Constable Molly Smith begins her Christmas Eve 12-hour shift with a blizzard enveloping Trafalgar, British Columbia. Visibility is nonexistent and the 911 calls increase, leaving Molly and her partner, Sergeant John Winters, running from accident to accident. At midnight, a car careens out of control and flips into the swirling black river, trapping the inhabitants inside and leaving them unable to claw their way out.

The police are ready to rule it accidental, until the coroner delivers a surprise. One victim was dead 24 hours before plunging into the river. Molly and John's investigation leads them into the playground of the privileged and wealthy. Sex, drugs, alcohol and money permeates throughout the inquiry. It clouds the victim's friends' memories of the events leading up to the accident/murder. Molly and John know they are keeping secrets and continue probing to discover what they are hiding.

Ms. Delany's sparse one-sentence description of the victim's attempt to escape the car is so effective, I will keep a hammer in my car to break my car's window to avoid that fate. She tackles multiple storylines and continues to reveal the flaws and strengths in her returning characters. Ms. Delany is definitely a writer to read as she builds upon each book.

Book Summary

Siblings Wendy and Jason Wyatt-Yarmouth and their friends are in the peaceful mountain town of Trafalgar, B.C. enjoying a two-week vacation. Tragedy strikes the group of privileged students when two of them crash through the ice into the frozen river.