As per the Ontario Ministry of Health's Decreased Patient protocol dictates, the paramedic could not touch the body until directed by the Coroner. Meanwhile, Kevin, a young and relatively inexperienced detective who had transferred into the Ontario Provincial Police from the small Sparrow Lake Police Service has to ponder the question: Who had executed this man and why had he ended up in this field?

As members of the investigation team arrives, Kevin notices a woman with a fuzzy hat getting out of a Crown Vic. Who is she? At first he thinks she might be a journalist but he soon notices how her eyes vigilantly scan the area. Then, he knows.

Kevin had heard of Acting Detective Inspector Ellie March before. Operating out of the OPP Headquarters in Orillia, Ellie is well-regarded for her interrogation skills. She has made police investigation her life's work, but at a huge loss to her personal life. Rumours and comments were made about her skills, but Kevin dearly wants to be able to work with her.

Why and who committed this murder? As the police investigate and dig deeper, intriguing connections to drugs and family politics are uncovered. Will the police be able to find the real murderer before their careers and lives are in jeopardy?

SORROW LAKE by well-known Canadian crime writer Michael J, McCann is the first book in a new March and Walker Crime Novel series. With an impressive background in understanding crime and law enforcement, McCann brings a very authentic voice and sense of time and place to this fictional small town of Sparrow lake near the Belleville -- Kingston area in southern Ontario in Canada and to the police investigating this unusual murder.

I am utterly captivated with SORROW LAKE right from the first page to the last and by the very likable team of Walker and March. I particularly enjoyed seeing how their relationship develops as they get to know each other's strengths, quirks and backgrounds as they work on the investigation. Fans who like police procedural books are sure to relish SORROW LAKE as you really feel like you are in the room with them as they grapple with internal police dynamics as well as trying to pull small clues from local residents in the town.

While SORROW LAKE is easily read as a stand-alone novel, it augers well for the new series and I am so looking forward to reading more about how things work out for Ellie March and Kevin Walker in the next installment in the series. McCann's plot development is well layered and complex with intriguing and realistic nuances. Fans of McCann's previous crime novels featuring Donaghue and Stainer are sure to be thrilled with this new series and fans of British and American police procedurals will be intrigued by how detailed and thorough McCann has been in getting the details right and this making the story so real for the reader.

I also like the backstories as to why Sparrow Lake becomes known as SORROW LAKE. On a personal note, I used to live on a real Sparrow Lake (near Orillia, Ontario) and so I appreciate how well McCann captures that small town feel as well as the interactions of a smaller detachment and the interactions with the experts from the larger centres.

All in all, I am sure both mystery and police procedural fans will have lots of good and riveting reading ahead for them in SORROW LAKE. Check it out!

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