Andrée Duval, Relief Librarian for the County of Lennox & Addington Libraries, recently reviewed Heart of the City by Robert Rotenberg, the fifth outing for Detective Ari Greene.

“I enjoyed the earlier books and liked this one even more,” Andrée says. “In the previous book, Ari proved he was innocent of the murder of his lover Jennifer, quit the police force and left Canada.”

“In this book, Ari returns to Toronto from England with his newly found daughter Alison. The 20 year old wants to be a journalist and Ari convinces her to enrol in courses. Alison does not tell him that she finds them boring and quits to start a news blog. She is secretly meeting with Livingston Fox, the condo developer who is building in the Kensington Market area and is feeding her information for her blog. She is also reporting on The Save Kensington Coalition formed by lawyer Cassandra Amberlight who is trying to stop the construction.

Ari has taken a job on the site thanks to an old friend site manager, Claudio. At the end of Ari’s first week, they have a beer at the site and unfortunately Claudio’s bottle falls and breaks. The developer (Fox) is expected at any moment, so Claudio asks Ari to get a broom and clean up the mess. In the work shed Ari finds Fox’s body. He quickly reverts back to police procedure and investigates the murder scene, noting that the site’s back gate is open.

When Fox doesn’t show up for the prearranged meeting with Alison, she goes to Kensington Market for a big protest rally. She sneaks into an abandoned house to get a better viewpoint, spies the murder scene and takes a photo. The police are checking the area and arrive at the house. To escape unnoticed she posts the photo on her blog anticipating that the protesters will recognize Fox and start a commotion.

When his daughter becomes a suspect, Ari gets involved in the investigation run by his previous subordinate, Daniel. The murder suspects include Fox’s business competitors, the protester leader, Fox’s pregnant fiancé, Anita, his sister Gloria, and his strange parents who run Foxhole, a rundown retreat with no clientele.”

“Rotenberg fills his books with interesting and engaging characters. The story is well paced and provides several twists and turns before the murder method and killer are revealed,” Andrée concludes. “I found this mystery to be a thoroughly enjoyable read.”

You can reserve Heart of the City by Robert Rotenberg at your branch of the County of Lennox & Addington Libraries or online by clicking here.