Too Close For Comfort by Mike Martin

Looking for a delicious mystery with a slice of Canadiana? Mike Martin’s Too Close for Comfort delivers on so many counts. Fifteenth in the Sgt. Windflower series, this book can be read as a stand-alone. 

Follow Winston Windflower, acting inspector for the RCMP, as he investigates local house fires and the discovery of a body in the quaint coastal town of Grand Bank, NFLD. Beautiful scenery and the history of the town and nearby Saint Pierre and Miquelon form the perfect backdrop for this Canadian murder mystery. I loved this setting as well as the plot that revolves around an actual unresolved gold heist from the Toronto airport. Factual information and fiction blend well together in Too Close for Comfort.

Although the storyline deals with some heavy topics, such as the problems in society (drugs, theft, mental illness), Martin manages to create a lighter tone with scenes of domestic bliss. The delightful vision of Windflower’s home life with his wife and two little girls, their B&B, and their pets, adds a touch of coziness to the mystery to be solved. Added to that charm is Windflower’s interactions with his colleagues, friends, and townspeople, who all work together to keep their community safe. Windflower’s personal struggle of having to deal with death and danger, his attempts to locate his missing cat, Molly, and his daily walks with his dog, Lady, make him a down-to-earth character, not just an RCMP inspector. 

Martin’s smooth-flowing prose is easy to read, and his straightforward style of storytelling puts the reader into the centre of the action. Colloquial language fits the characters of Grand Bank, making them believable. Literary quotes and classical music add to the flavour of Windflower’s world. His observance of smudging and dream weaving provide the reader with a glimpse of Cree culture. Food figures prominently in the daily life of the Mountie, lending a sense of comfort to his stressful position where danger is ‘too close for comfort’.

Delightfully cozy and mixed with police procedures, Too Close For Comfort immerses the reader in the geography, culture, and history that is Canada’s east coast.