The Devil to Pay

September 20, 2021
Early in Arthur Ellis Award–winner Fradkin’s well-constructed 11th Inspector Green mystery (after 2014’s None So Blind), 23-year-old Police Constable Hannah Pollack, a rookie, and her coach officer, Rick Geneva, are called to a domestic disturbance at the luxurious suburban Ottawa home of Edward McAuley, a successful and ruthless personal injury lawyer. Both McAuley and his wife, Kristina, claim there’s no need for alarm, and Rick is quick to agree. Hannah, however, believes that Kristina may be the victim of spousal abuse. She goes to her father, Insp. Michael Green of the Ottawa Police, for insight on how to proceed. Green, who four years earlier was transferred out of Criminal Investigations and into the “stifling, paper-choked tomb of court security,” jumps at the chance to help her. Then Edward goes missing. Is he escaping his financial difficulties, or is he the victim of foul play? The stakes rise as Hannah fears her intervention may have led to the man’s disappearance. The sensible Hannah consistently acts in credible ways, even as she puts her career—and life—in jeopardy. Fans of character-driven police procedurals will be satisfied.