Border Songs by Jim Lynch

I vividly remember an experience I had at the US/Canadian border when I was in college. I was crossing back into the US with a couple friends. As the driver I was asked what town I was from. When I replied Mt. Vernon, the border person asked me who was the vice-principal at the high school and when I answered correctly waved me through. He didn’t seem to be concerned with who else was in the car or in seeing any identification at all. It was a kinder, gentler and possibly more naïve time.

Border Songs is set at today’s border near the Peace Arch in Washington State and British Columbia. A ditch is all that separates many parts of Canada from the US there, with neighbors being on one side of the ditch or the other. I hope this is exaggerated fiction as the amount of people crossing illegally to get into the US or to smuggle in pot seems insane.

In this novel Brandon Vanderkool is the newest border agent. He makes many busts right away. It is not because he is trying, but rather he watches for birds and can’t help but see the people or anomalous items around him. His dad, Norm, is a struggling dairy farmer whose wife is losing her memory. With his farm right on the border, Norm’s tempted with monetary offers to look the other way. One entertaining scene in the book takes place when Brandon is being shown all the new video cameras that have been placed along the border. One is pointed right at his dad’s farm and he witnesses some very strange behavior while trying to pay attention to his chief’s lecture.

Brandon does not relate well to people and much of this book is about him trying to figure out if a childhood friend, Madeline, is still a friend or not. Madeline, lives on the Canadian side of the border, and is becoming more and more involved in smuggling. It seems everyone on both sides is trying to get something across the border. Brandon even ends up arresting his sixth grade teacher. Border Songs is definitely a good read and I especially recommend it to anyone who lives near the border. I’d love to hear comments on what it is like to be living in Blaine or Lynden now.

Jim Lynch also wrote The Highest Tide, a young adult novel that focuses on a 13 year old boy growing up on the Puget Sound. I really enjoyed that book as well with its great descriptions of the sound and its marine life.

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I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I Shall Not Want is the sixth in a unique mystery series. Clare Ferguson is an Episcopalian priest and former Army helicopter pilot in a small town in upper state New York. As a reverend she has a reputation for acting before thinking. Her current Bishop is unsure of her commitment and a deal they’ve made is for her to be in the National Guard as she figures out how dedicated she is to being a priest.

Russ Van Alstyne is the police chief of the small town of Millers Kill and one main reason Clare is questioning her own judgment. To get the back story on their relationship it is best to start with the first book in the series: In the Bleak Midwinter.

In I Shall Not Want a body is found during a church picnic. Other bodies are found, all of young Hispanic men. The police chief and the town begin to wonder if they are dealing with a serial killer. Russ becomes even more entangled in this case as one of the bodies is found on his sister’s property. Even though Russ and Clare are estranged initially, she becomes involved as the number of illegal immigrants in the area and their treatment is brought to her attention.

Here’s Russ trying to tell Clare how he feels:
“It’s me. I’m …stuck. I’m like an old truck up to its hubcaps in snow. I go forward, I go back, nothing ever changes or shakes loose, and the whole time I’m cold, inside and out. The only time I feel anything is when I’m angry.”

The mystery is almost secondary to the ongoing story of Russ and Clare. Other characters are also well developed. New to town is Hadley Knox, the first female police officer in Millers Kill. A good portion of the mystery explores Hadley’s growth as an officer and her attempt to balance her job with being a single mom to two kids.

If you’re looking for a mystery that has more focus on character development than most, definitely try out these books by Julia Spencer-Fleming.

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