In March, 1839, Bishop-in-Waiting John Strachan, delivers a fiery sermon that has unexpected consequences-including the very brutal and public murder of a suspected sodomite. Church politics and the ongoing political debate following the arrival of Lord Durham’s Report complicate the investigation started by Constable Cobb and Marc Edwards. A culprit is soon found, but Marc suspects he was a hired assassin and that someone higher up in society is pulling the strings. A number of gentlemen, including members of the clergy, appear to have motive .The trail eventually leads Marc to New York (via the Erie Canal), where the victim’s sordid past requires his attention. There he is surprised to meet two women whom he thought never to see again. Meanwhile Cobb continues to investigate on his own, boldly confronting members of the Family Compact, with mixed results. Finally, with the help of the two women and that of the victim’s ward, Marc finally unearths the horrifying and unexpected truth. He returns to Toronto in time to meet his newborn child and resolve the case.

Don Gutteridge was born in Sarnia and raised in the nearby village of Point Edward. He taught High School English for seven years, later becoming a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Western University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. He is the author of more than seventy books: poetry, fiction and scholarly works in pedagogical theory and practice. He has published twenty-two novels, including the twelve-volume Marc Edwards mystery series, and forty books of poetry, one of which, Coppermine, was short-listed for the 1973 Governor-General’s Award. In 1970 he won the UWO President’s Medal for the best periodical poem of that year, Death at Quebec. To listen to interviews with the author, go to: http: //thereandthen.podbean.com. Visit his website at dongutteridgewriter.com. Email address: [email protected]. Don lives in London, Ontario.