The Opposite of Dark
A Casey Holland Mystery by Debra Purdy Kong
Review: Vancouver transit security officer Casey Holland is stunned to learn that the beaten body of her father, who she believes died three years earlier of botulism poisoning, has been found in a waterfront home not far from where she now lives in The Opposite of Dark, the first mystery in this series by Debra Purdy Kong.
Casey is certain that the man she buried three years ago was her father, but after viewing the battered body of the man the police claim is her father, she's not so sure. He certainly looks like her father, even bearing the same scars she remembers her father having. It's all so puzzling to her, made even more so when she learns she's being followed and the house where her father was found is broken into. Someone is clearly looking for something, and she concludes that they must think she probably knows where it is. But Casey doesn't even know what it is. While the police pursue their leads, she sets off on her own investigation to determine what exactly happened to her father … and when.
The Opposite of Dark has an interesting premise for a murder mystery, but it requires some suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader to buy into it, that Casey would seriously consider that the beaten man was her father when she was so involved with the funeral arrangements of her father three years ago and knows him to be dead. Yet she persists in acting as though he may have been alive these past three years, and has only now died. This singular point illustrates what is probably the most significant flaw in the book: the thinly developed characters simply aren't believable and act in often implausible ways. Which is quite unfortunate, since the overall plotline is rather compelling, has some interesting twists, and plays out — unlike its characters — in a most credible manner.
Acknowledgment: TouchWood Editions provided an ARC of The Opposite of Dark for this review.
Review Copyright © 2011 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Location(s) referenced in The Opposite of Dark: Vancouver, British Columbia
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The Opposite of Dark by Debra Purdy Kong
Publisher: TouchWood Editions
Format: Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1-926741-20-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-926741-20-8
Publication Date: March 2011
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from the publisher): Thirty-year-old Casey Holland likes being a transit security cop. It brings out the best of her compassion, perseverance and courage. After capturing a suspect whos been groping female bus passengers, Casey learns that her father was murdered in his West Vancouver home the previous evening. The trouble is, Casey buried her dad at an open-casket funeral service three years earlier, and he never owned a house in pricey West Van. Convinced that the police are mistaken, Casey accompanies them to the morgue. When she sees the body, her certainty dissolves.
Against her better judgment and the wishes of the investigating detective, Casey starts asking questions about her father and the strange house in West Van, placing her life, and her friends lives, in jeopardy. Her search for answers takes her to England, Europe and Vancouver Island, and Casey uncovers a scheme her father was involved in that may have led to his death — which death, though, is still unclear. One thing is certain: Casey's life is in danger.