The Frailty of Flesh-Sandra Ruttan

The Frailty of Flesh
Sandra Ruttan
Leisure, Nov 2008, $7.99
ISBN: 9780843960754

RMCP Constables Tain and Hart are partners who worked a different case in which one shot the perp while the other was the perp’s victim. This created a strong bond between them, which is miraculous because Tain is a loner. They are called on a murder case in which the victim is a four year old child Jeffrey Reiman; his brother insists he witnessed their sister Shannon kill their sibling.

When the cops go to notify the parents, they are stunned by the lack of reactions; in fact the father calmly calls his lawyer a high powered defense attorney who usually defends drug traffickers. Shannon is missing while the two police detectives continue to investigate the murder and her whereabouts; as the evidence mounts they begin to believe she is not the killer and is in danger; instead they find plenty of proof of abuse but not certain who the abuser is as the Reiman patriarch provides persistent legal roadblocks to the official inquiry.

This Canadian police procedural is so action-packed, readers never have a moment to catch their breath and are engrossed in this one sitting read. Like the lead cops, fans will wonder who the perp is; as paradoxically everyone and no one stands out. The police partners are unique three dimensional people who have struggles in their personal lives while working a complex case made more difficult by the victim being a little kid and his father circling the wagons. Sub-genre fans will appreciate Sandra Ruttan’s obvious skills as this is a strong whodunit.

Harriet Klausner