Cold Comfort
Penzler Pick,May 2001:Set in the small village of Tipton, bordering Quebec, Cold Comfort is a brooding tale of murder in a small town. Once a bustling community, Tipton, like many American towns, started dying when the interstate was built, funneling away the through-town traffic. It is to this town, his boyhood home, that Hector Bellevance returns from Boston, where he was a cop.Heck, as he is known, is now the town constable and most of his duties are light, but on this particular day he is called out to a gruesome murder scene by his half brother, Spud, who found the bodies. Otto and Gaea Morgenthau were pleasant people who moved to the town several years ago but kept to themselves. The crime scene makes it clear that the couple had been dead for a while and suggests that they knew their attacker. When the state troopers arrive on the scene, the sergeant is particularly interested to know why Spud was at the house and why Heck has sent him home to finish his chores.Until that moment, Heck has had no reason to believe that Spud was involved, but when he learns that Spud had discovered the bodies a day or two before telling him and that Spud has been seen peeking into the Morgenthau's windows, he knows he will have a tough time proving his brother was not involved in the murder. The best way to do that, of course, is to find out who did butcher the couple, which will mean uncovering some of the town's best kept secrets.This is suspense at its well-written best.--Otto Penzler