2019 recipient of the Derrick Murdoch award from the Crime Writers of Canada What would it be like to return to your hometown after twenty-five years in prison for a crime you have maintained you did not commit? And why would you return? Walter Desmond is back in Trafalgar, British Columbia, having been officially exonerated when new evidence showed corruption at worst, incompetence at best, by the Trafalgar City Police running the investigation. His pitbull attorney is seeking five million in damages from the provincial government. But Walt has not returned to Trafalgar to pursue money or revenge. He just wants to know the why of it. The family of the murdered girl, Sophia D'Angelo, is bitterly determined to see Walt returned to prison―or dead. But for Trafalgar's police, including Sergeant John Winters and Constable Molly Smith, the reality is: if Walter didn't kill Sophia, someone else did. So, case reopened. It lands on Winters' desk. The records are moldering. One investigating officer is dead, the other is retired―and not talking. The police force are instructed to treat Walt as if he'd never been arrested or convicted. Someone else apparently killed Sophia, someone still walking free. But too many minds remain closed. It's good luck for Walt that a group of women in town for the dragon boat race are staying in the B&B where he's booked―women with no local prejudices. But when a townswoman and a boat woman are attacked by a rapist, the media gets active, and tempers dangerously flare. ...Delaney does a good job providing an unsavory view of old-boy small-town cop cliques, reminding us that some people don't get what they deserve. -- " Publishers Weekly " Unreasonable Doubt is a nice mix of police procedural and the personal lives of Molly and her family and that of John Winters. I have really grown to like the characters over the course of the series, especially Lucky, Molly's mom. Lucky came to Canada with Molly's father during the Vietnam War and never went back. They built a successful life in Canada and Lucky's politics never changed. She is involved in every protest, knows everyone in town, and is a shrewd judge of character. I think Delany did a particularly good job in showing just what it is like to lose 25 years of your life for a crime you did not commit. Sadly, Canada does not seem to do much better than the US in these cases, of which there are too many. A nice cash payout is good, but hardly compensation for a ruined life. -- " Not a Book Snob " A Pleasant Read... Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance copy of Unreasonable Doubt which is a pleasant, cozy police procedural about a miscarriage and justice and what happens afterwards....It is well plotted and written with ordinary characters - hardly a hang up in sight - which make it an easy, undemanding read but not boring. If you want to while away a few hours with an interesting plot and pleasant characters which don't overtax the brain This is a good way to do it. -- " Goodreads " Another great addition to the Constable Molly Smith series. I would like to see a Dragon Boat race. What fun! Nice side story counterbalancing the terrible injustice done to an innocent man. This tale got off to a slow start for me, but since I was familiar with the series I knew I would enjoy it eventually. It did not take that long before I was fully engaged. NetGalley provided an ebook in exchange for my honest review. Loved the ending(s). -- " NetGalley " Delany's excellent new procedural ( Under Cold Stone , 2014, etc.) is a real page-turner, ratcheting up the tension as each secret from the past is painfully revealed. -- " Kirkus Reviews " From its outset in 2007 the Constable Molly Smith series has been a strong contender, with its engaging cast of characters, atmospheric settings, and well-structured plots. But in UNREASONABLE DOUBT Delany has ramped her work up a notch: the writing is more self-assured, the treatment of the characters is more nuanced, and the narrative nicely builds toward the climax. Delany's latest work can hold its own against anything in the genre being published today. Witness the evocative opening passage of UNREASONABLE DOUBT : .. Walter Desmond felt something move, something low in his belly that he might once have recognized as happiness. It had been many years since he'd known what happiness felt like. He gazed out the window of the bus, full of wonder. The mountains were so high, the slopes closing in on the highway, their ragged tops still white with snow even though it was July. In the valleys, lakes and rivers sparkled blue in the sunlight... A shade of blue he'd forgotten could exist... Adding to its literary merits Delany's exploration of a significant and complex social theme, and UNREASONABLE DOUBT is clearly her strongest work to date, well worth the wait. -- " Reviewing the Evidence " Great cover! Dragon boating is huge in Vancouver where I live so it is q