Sugarmilk Falls by
Ilona Van Mil
hbk out March 05
Published by Picador
at £12.99
Sixty years after the end of the Second World War, many writers find rich pickings in
thrillers that link the horrors of those years with modern day mystery and murder.
Van Mil does this but also brings the consequences of the dispossession of the
Canadian First Nation into the mix. A circle of characters gather together on a bitter
winter's night to talk to the stranger in their midst. This incomer seeks the truth about
harrowing events at the remote Canadian location where maple syrup and trapping
have been the bedrock of the local economy. This is an intriguing device with the
chorus of voices darting back and forth in time, and using differing viewpoints and
perceptions to build up a narrative collage. The gradual unfolding of inter-linked
tragedies and the stealthy corruption of a community are consummately handled. Van
Mil writes beautifully; the natural description is poetic and sensuous, the dialogue
crisp, vigorous and engaging. This novel was awarded the CWA's Debut Dagger in
2002. A mesmerising book.
(
Cath Staincliffe
author of the popular Sal Kilkenny mysteries and the series creator of TV Blue Murder)
Sugarmilk Falls by
Ilona Van Mil
