Parks Pat Mysteries 1-3 paperback
Parks Pat Mysteries 1-3 paperback
Looking for a police procedural set in picturesque Canada? Let Award-winning and Bestselling Author P.D. Workman take you to her favourite Calgary parks, as Métis detective Margie Patenaude investigates a murder in this fast-paced new series.
Detective “Parks” Pat — Margie Patenaude — is a new Calgary homicide detective. Being Métis and a single mom, she has a few things on her plate. Working on a spate of murders in Calgary and area parks earns Margie her nickname.
These short mysteries are just right for those days when you could use a break from your busy life. Take a walk in a Calgary park with Parks Pat.
Out With the Sunset
There’s nothing like jumping straight into the deep end.
Margie Patenaude is new in town and wasn’t expecting to get called to a murder scene on her daughter’s first day of school.
It’s an ugly murder in a beautiful setting. How can Calgary’s park-goers feel safe with a murderer still on the streets—or pathways? Margie and the team are on the case while at the same time she and her daughter try to acclimatize to the new city.
If she wants her coworkers to believe that she’s not just a ‘diversity hire,’ she needs to show them what she’s made of and track this killer down.
Long Climb to the Top
Solving this case is going to be a long climb
Detective Pat is called out to another park homicide scene with disturbing similarities to the Fish Creek murder. Digging more deeply into the evidence reveals something even more worrisome. If her instincts are right, this case may hit a little too close to home.
Is she just imagining the connections? Or could her family be in real danger?
The clock is ticking as Detective Pat homes in on a killer.
Dark Water Under the Bridge
Parks Pat could be in deep water on this case!
Detective “Parks” Pat has made a name for herself in solving the Fish Creek and Glenbow Ranch murders, so she is the one they call when a body turns up in Ralph Klein Park. She would be happy for the confidence placed in her if it weren’t for the fact that the body is in the water.
Detective Pat hates the water. She’ll need to get over that if she is going to be able to investigate this case properly. Preferably before the rest of the department figures out her weakness. There is a killer out there to be caught. Somehow she’ll have to get past her block to find him.
Investigate this new series today!
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CHAPTER ONE
Mom, you’ve got to be kidding me! Are you serious?”
Margie winced at Christina’s complaint. Up until her phone ringer had shattered their quiet morning preparations, the day had been going well. Bright sunshine streamed in through the kitchen windows of the small house. The rich odor of brewing coffee filled the air. Christina had been blow-drying her long black hair, the hum of the dryer providing a soothing white-noise background as Margie prepared her breakfast and reviewed the day’s plans. Everything had been peaceful despite both of their ‘first-day’ anxieties.
“I know, honey. I didn’t plan this. You know I was going to take you to school today and help with your schedule and getting settled in. But…” She gave a dramatic shrug and grimace, “you know I can’t control when someone gets murdered.”
“Couldn’t someone else take this one? You promisedme.”
“They need me. Others in the department will be involved, but this is my first lead, and I can’t turn it down.”
“You could.”
Margie took a deep breath in. Her stomach felt hollow and heavy. She knew she had promised Christina that she would be there for her first day of school. It wasn’t fair to expect her to do everything by herself while Margie went off to a murder scene. She was brand new in the Calgary homicide department, and her coworkers would be watching to see how she took on her first case—watching for her to make a mistake. To see whether she was competent, or was just a ‘diversity hire’ for a department that needed Indigenous representation on the team.
Christina was right, of course; she could turn it down and ask them to make someone else the primary. But what message would that send to the rest of her team about her commitment and ability to handle both her personal life and the rigors of the job?
“Maybe you could start tomorrow instead,” Margie suggested. “I could call the school and let them know that you won’t be starting today, but you’ll be there tomorrow.”
“No way!” Christina’s response was immediate and emphatic. “I’m starting the same day as everyone else. It’s bad enough that I’m the new girl; I’m not going to have everybody looking at me because I didn’t start the same day as everyone else. Like I’ve got some kind of… privilege.”
Like Margie’s, Christina’s black hair, bronze skin, and facial features showed her Cree heritage clearly. Neither one would ever be mistaken for white. But others often saw Indigenous people as lazy, looking for a handout, or expecting compensation for what had happened to them over the generations. Christina wouldn’t want to be branded as one of those Indians.
“Well, those are the only two options.” Margie looked at her watch. “I need to get to the scene. You can go today and get your guidance counselor to help you get everything set up, or you can wait until tomorrow when I can go with you.”
Christina slammed the door to the bathroom and started the water running so that Margie couldn’t talk to her.
Margie swept her long hair back with both hands and divided it into sections. She deftly braided it and pinned it up into a bun so that it would be neat and out of the way. The coffee machine finished brewing and she poured her coffee into a travel mug.
After making sure she had everything else she would need, including Staff Sergeant MacDonald’s directions to get to the site, she knocked on the bathroom door. “I’m going now. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Christina snapped. What she said after that wasn’t as easy to make out, but it was something along the lines of “Not that you’d care.”
Margie sighed. “Love you, sweetie. I’ll see you after school. Give me a call if I’m not home and let me know how your day went.”
“You’re really going to go take this case and make me go to a new school all by myself?”
“I’m sorry. I can’t do anything about it.”
Christina slammed something down on the bathroom counter. Margie knew there wasn’t anything else she could do or say to smooth things over. Christina was old enough that she could manage. She wasn’t a shy or anxious child. She was a strong young woman. She would be able to navigate a new school. Margie had actually been surprised that Christina had wanted her to be there. Usually, she was embarrassed by her mother and didn’t want her anywhere close to her teenager peers.
“Goodbye. Love you.”
There was no answer from her daughter.
P.D. (Pamela) Workman is a USA Today Bestselling author, winner of several awards from Library Services for Youth in Custody and the InD’tale Magazine’s Crowned Heart award, and has published over 100 mystery/suspense/thriller and young adult books.
Workman loves writing about the underdog. She has been praised for her realistic details, deep characterization, and sensitive handling of the serious social issues that appear in her stories, from light cozy mysteries to darker, grittier young adult and mystery/suspense books.
P. D. Workman does not shy from probing the deep psychological scars of childhood trauma, mental illness, and addiction. Also characteristic of this author, these extremely sensitive issues are explored with extensive empathy, described with incredible clarity, and portrayed with profound insight.
—Kim, Goodreads reviewer