Excerpt of The Dogs Of Winter, by Ann Lambert

The Dogs of Winter (Second Story Press, October 28th 2020) is a compelling story full of hot button Canadian topics pulled from the headlines. Locations in this murder-mystery are personal to author Ann Lambert who taught at Dawson College across the street from where much of the action takes place and saw what went on every day.

Montreal is a key character in the book, flaws and all, from endless road construction to Fairmount bagels to peculiar Québécois idioms to questioning systemic racism. The novel starts with a howling, late January storm, a harbinger of what’s coming our way in a few short months. Then, a murderer with a twisted mission targets the vulnerable living on the frigid streets while scenes unfold revealing how the #MeToo movement has changed the conversation, but not nearly enough… All this done with sensitivity and a soupçon of humour. 

We are delighted to feature the first chapter of her book.

 

Used with permission by the publisher

One
Saturday night
January 26, 2019

SHE KNEW it was stupid to go out in that storm. She knew it was dangerous. When Rosie Nukilik had first started out that afternoon, the city looked like the inside of the snow globe that she used to have, the kind that you could buy on Ste. Catherine street at souvenir shops—the sparkly skyline of Montreal with two skaters twirling in a plastic circle. But now, that gentle, snow-globe winter had transformed itself into a howling wolf.

The wind was blowing her sideways, and she struggled for traction on the narrow sidewalk. As she slid inside, the tunnel offered a blessed reprieve, and she briefly considered hiding there until the worst of it was over. She’d also lost one of her cherished mittens, the sealskin ones her aana had made for her when she turned twelve. She couldn’t feel her fingers at all anymore, so she tucked her right hand inside her jacket and then squeezed it under her armpit in the hopes of restoring sensation. She’d had frostbite last winter, when one fingertip had to be amputated from her left hand. She stopped to catch her breath. He said he would meet her in the bus shelter on the other side of the tunnel. He promised. But now she realized he wouldn’t be there. Not in this. Rosie knew she couldn’t stay in the tunnel and continued carefully along, palming the wall with her covered left hand for guidance. Her right hand held her coat tightly, to protect him as much as she could.

As she emerged from the shelter of the tunnel, shards of icy snow cut into her face and a blast of wind almost blew her off her feet. The storm was so powerful now that almost everything was obliterated. She’d never seen that in the city before. There was no skyline, no trees, no cars. She remembered those whiteouts at home, where in seconds you couldn’t know which way you were heading. You didn’t even know if you were up or down. Her uncle died in one of those, trying to get her baby cousin home after a party. The baby had somehow been found alive, but no one could imagine how. Her aana said it was his spirit animal who had carried him back to safety

.
Rosie leaned back into the tunnel and watched as the waves of snow tumbled overhead. She and Maggie had dreamed of having a big house in the city, where they and all their friends could live. Where they would eat country food all day, and she would play the piano for them, singing all their favorite tunes. He had promised her a piano. She looked back into the tunnel behind her but could see nothing—it had become like the black bottom of the bay in early winter. She tucked her face deeper into her jacket and pulled the bits of scarf over her head tighter, but her right hand felt frozen like a stone. She peeked into her coat. Amazingly, he was still asleep.

She stepped over the rail to make a run for it, but her feet skidded out from under her. She struggled to one knee, using her free, frozen hand for purchase in the snowdrift. Suddenly a light appeared through the tunnel like a phantom, like a revenant. She got unsteadily to her feet and tried to run. He had promised her. He had promised her.

—

The Dogs of Winter
Book Two – A Russell and Leduc Mystery
By Ann Lambert

The sequel to The Birds That Stay — hailed by The Globe and Mail as one of “Ten Thrillers That Will Keep You On the Edge of Your Seat Until Summertime” and included on Book Riot’s list of “Highly Anticipated Crime Novels.”A murderer with a twisted mission targets the most vulnerable on the cold streets of Montreal.

The Dogs of Winter begins after a howling snowstorm envelops Montreal, and the body of a young woman is discovered in its wake. The only clue to her identity is the photograph in her pocket, and on it, the phone number of Detective Inspector Romeo Leduc. Meanwhile, Marie and Romeo are busy navigating their deepening relationship, and a student at Marie’s college is the victim of a terrible assault. While Romeo begins to think that the dead woman may be linked to violence against several homeless people in the city, the search for justice in both cases is thwarted by societal apathy and ignorance, even as the killer is stalking the frigid streets of Montreal, preying on and terrorizing its most vulnerable citizens.

Ann Cleeves : “The Dogs of Winter is as much an exploration of a city and its communities as a traditional crime novel. It’s about power and powerlessness in the dead of winter. And more than that, it’s a rollicking good read.”

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Ann Lambert’s first novel, The Birds That Stay was nominated for the Quebec Writers’ Federation’s Concordia First Book Prize. She was recently part of Toronto’s The Word On The Street’s Grand Dames of Crime Fiction panel. Along with her novels, Ann has been writing and directing for the stage for thirty-five years. Several of her plays, including The Wall, Parallel Lines, Very Heaven, The Mary Project and Two Short Women have been performed in theatres in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia. Ann is the former head of The Playwriting Program at the National Theatre School of Canada.

She taught English literature at Dawson College for almost thirty years in Montreal, Quebec, where she makes her home. Ann is also the co-founder of Theatre Ouest End and vice-president of The Theresa Foundation, dedicated to supporting AIDS-orphaned children and their grandmothers, the education of Malawian girls, and alleviating food insecurity in several villages in Malawi, Africa.
www.annlambertbooks.com  www.facebook.com/Ann-Lambert-532718167239818

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing