I had a hard time following the story line of “River of Lies”. The story jumps around a lot between different story plots and too many characters. I did finish the book, but I struggled through the whole thing.

Truth be told, I am so torn on this book. I did really enjoy the plot and the story line, however there were a few things I was not the biggest fan of. Sometimes the story would jump and skip ahead, leaving me wondering if I missed a page. Granted, the author would go back and explain which was definitely appreciated! I guess it just made me feel confused on more than one occasion. Another, is that there seems to be a lot of history with some of the characters and seeing as I just started with the fifth book in the series... there were parts I did not quite understand why the characters were the way they were. I am assuming that had I begun from the beginning, there would be a lot less wondering.

All in all, this was a good read. The story line was a little slow, but I did find myself needing to know the ending. Some parts really picked up and kept you completely engrossed in reading though. There were tons of pretty wild twists and turns and the two plots were very well intertwined. Everything came together in the end, mostly with a neat little bow.

A wonderfully well written crime mystery thriller, “River of Lies” is the fifth installment of R.M. Greenaway’s B.C. Blues Crimes series. Having never have had the pleasure of reading any of the previous books in the series, I found it easy to follow the story as if it were a stand alone novel. There were few questions lefts unanswered, in a tactful way to leave the novel open for possibly a 6th installment. I applaud R.M. Greenaway on the ability to build a series that can be read through or as a stand alone novel. I look forward to reading the rest of the book in this series!

Greenaway opens the book with a young janitor leaving her shift at the local high school late at night. She arrives to her car to find that her tire is flat. A good Samaritan, who the young women recognizes from the school, happens to be there and offers his help. However, the young woman ends up dead. No witnesses, limited clues, and spotty security footage leaves constables Leith, Dion, and JD scratching their heads. While reading through the book, this murder seemed as though it was almost a filler for the book. However, it does bring the story full circle at the end. Leith and Dion, who are partners, seem like an unlikely match. Leith, who is secretly investigating Dion for a crime he may have committed, doesn’t fully trust Dion, it seems. Dion, who comes across as a constable with profiler tendencies, is feeling unheard and doubting himself. This unlikely duo come across as likeable, even with their strained relationship.

With the hunt for a killer under way, across town, a toddler goes missing from her crib in an upscale riverside home, in an upper-class community. During a dinner party no less. The toddler’s parents, Gemma Vale and Zachary Garland, are too busy arguing and blaming each other to be of much help. With Vale being remarried, and Garland in a new relationship of his own, the two continued to fight and argue and threaten one another over custody and living arrangements for the 3 children they share custody of. Little Luna Mae, the toddler who went missing from her crib, was their biological child. The other two children, Viviani who is 9 and Tiago who is 15, are Garlands niece and nephew who Garland is raising, after their parents’ untimely demise. The children are caught in the middle of the arguing, both with something they need to say. Neither able to do so, as neither Garland or Vale will allow the children to be interviewed alone. In the meantime, Leith and Dion are on a wild goose chase for a couple who may have bought the toddler from a local troubled teen named Kyler Hartshorn, who suddenly seems to vanish. Rumor has it that Tiago was also involved.

Tragedy strikes again as Tiago is found dead, on the rocky cliffs behind the riverside house that he spent half his time. For Dion, the parent’s reactions are lacking. For Leith, they are in shock. Either way, the race is on to find not only a killer, but a toddler who could be in danger. As the team work together to try and fit the puzzle pieces together, Kyler, who seems to have been at the center of both cases, is found dead in the river behind the riverside home. As team start closing in, Garland and Vale, as well as the team other suspect, become more unhinged and start to unravel. After Viviani secretly calls constable JD, and that call is cut short immediately by Vale, JD rushes to the riverside home to make sure Vivi is ok. Once there, JD becomes suspicious of Vales behavior and Vivi’s safety.

I don’t want to give away the ending, as I was pleasantly surprised at the twists and turn the ending took. Whole reading, I was trying to figure out the case along side the team. I was shocked to learn what happened to little Luna Mae. The murderer was a little easier to figure out, but none the less, it was an unlikely source who helped bring justice to the young woman murdered. I defiantly give this book 5 stars and can’t wait to read the other B.C. Blues crime series novels, as well as what R.M. Greenaway come out with next.

Thank you to the author, R.M. Greenaway, the publisher, Dundurn Press Dundurn, and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced reader copy of this title, in exchange for an honest review.

RIVER OF LIES by R.M. Greenaway is the fifth book in the B.C. Blues Crime series. The novel takes place mainly in North Vancouver, Canada. It worked as a stand-alone novel for me, but I believe reading the previous books would likely add to a reader’s enjoyment of the novel.

In this story, the North Shore RCMP brave the February wind, rain and cold to solve the murder of a young woman at the Riverside Secondary School as well as the disappearance of a young child during a dinner party. While Constable JD Temple focuses on the school murder, Constables Dave Leith and Cal Dion work the kidnapping.

The writing is engrossing and polished and I found myself mentally and emotionally involved with the characters in the story. There are a lot of characters that had very distinct flaws and a few that had virtues, but they all felt real and three-dimensional. The plot is complicated and had lots of twists and turns in this police procedural. As the story evolves, more layers are added to the mystery. Many themes are explored in this book including murder, relationships, drug use, deception, family, lying, secrets, custody battles over children and much more. While the school murder and the child’s disappearance are resolved in the book, there are other issues that are left open for future books. There are a lot of characters in this book and reading the series in order would likely help readers in this regard.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well-written novel and recommend this series to those that enjoy complicated police procedurals. This is the first novel that I have read by this author, and I look forward to reading the other books in this series.

Thanks to Dundurn Press and R.M. Greenaway for a digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

RIVER OF LIES – R.M. Greenaway
B.C. Blues Crime Series – Book 5
Perfect 10
Dundurn
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-4597-4154-9
ISBN (Epub): 978-1-4597-4155-3
ASIN: B07T82F3CZ
March 2020 (Canada), April (U.S.)
Mystery – Police Procedure

Vancouver, British Columbia – The Present

February 2: in the pre-morning darkness of North Vancouver, RCMP Calvin Dion and his superior, Constable David Leith look over the body of a young woman lying in the back parking lot of a secondary school. They observe the details at the scene and the evidence found, including an early Valentine’s Day card, while they speculate on how Nashwa Aziz was murdered. The investigation doesn’t advance.

February 6: Thirteen-month old Luna Mae Garland has disappeared from her crib while her mother Gemma Vale, and stepfather Perry Vale, entertained guests to celebrate Perry’s birthday. Their home is an upscale house located near the Seymour River. By the time Dion and Leith arrive, the guests have searched the premises for the missing child, and Gemma is accusing Zachary Garland of taking Luna. Zach, Luna’s father, had arrived to confront his ex-wife about visitation rights. It is clear the divorced couple are antagonistic. Even after the divorce, Gemma still shares custody of Zach’s dead brother’s children: Vivian, age nine, and Tiago, age fifteen.

The investigation of these two crimes takes some convoluted directions. The constables doubt the truth of most of the witness’ statements and nothing seems to be adding up. Other RCMP members JD Temple, Niko Shiomi, and Sergeant Mike Bosko, play important parts in the investigations. Two more deaths will take place, and it seems a relationship exists between the two initial crimes. Between all of this, Dion is trying to reestablish his life and his relationship with former girlfriend Kate, and Leith is secretively investigating Dion for a possible murder.

RIVER OF LIES is an amazing story evolving during February, although not all issues will be resolved. Readers will never guess who is guilty of what, just identify with Dion’s, Leith’s, and JD’s suspicions. While this is the fifth volume in this series, readers who have not read the previous stories will have no trouble relating to the characters and enjoying the intriguing storyline.

I received a free copy of “ River of Lies” from Net Galley in return for an honest review.
“ River of Lies” is the latest , the fifth, I think, in a series of crime novels by . R.M. Greenaway. I think that my enjoyment of the book might have been improved had I read previous works. As it was I found it difficult to connect with the characters and get comfortable with them. I never found them particularly sympathetic or likable.
I had to twice re- read the beginning of the book , where the two cops were on the scene of the murder of a young woman to get into the back and forth conversation . It took me a while to figure out that one was a woman. There also was no particular tension that this was a crime scene, as opposed say, to fender bender. I wondered why the officers did not question what a the victim, a janitor at the school was doing in the parking lot . She was dressed , not in working clothes, but in a dress, and fancy, high boots. Obviously meeting someone, but who? It would be the king of thing any cops would bring up . The re was none of the tension there should have been for two cops on a murder scene, no matter how blasé they might be, especially as one was a female officer, as the reader grasped , eventually. And there should have been tension, for as we discover as the cops ride back to the station, the male police officer is suspected of a murder by higher police authorities. So why is he on the street?
That set the tone for the book, as far as my appreciation of it went. The book was, in my opinion, talky , unfocused and much too long., with little feeling of danger and tension to keep me turning pages. The characters were gray print on the page , without life. The plot blah. Had I not felt an obligation to read for review purposes, I would not have finished it.
This is just one person’s opinion, of course. Readers of MS Greenaway , who are familiar with her characters, books and plotting will probably enjoy this installment of her character’s adventures.

After the first couple of chapters I was ready to give up. A murder at the start and then no mention of it ( all fell into place later) lots and lots of police characters who it felt should be familiar but weren't as I haven't read this author before. But eventually it grabbed my attention. What had happened to the baby and how on earth was it linked to the murder at the start?
Everything was tied up well at the end but I wasn't sure if the final death was suicide or set up to look like it ?!?!

The book starts with one investigation and turns to another. A very good thriller and a police procedural. Kept me guessing till the end. I feel the first investigation could have been given more importance and for the detectives to solve it. 4.5 stars. I will definitely be reading the other books in the series.

Just could not finish reading this book as there were too many characters to try and figure out. The story jumped around too much

The book began well with two seemingly unrelated mysterious plots, but eventually failed to tie up all the loose ends. There were several plot elements that were not explained well enough to understand the motives. The primary storyline was strong and well written but the minor side stories were weak and really unneeded to flesh out the book. The author should have relied on the stronger plot. Overall, it could have been better crafted and more believable with less confusion. The ending was vague and seemed to be a segue to a sequel.

A satisfying police procedural

February is the month of murder in Vancouver, not love. A young woman is left to die in a school car park and a toddler vanishes from a home in the midst of a dinner party. Constables Dave Leith and Cal Dion work the kidnap until a tenuous connection is made between both cases. The child could be alive in the hands of a childless couple, but more tragedy unfolds and lies must be unveiled before the ugly truth emerges.

This is the fifth in this Leith/Dion series, none of the first four which I have read. Consequently, it did take some time to get up to speed with the characters and I may read a couple of the earlier books in order to flesh out the relationship between Leith and Dion. It is a solid police procedural, complex and well-plotted and I had to concentrate to follow the various threads.

The story is a slow burner and, if you like constant action, gunfights, violence and sex then it is not the book for you. There is a very strong narrative that held me captivated without rushing from one major event to another. The wet, dark world of Vancouver is efficiently described and makes a brooding backdrop to the story.

The domestic dispute between the divorced parents of the missing toddler really moved the pages along for me, although one or two of the other threads were less interesting. There were enough twists and surprises to keep me happy and this, to summarize, is a well-written novel from an author I may well add to my long list of favourites.

Digger95

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review

River of Lies is the fifth book in the BC Blues crime series by R. M. Greenaway. Many thanks to Netgalley, Dundurn Press and the author for this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I haven’t read the other four books, which would have provided a lot of much-needed backstory. For all that, I did a pretty good job of figuring things out.

I’m not sure which storyline the author was more interested in: the ongoing drama between the people in the precinct, or the mystery they’re trying to solve. The murdered janitor, aside from some brief initial investigation of her boyfriend, is almost totally forgotten until one of the investigators is out buying shoes for an upcoming charity dance. We get told that Leith has been partnered with Dion because he’s low-key investigating him for a suspicious death he may be involved in.

It’s so low-key, Leith and Dion spend as little time as possible in the same space, talking with each other. There’s a lot of time spent centred on the family with the missing child, but even that seems glossed over by details like Leith’s inability to trust his wife for taking her eyes off their kid for a couple of minutes in Stanley Park sometime in the past. And through it all, you kinda wonder if JD and Dion should just find a room and get it over with.

So the story is all over the place, but it eventually gets where it needs to be in order to resolve the loose ends. Except the overarching plot, which is foreshadowed to continue in the next book.

All that aside, I did enjoy River of Lies. It just took far too long for me to get into, and if I’m being honest, I normally would have just given up around the end of the first quarter. Again, if I had the first four books, perhaps I’d hold a different opinion.

Full review at inkyblack.net

Woo hoo! I’m back in one of my favourite cities to catch up with RCMP officers Cal Dion & Dave Leith. If you haven’t read this series before, they can be enjoyed on a couple of different levels. Each contains a stand alone investigation & work as a straight up police procedural. But you’ll get maximum bang for your buck by reading them in sequence as there’s a running back story that continues to evolve with each book.

So…a little history. Cal Dion was a hotshot detective until an accident derailed his life. Two years ago he was cruising around with his partner Luciano Ferraro when they were hit by another car. Ferraro died & Cal woke up with a broken brain. Memory, cognitive skills, personality…he’s literally not the man he was. His return to the job was a hard earned milestone but he’s well aware some of his coworkers have questions. What happened that night? Why were he & Ferraro in that particular area? And what’s up this rumour about a body?

As the books progress we get a slow drip of details about what Cal did & suffice to say it’s still dogging his every step. His boss Sergeant Mike Bosko is quietly investigating him & has roped in Dave Leith to help gather information. Which is a tad awkward seeing as Leith is now Cal’s partner. At the end of the last book, Bosko was contacted by someone claiming to know what happened the night of the accident. So it’s a good thing I didn’t receive a physical copy of this one….I probably would have ripped the cover off to get at the story.

In the here & now Cal, Dave & colleague J.D. Temple catch 2 cases in quick succession. A young woman’s body has been found behind a school. She was the janitor there & it’s not long before they have a couple of good candidates as suspects. Then a toddler goes missing from her crib while the adults were having a dinner party upstairs. The parents are divorced & the mother has remarried but it turns out her ex was also in the house that day. Holy Hannah, referring to these 2 as the Bickersons doesn’t even begin to describe the dynamics & the most challenging part for the cops may well be to stop them from killing each other.

J.D. takes over the school related death & discovers a fun fact while questioning some students. Well, looky here…turns out a couple of them have connections to the house that’s currently missing one toddler.

What follows is a complex story full of twists, red herrings & multiple subplots. Along with the investigations we get caught up with the regular characters’ personal lives & relationships. Leith is in a bit of a funk & regrets agreeing to be the fox in the henhouse. Meanwhile, Bosko is always lurking in the background (that guy makes me so nervous).

And poor Cal…he’s still desperately trying to be the man he was. He has a million little tricks to cover for his spotty memory & personality tics but it’s starting to take a toll. A little birdie told him about Bosko’s private investigation & keeping his guard up around the office is exhausting.

As for the ending, all I’ll say is keep an eye on the quiet ones. There are plenty of surprises in store & the author saves the best for last. Yup, she did it again. Now I’m back on pins & needles waiting for the next one. Better make it an ebook….the cover might not survive.

4.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Unfortunately this was one of the worst books I have read in a very long time. Going into it, I did not realise it was part of a series. This made some of the storyline to be confusing. Despite that, this book was still awful. The female characters were unnecessarily crass in their behaviours. The writing style was very juvenile. I do not recommend this book at all.

This book was intriguing and a good suspenseful story, but I was extremely disappointed with the choice of language that was sprinkled throughout the book. I didn't feel the F word contributed anything at all to the story. I know others will not feel that way but to me it was offensive and colored my opinion of the book. The book would have been so much better without it.

Full disclosure: I did NOT know this was a series prior to reading but because the author was detailed in the referencing of prior story arcs and characters, I was able to pick up enough that it didn’t affect my enjoyment of River of Lies.

River of Lies by RM Greenaway is the fifth book in the B.C. Blues Crime Series. It’s set in Vancouver and follows constables of the North Shore RCMP, Dion, JD, and Leith. JD is assigned the case of a woman murdered in the school parking lot while Dion and Leith work together to investigate a missing child from a troubled and fractured home. What follows is a series of tragedies and tension among the constables. What more can you ask for in a crime thriller?

The characters are well-developed and the story is complex and quickly paced with well-executed twists.
I think this is a great book for any fan of the genre and highly recommend it.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn for allowing me to read and review this book!

In the beginning, I was a little worried. There were a lot of story arcs and characters introduced that were clearly part of a series I hadn't read so I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep up or get as much of an emotional impact without reading the prior books. I was able to follow but since this was the first Canadian thriller I've read, the process of their police work and job titles (i.e. Constables) distracted me a few times. I also couldn't decide if the personal lives of these detectives was hurting or helping the story.

That said, as a resident of Washington state, the wet, dark world of Vancouver was easy to sink into and made the perfect environment for this churning story. J D Temple is a great character but Dion was a bit odd and unbelievable. This book was complex and twisted in ways that I could not guess but there were a lot of crimes and details that felt thrown in rather than braided together. The domestic dispute between the divorced parents of the missing toddler and their other two children who seem to be keeping secrets was what moved the pages the most for me. The missing janitor case was less gripping, maybe because it moved so slow, but eventually, there is a pay-off. If you love a detailed procedural or you're craving a Canadian thriller, this is a great read for a rainy day filled with lots of investigation grit.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dundurn Press, and R.M. Greenaway for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Link to GoodReads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3000365395?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Link to BookBub Review: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/281456077?source=twitter_share via @Bookbub

River of Lies by R. M. Greenaway, is a most confounding, tangled weave of lies by police and suspects alike.
I never knew who to believe, but there is only one seemingly happy ending.
4 stars.

B.C. Blues Crime # 5

Ms. Greenaway has created another excellent story in rain drenched Vancouver for our enjoyment. It is preferable to follow this series in sequence otherwise you will definitely feel something is missing. Although, do not hesitate if you did to start the series here, each book has its own excellent mystery that would captivated you.

The plot is a complicated one and is cleverly thought of to give us an irresistible puzzle filled with cunning twists and a gripping police procedural. Two excellent cases that had my full attention from start to finish: one of a young woman who was left to die in a school parking lot, the case was taken over by Constable JD Temple while the second had Constables Dave Leith and Cal Dion concentrating on the mysterious disappearance of a toddler during a dinner party. In their chases to get to the bottom the detectives found many links between a tragic drowning, a violent assault and an apparent suicide that crisscrossed their paths and helped them to reach a conclusion and close their investigations.

Ms. Greenaway pens a multilayered mystery that is interesting and captivating but you have to forget about car chases, gun fights and Kung-Fu action, this mystery keeps a steady tempo rather slow moving till the end. Things may not move fast but the words are so vividly said you have time to imagine what is going on and create a colourful scenario in your mind. At best is the strong narrative all through that gives strengths to the investigations and inevitably holds us captivated, glued to every word from start to finish. Great characterisation to boot.

On the raincoast of the western shores of Canada, Vancouver occupies a unique place nestled between the mountains and the sea. Among places of extreme natural beauty, gritty things play out. Just stay plenty of the way back from the cliffs lining the rivers emptying into the sea and perhaps you’ll be okay. But, more than likely, you’ll be chipped and cracked in just so many places even Humpty Dumpty might just stare open-eyes in astonishment.

River of Lies is the fifth book in this police procedural series and it might take some time if you are knew to it like me to figure out who all the players are and their twisted background stories.

There are quite a few shocking events portrayed, not the least of which is the disappearance of an infant into the night and the blame-laying custody battle playing out between the estranged parents as the infant can’t be found. There are other innocent bodies turning up. And, a police investigation dragging on to nowheresville as each tiny thread and runout is followed up on.

There’s a damp darkness and dreariness overlaying everything and the sense in the end that things perhaps could’ve played out quite differently. This is a plodding investigation, not an action-Packed gun battle. But, it is one of those stories that, if you stick with it to the end, is ultimately rather rewarding.