Alison Preston lives in and sets her books in the Norwood area of Winnipeg. It’s an area I know quite well as my brother-in-law lived there for quite a few years. In fact, he lived on Lloyd Street which is where the titular girl in the wall was found. I really like reading books set in places I know because it is easy to picture the scenes described. Alison Preston does a really great job depicting Winnipeg in the 50s and 60s and in the 21st century.
The first part of the book deals with a rather strange young girl named Morven who probably had some autism disorder. In those days it was not a diagnosis that was easily made but the description of a person of normal or high intelligence who does not understand emotions seems to fit in with Asperger’s or some other type of autism. Morven was essentially brought up by her half-brother George as her mother was an alcoholic who stayed in her room and her father spent most of his time at work at the stockyards. George was four years older than her and he sometimes resented having to look after Morven but he was too conscientious to abandon her. Morven stared at people. In the Norwood area she was known as the staring girl. Then she was given a camera and she started taking pictures of people that she stared at. George drummed into her that she should get peoples’ permission before she took their picture. One day she was sitting in St. Boniface Hospital while George was getting a small injury taken care of. She had her camera with her and the mother of a recently dead child asked her to take his picture. Morven did so and this started her on a career of photographing dead people when their loved ones asked her to do so. She decided to change her name to Mrs. Mortimer and she insisted even George call her that. One day in the Women’s Pavilion she happened upon a scene that involved murder and she took pictures. The guilty party saw her and was determined to kill her if necessary.
Forward to 2006 to a house on Lloyd Street where retired police inspector Frank Foote and his business partner Jane are tearing out the top floor. When they find a skeleton in the wall work comes to an abrupt stop. Soon the police are all over the house and Frank and Jane are temporarily out of work. Frank decides to spend the time trying to figure out who the deceased is and who put the body in the wall.
Although this mystery is more of a why-dun-it than a whodunit there are still plenty of suspenseful moments. We also learn a lot about Frank Foote who has appeared in some of Preston’s other books. There is a small reference to Michael Connelly’s character Harry Bosch and I think Preston is signaling that Foote is a Canadian character similar to Bosch. Since I love the Harry Bosch books that is just fine with me. ( )