Finalist for the 2018 Arthur Eliis Award for Best First Crime Novel
Robin MacFarland is a somewhat eccentric and highly intelligent
journalist for the Home and Garden section of a Toronto paper, who at
age fifty-five looks aghast in the mirror and pronounces herself, Old.
Fat. Alcoholic. Alone. Failure. She resolves to lose weight, quit
drinking, and try online dating, although not, perhaps in quite that
order. The intrigue begins when Robin chooses to cover a water cooling
system conference where she thinks there will be a lot of men. By
coincidence, her first online date is with the owner of the water
company who is found dead after they have coffee. Dauntless, Robin wades
into what is now a murder investigation, under the supervision of her
new editor, and with the help of her best friend, Cindy, a crime
reporter. The novel is framed around a plot to steal Canada's fresh
water, but it hinges on Robin's hilarious journey through the middle
portion of her life, a serious social issue, and a highly ironic murder
weapon.