The Whisper of Legends is the latest instalment in Ottawa writer Barbara Fradkin’s long-running detective series featuring Inspector Michael Green. The novel finds Green’s daughter, Hannah, and her new boyfriend vacationing with friends in the wilds of the Northwest Territories. Green tries to surreptitiously check up on her, only to discover that, contrary to what she told him, Hannah has not booked with a tour company. When her abandoned canoe is found, Green realizes that his daughter is missing within a vast wilderness of mountains, glaciers, canyons, and waterfalls.

Hailing from Ottawa’s inner city, Green views the outdoors as inexplicable and alien. Barely able to swim and afraid of heights, Green will find himself tested in ways he hadn’t thought possible.

Despite Hannah’s predicament, it’s hard at times for the reader to get behind Green. Stymied by RCMP bureaucracy and common-sense warnings from locals about the dangers of the wild, he often comes across as abrasive and ignorant. Green turns a corner, however, when one of Hannah’s group is found dead. The policeman insists on treating the site as a crime scene, and finds his bearings by showing what a formidable investigator he can be.

The novel’s title refers to local lore about a missing prospector rumoured to have been murdered for his claim. Fradkin, a past winner of the Arthur Ellis Award, peppers her story with letters and journal entries from the prospector and his wife, and it becomes clear that the fabled mining claim was the true goal of Hannah’s expedition. Fradkin deftly captures the spirit of adventure in the North, and incorporates well-integrated commentary about the area’s natural resources and environmental issues.

By taking Green out of Ottawa, Fradkin also provides a fresh perspective for the series and its protagonist, while offering an accessible and enjoyable story that won’t disappoint long-time fans or new readers.