Product Description

The ninth novel of Gail Bowen’s popular series finds Canada’s favourite amateur sleuth, Joanne Kilbourn, on holiday at a cottage borrowed from a lawyer friend, one of a cluster of summer homes owned by lawyers from the same prestigious firm. When one of them kills himself the night after a long talk with Joanne, she is pushed into investigating just what her neighbours are involved with, an investigation that has startling – and fatal – consequences.

Bowen’s depiction of this community of lawyers, each in his or her way now divorced from the ideals of justice and mercy that once motivated them all, is both compassionate and hard-nosed. There is Zack, the charming but controlling paraplegic; Blake and Lily, whose daughter, Gracie, struggles to keep her dignity as her parents’ marriage falls apart; Noah, who would rather practise carpentry than the law, and his wife, Delia, who is consumed by worry about the firm. The mounting stress among these lawyers is palpable as Joanne delves into their lives. And Joanne faces her own personal anxieties too when she discovers that her former lover, Inspector Alex Kequahtooway, is mixed up in what seems to be some very sordid legal business.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1954784 in Books
• Published on: 2004-09-14
• Released on: 2004-09-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Review
“This is a classic whodunit, in which everything from setting to plot to character works beautifully. . . . The Last Good Day is a treat from first page to final paragraph.”
—Globe and Mail


From the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap
The ninth novel of Gail Bowen's popular series finds Canada's favourite amateur sleuth, Joanne Kilbourn, on holiday at a cottage borrowed from a lawyer friend, one of a cluster of summer homes owned by lawyers from the same prestigious firm. When one of them kills himself the night after a long talk with Joanne, she is pushed into investigating just what her neighbours are involved with, an investigation that has startling – and fatal – consequences.

Bowen's depiction of this community of lawyers, each in his or her way now divorced from the ideals of justice and mercy that once motivated them all, is both compassionate and hard-nosed. There is Zack, the charming but controlling paraplegic; Blake and Lily, whose daughter, Gracie, struggles to keep her dignity as her parents' marriage falls apart; Noah, who would rather practise carpentry than the law, and his wife, Delia, who is consumed by worry about the firm. The mounting stress among these lawyers is palpable as Joanne delves into their lives. And Joanne faces her own personal anxieties too when she discovers that her former lover, Inspector Alex Kequahtooway, is mixed up in what seems to be some very sordid legal business.

About the Author
With her Joanne Kilbourn mystery series, Gail Bowen has become "a name to reckon with in Canadian mystery letters" (Edmonton Journal). The first book in the series, Deadly Appearances, which was published in 1990, was nominated for the W.H. Smith-Books in Canada award for best first novel. It was followed by Murder at the Mendel (1991), The Wandering Soul Murders (1992), A Colder Kind of Death (which won the Arthur Ellis Award for best crime novel of 1995), and A Killing Spring (1996). Gail Bowen is also head of the English Department at the First Nations University of Canada.

Customer Reviews

Solid Kilbourn mysteries continue!
I love the Joanne Kilbourn mystery series for a few major facets:

(1) The heroine is an independant widowed woman with a strong sense of family, and yet is not reduced to being a simpering victim or wailing emotional wreck. She handles things, and handles them as well as any one could.

(2) The strong Canadian content to the stories: be it simple things like surnames that show a european background, or native rights issues, or any number of uniquely Canadian flavours, Bowen finds a niche for them in her books that adds to the story.

(3) The mystery is always a good one, and hard to puzzle out any faster than her heroine.

Joanne retires to a languid summer at "Lawyer's Bay," where one power law firm seems to rool the roost. When a shocking suicide starts the vacation on a dark turn, Joanne once again finds herself in the middle of the lives of those around her, trying to dig out the dark secrets, and learn if the suicide was even that. When her ex-lover Alex Kequahtooway gets involved, things seem even more personal. The tension keeps rising, and as always, Bowen delivers a stunning finale. Well done.

Terrific read!
Gail Bowen has done it again! She somehow manages to write an intriguing mystery plot and sprinkle in wonderfully normal family life elements to make for a comfortable and compelling read. With some authors, the end result would be choppy, but Gail Bowen makes it really work. Every time I pick up a new book in the series, I feel like I'm visiting old friends who will keep me entertained from start to finish.

Searing
The mystery novels of Gail Bowen set in Saskatchewan follow the lives of Joanne Kilbourn and her family. While all entries are enjoyable, this one is particularly enthralling.

After receiving an invitation from her lawyer friend to rent his cabin situated in an area referred to as "Lawyers' Bay" for the summer, Joanne happily packs up her adopted daughter, her son and his girlfriend for what she anticipates will be a restful and relaxing vacation. While celebrating Canada Day, Joanne has a conversation with one of the partners in the "power firm" of Falconer Shreve and learns he is extemely depressed. By the end of the celebration though, he seems in better humor. So it is a shock when he commits suicide later that night.

When she learns that a young female associate appears to have vanished after leaving Falconer Shreve, Joanne's investigation leads to troubling questions. As she is drawn deeper into the investigation, the answers have a devestating affect on those she loves.

As I came to the conclusion of the novel, I said "oh no" out loud. It is a powerful ending to a very well written book. I cannot recommend this novel strongly enough.