Summer of Death — Wayne Arthurson

Book three of the prize-winning Leo Desroches series opens during a mosquito-infested summer in Edmonton with what seems to be a typical overdose of a young Native male in the inner city. Some white rocks spill out of the body bag. They are not crack cocaine, as Leo first thinks, but rough diamonds. The victime was not a drug user, but a worker at one of the new diamond mines above the Arctic Circle. Leo is led to investigate a smuggling ring and a deadly, billion dollar conflict between Native groups, rival gangs, and international mining conglomerates.