Fatal Harvest — Brenda Chapman

04/22/2024Chapman’s gripping, emotionally resonant third Hunter and Tate mystery quickly grabs readers’ attention as detective Liam Hunter and true crime podcaster Ella Tate must race against time to catch a killer and save a boy’s life—unless, of course, the boy is the killer. Matt Clark is spending an unusually rainy summer on a farm with friends of his mother in a small village in Ottawa. His parents are working through a rough patch in their marriage. He's made a friend there in Jimmy, an awkward boy with a difficult home life of his own and a history of being bullied. One day, Matt finds that the couple he's been staying with has been murdered—and he flees when he hears someone coming back into the house. Cut to Hunter and Tate, dispatched to find a killer, the missing boy, and to face the possibility that Matt himself is a suspect.This strong series entry stands alone despite a healthy number of references to earlier books. But the present is urgent enough that new readers will be swept along, as the investigation introduces neighbors, friends, enemies, and observers in the small village and beyond, while also exploring the inner workings of the lives of the police working the case, as well as Ella—who one character notes is “like an antisocial turtle”—and her circle. Relationships are tested, toxic work conditions are exposed, and slowly, piece by piece, lies and betrayals get revealed. While the leads remain engaging, the touching dynamic between Matt and Jimmy stands as the most captivating part of the story, as these boys find friendship, trust, and acceptance in each other. Writing from the perspective of Jimmy, Chapman offers vital, humane insight into struggles at home, at school, and with other people's expectations of who and how he should be. In Matt, Jimmy finds security and worth—and he’ll risk everything to keep Matt safe. The richness of characterization, though, never comes at the expense of the assured pacing.Takeaway: Standout procedural of a cop and podcaster chasing a killer and a missing boy.Comparable Titles: Tami Hoag’s The Boy, John McMahon’s P.T. Marsh series.Production grades Cover: B+ Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: A Marketing copy: A-