Heat Wave - (A Paradise Cafe Mystery) by Maureen Jennings (Paperback)

About the Book

"July 1936. Toronto is in the grip of a deadly heat wave. Horses are dropping in the street. Charlotte Frayne is the junior associate in a two-person private-investigation firm owned by T. Gilmore. A hate-letter is delivered to Charlotte's boss, who leaves the matter in Charlotte's hands to investigate. On the same day, Hilliard Taylor, a First World War veteran who, together with three other former prisoners-of-war, operates the Paradise Cafâe, seeks the firm's assistance in uncovering what he believes is the systematic embezzlement of the Cafâe."--

Book Synopsis

July 1936. Toronto is in the grip of a deadly heat wave. Horses are dropping in the street. Charlotte Frayne is the junior associate in a two-person private-investigation firm owned by T. Gilmore.

Anti-Semitism and murder in "Toronto the Good" in the depths of the Great Depression provide the historical background for this satisfying mystery. The fabric of the City of Toronto is as fully realized in Heat Wave as it is in all the Detective Murdoch books.

A hate-letter is delivered to Charlotte's boss, who leaves the matter in Charlotte's hands to investigate. On the same day, Hilliard Taylor, a First World War veteran who, together with three other former prisoners-of-war, operates the Paradise Café, seeks the firm's assistance in uncovering what he believes is the systematic embezzlement of the Café. These two events, seemingly unrelated, come together and bring to life characters as real to the reader as those of the Detective Murdoch series.

The first book in the Paradise Café series, featuring Charlotte Frayne, Heat Wave promises fans of Maureen Jennings's mysteries the beginning of a long and enjoyable relationship.

Review Quotes

"Maureen Jennings is not only just about the best crime novelist in Canada, she's among the best writers anywhere -- a national and international treasure." -- London Free Press

Praise for previous novels by Maureen Jennings:

Vices of My Blood
"There's really none better." -- The Ottawa Citizen

A Journeyman to Grief
"Maureen Jennings's trademark ... is to reveal a long-forgotten facet about life in the city that dispels any notion that it really ever was 'Toronto the Good.'" -- Truro Daily News

"A Journeyman to Grief is Maureen Jennings's best to date ... Jennings's excellent plot takes us into the unknown (to most readers, I think) history of the small black community in 19th-century Toronto. How they came there, how they lived, is as engrossing as the mystery ... of the abducted bride."-- Margaret Cannon, The Globe and Mail

Praise for Maureen Jennings's Detective Inspector Tom Tyler series

"Amazingly vivid and terribly real." -- New York Times Book Review

"An extraordinary piece of storytelling." -- Hamilton Spectator

"Will appeal to the many readers who remain fascinated by the war that did indeed change the world." -- Washington Times

"Master storyteller and screenwriter Jennings ... launches a trilogy with this superb entry. Readers will be swept away by the saga-like tone and the characters' singular problems and traits." -- Library Journal (starred review)

Let Darkness Bury the Dead

"The good news for Detective Murdoch fans is that he's back after a years-long absence. But he returns changed, aged and in a whole new world. It's 1917 and the Great War is in its fourth year ... This is one of the best in this series." -- The Globe and Mail