One way to keep a series from going stale is to vary the narrative perspective. So Children of the Morning, the fifth book featuring smart-aleck Halifax lawyer Monty Collins and his best friend (and frequent sidekick) Father Brennan Burke, gets a welcome narrative infusion in the form of Monty’s nine-year-old daughter Normie. The story prominently features Normie’s diary, “where I kept all my notes, day after day,” and the “second sight” the girl is purported to have inherited from her grandmother.

In alternating voices, Monty and Normie narrate a troubling series of events involving Beau Delaney, a criminal defence attorney so touted for his ability (and for fathering a multitude of children) that there is a television movie based on his exploits. Now he’s the one on trial for allegedly pushing his wife, Peggy, down the stairs of their home.

Both Monty and Normie must contend with all manner of unsettling revelations, ranging from surprise trial witnesses, a brewing custody (and paternity) battle over Normie’s new baby brother, and Normie’s visions, which may have their roots in a mystery several decades old. Emery paints a poignant portrait of a girl burdened by information she was never meant to have, and of a tormented man who, at the most critical juncture, realizes that mounting a proper defence requires fumbling around in some very dark corners. When the truth finally inches closer, Monty realizes that it may be too late for redemption or closure.