<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada In the mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, a young woman is found dead of a heroin overdose, her baby lying at her side. While this should be an open-and-shut drug case, restraint marks on the victim suggest that the death might not have been accidental.As the investigation into the young woman's death and life grows, the case becomes increasingly personal for Probationary Constable Molly Smith and Sergeant John Winters. Only two things are known about the dead woman: her first name is Ashley, and she has a three-month-old baby boy. Who was she? Was this is just a drug deal gone wrong, or is there something more sinister at play? Smith's mother, Lucky, has taken in the lost baby: does he hold the key to solving his mother's murder?In the meantime, Winters' wife, Eliza, is considering a modeling contract with the same planned resort that seems to be ripping the close-knit community apart. Has the controversial resort development pushed one of the members of this quiet community to murder?</div>

Valley of the Lost

<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada "Delaney glides between scenes with ease. She uses a bare-bones style, without literary flash, to achieve artistry as sturdy and restrained as a Shaker chair."—Publishers Weekly, STARRED reviewSiblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends have come to the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. to enjoy a two-week vacation of skiing, drinking, drugs, and sex. But tragedy strikes when two of the group crash through the ice into the frozen river.It's Christmas Eve and the snowstorm of the decade has settled over the town. Constables Molly Smith and Dave Evans are busy attending to fender-benders, tumbling pedestrians, and Christmas tree fires. Then, at the stroke of midnight, they are summoned to the scene of an accident: a car has gone off the snowy road into the river. Police, coroner, and medics all agree it was an accident. But when the autopsy reveals a shocking secret, Molly and Sergeant John Winters are plunged into a world of sexual predators, recreational drugs, privilege, and high-living.Meanwhile, stalker Charlie Bassing is out of jail and looking for revenge, a handsome Mountie is giving Molly the eye, and her mother, Lucky, is cheerfully interfering in the investigation. And all Molly wants to do is ski the powder....</div>

Winter of Secrets

<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada As the mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia, shakes off a long hard winter, famous photographer Rudolph Steiner arrives to do a feature on mountain tourism. Steiner is accompanied by his assistant and his sexy young wife, but he has another reason for the visit: to re-connect with the woman who left him 25 years ago to marry another man. That woman was a young, beautiful, naïve, internationally known super-model. Today Eliza Winters is no longer young, and definitely not naïve, but she is still beautiful and married to Trafalgar City Police Sergeant John Winters.When Steiner is found shot in his luxury hotel room, suspicion falls upon Eliza who had, inexplicably, visited Steiner there. John Winters is forced into the most difficult of dilemmas: loyalty to his job or to his wife. As the RCMP dig into secrets hidden by both Steiner and Eliza, Winters slowly comes to realize that he doesn't know his beloved wife as well as he thought.Meanwhile, Constable Molly Smith has her own troubles. A series of break-ins has the peaceful town in an uproar, her overprotective boyfriend from the Royal Mounted Police is fighting with her colleagues, and a vengeful stalker is watching her every move. When tragedy strikes at the heart of her own family, Molly can't even turn to her mother for help.</div>

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<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada What would it be like to return to your hometown after twenty-five years in prison for a crime you have maintained you did not commit? And why would you return?Walter Desmond is back in Trafalgar, British Columbia, having been officially exonerated when new evidence showed corruption at worst, incompetence at best, by the Trafalgar City Police running the investigation. His pitbull attorney is seeking five million in damages from the provincial government. But Walt has not returned to Trafalgar to pursue money or revenge. He just wants to know the why of it.The family of the murdered girl, Sophia D'Angelo, is bitterly determined to see Walt returned to prison—or dead. But for Trafalgar's police, including Sergeant John Winters and Constable Molly Smith, the reality is: if Walter didn't kill Sophia, someone else did.So, case reopened. It lands on Winters' desk. The records are moldering. One investigating officer is dead, the other is retired—and not talking. The police force are instructed to treat Walt as if he'd never been arrested or convicted. Someone else apparently killed Sophia, someone still walking free.But too many minds remain closed. It's good luck for Walt that a group of women in town for the dragon boat race are staying in the B&B where he's booked—women with no local prejudices. But when a townswoman and a boat woman are attacked by a rapist, the media gets active, and tempers dangerously flare.</div>

Unreasonable Doubt

<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada It's the end of March and Trafalgar, British Columbia, is preparing for the last influx of the seasonal skiers. Teachers, parents, and students are preparing to relax at home or head off on vacation. But for high school English teacher Cathy Lindsay, the week of relaxation doesn't work out as planned. She's gunned down by a sniper on a hiking trail, her small dog the only witness.Cathy Lindsay is an unlikely candidate for a murderous ambush: she was a respected teacher, in an apparently solid marriage to an Internet developer, living a quiet life. Sergeant John Winters, with the help of young Constable Molly Smith, digs into the Lindsay marriage and friendships, searching for a motive, but one thought continually niggles at the back of his mind: is it possible this was not a random killing but a case of mistaken identity?</div>

A Cold White Sun

<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada Fifteen years ago a young girl named Moonlight Smith went to her best friend Nicky Nowak's house for a sleepover. Moonlight joined the family for breakfast the following morning and was then picked up by her mother. Shortly after, Mr. Nowak went for a walk. He was never seen again.Autumn has arrived on the mountains above Trafalgar, B.C. and Constable Molly "Moonlight" Smith is cuddled by the fireplace with Adam Tocek of the RCMP when Tocek and his dog Norman are called to a wilderness camping ground to join the search for a little boy who sneaked away from his family looking for bears. The child is found, dirty, terrified, weeping, but unharmed. Then the inquisitive Norman digs up something else: human bones.The ID isn't positive, but it is enough to have Sergeant John Winters of the Trafalgar City Police re-open the Brian Nowak investigation. He finds a family shattered beyond recognition. Mrs. Nowak is an empty shell of a woman, dressed in pajamas, never leaving the house. Her son Kyle haunts the streets of Trafalgar at night and spends his days creating beautiful, but highly troubling, art. Nicky Nowak lives in Vancouver and has grown up to be gorgeous, charming, and elegant. Yet behind that façade lies a woman whose heart has closed so tightly against human relationships that she comes to Trafalgar trailing in her wake a terrifying threat to another innocent family....</div>

Among the Departed

<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada Passionate environmentalist, old-time hippy Lucky Smith and Chief Constable of Trafalgar, British Columbia Paul Keller are an unlikely couple. Their vacation to the Rocky Mountains is a chance to explore their fledging late-in-life relationship. But trouble interferes when the pair run into Paul's estranged son, Matt.This chance encounter soon becomes a quagmire of trouble when a frantic Matt calls his father for help. Lucky and Paul rush to his aid to find a body, but no Matt. All signs indicate that Matt—an experienced wilderness adventurer—has escaped into the backcountry. To RCMP Sergeant Eddie Blechta, running is all the proof of guilt he needs.Lucky's daughter, Constable Molly Smith of the Trafalgar City Police, rushes to offer her mother support. Though she has no intention of meddling in the investigation, when Matt's girlfriend, Tracey, asks for her help, Molly Smith finds herself deep in the case. Can they find Matt and clear his name?</div>

Under Cold Stone

<div>2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada Trouble is brewing in the small, bucolic mountain town of Trafalgar, British Columbia. An American who came to Trafalgar as a Vietnam War draft dodger has left land and money to the town. But there's a catch. The money must be used to build a garden to honor draft dodgers. This bequest has torn the close-knit, peaceful town apart. Then the body of a leading garden opponent is found in an alley, dead from a single blow to the head.Constable Molly Smith is assigned to assist veteran Detective Sergeant John Winters in the investigation. But Winters doesn't want the help of the enthusiastic rookie and suspects that he's been assigned Smith for political reasons: her mother, a life-long activist, is the leader of the group arguing for the park.Egged on by a muck-raking TV personality, outside agitators from both sides are soon streaming into Trafalgar. In the meantime, Smith and Winters search through small-town secrets for a killer.</div>

Vicki Delany
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Books By Vicki Delany (8 Books)

Valley of the Lost

Winter of Secrets

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Unreasonable Doubt

A Cold White Sun

Among the Departed

Under Cold Stone

In the Shadow of the Glacier

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Vicki DelanyFollow this author