Camilla finds Alvin, who had some sort of breakdown upon hearing the news, and decides she is the one who must deliver him safely to the bosom of his family, over a thousand miles east in Nova Scotia. Once they arrive, not only isn't Alvin welcomed with open arms, but also the family chides Camilla for her efforts, saying it is no good for Alvin or his family for him to be here during this time. Camilla has never been one to shy away from a challenging situation, and even though she has two hot tickets to the annual Bluesfest in Ottawa, she stays in Nova Scotia to help locate Jimmy and see if she can help put this family back together.

Camilla is very hard to get to know and even harder to understand. She never liked Alvin and resented his family always calling collect, yet she allows his problems to take her on a thousand mile odyssey and once there, even unwelcome, she insists on staying, certain she can help better than anyone else. Camilla also lived in Sydney over thirty years ago something that many locals remember, but something that doesn't seem essential to the plot. Members of Alvin's family are not easy to like, and it is hard to care about Jimmy and his situation because of it.

The search for Jimmy is slow and drawn out. There is little background or foreshadowing provided to move the plot along and to help solve the mystery. It takes a long time to find Jimmy and just as long to put the pieces all together to make a clear picture of what happened and why. A slow-pace mystery filled with unlikable, and sometimes annoying characters, will not win new fans to this series.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry