Barrington Street Blues

A rich man and a poor man are found dead of gunshot wounds outside a seedy bar on Barrington Street. The police declare it a murder-suicide, but bluesman/lawyer Monty Collins suspects it's a double murder. Helped by his friend, Father Brennan Burke, and hindered by his femme fatale law partner, Felicia Morgan, Monty explores the dark side of Halifax society—hookers, drug addicts, boozers, gamblers, and people desperate to cover up a series of parties that got way out of hand. Monty’s investigations lead him to a ruthless businessman with street connections, a preacher who’s been seen cruising for young people, and an oddball psychotherapist who may have overstepped the boundaries of therapy with more than one person in the case. A threat of blackmail and turmoil with his estranged wife Maura have Monty singing the blues, lashing out at his closest friends, and spending far too much time in the bars of Halifax.Review"Highly  recommended."  —Library Journal"The writing is lean, linear, and concise . . . [the] understated treatment of setting gives credence to the theory that less detail can often mean more mood. . . . However, it is perhaps Emery's use of character dialogue that gives the book its weight, masterfully chronicling Collins's descent into his own personal underworld."  —Atlantic Books Today"Emery makes it easy to root for Monty, who solves not only the mystery that pays the bills, but also the one that tugs at his heart."  —Quill and QuireAbout the AuthorAnne Emery is a graduate of Dalhousie Law School who has worked as a lawyer, a legal affairs reporter, and a researcher. She is the author of Cecilian Vespers, Children in the Morning, Obit, and Sign of the Cross, winner of the 2006 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. She lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.