elton is found murdered and an Island artefact, the Great Silver Seal, which had been retrieved after 200 years of being lost, is missing from his home. Since Salter is already friendly with the local Mounties, they have no objection to asking him for advice on the case.

The mystery itself I give three stars, because it met my expectations, and the extra half-star is for Salter's interactions with his wife and younger son, Angus, of whom we see more in the book. (Salter's older son, Seth, spends most of the book with Annie's parents.) The dialogue in general is very amusing. And I also like the fact that it's set in Prince Edward Island but goes beyond the usual tourist spots. The ending felt like it kind of fizzled out a bit, but that could also have been just me reading fast because I was so close to finishing it on the bus home.

This is the fifth installment of the Salter series, but you could safely read it without having read any others; there are no references to previous cases, or at least no obvious ones. The front cover of my copy of this book calls Wright "a worthy successor to Christie and Marsh", and I would somewhat agree with the Marsh part of that description. If you like gentle, steady mysteries with not too much gore and a fair bit of dry humour, you might like this book. ( )

Charlie Salter is vacationing on Prince Edward Island where several burglaries have taken place. A body is found, and Salter's father-in-law tells Charlie about the purchase of a seal in which he, the deceased, and one other individual had been involved. The deceased had recently been to Toronto to pick up their purchase, but it is not found in his home. Are the burglaries and homicide related? Charlie assists the local Mounties in their investigation. This would a good way to pass two or three hours. The book is relatively short, and the mystery is not very complex. I enjoyed the PEI setting. ( )

Charlie Salter and his family are vacationing on the Prince Edward Island with his affluent and influential in-laws, expecting to spend his time fishing and golfing. The island RCMP detachment has been looking into a rash of burglaries that take place when the owners are away from home - a relatively minor puzzle until one owner was bludgeoned to death when he arrived home early. He had been on a mission to secure the purchase of the Great Silver Seal that was said to have been stolen during the American war of Independence. Salter's father-in-law, currying favour with the political party in power, intended to make this a gift to the province. Purely as a courtesy, not as an expert Toronto detective, Charlie is invited to share his observations with the island RCMP.

Although the story stays on track with the mystery, the people and politics of the island are prominent and are part of the appeal. The characters are well-developed and the story unfolds naturally as a good tale should. This is a mystery that allows the ambience of Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province, to shine through. ( )