Book description
When environmental warrior Ira Connaught turns up hanging by the neck
from an ancient rainforest cedar overlooking the wasteland of a
clear-cut on Clayoquot Sound, everyone seems content to declare his
death a suicide. The tree spiker won't be missed by loggers, Tofino's
RCMP detachment, or by many environmentalists who applauded his goals
but condemned his tactics.
For reluctant community coroner Elias McCann, Ira's death looks
increasingly like a murder. Elias is no forensic pathologist, no
doctor. A quirk in BC law enables anyone of good community standing to
be appointed local coroner. But RCMP Sergeant Gary Danchuk does not
believe that Elias meets even the quirk in the law. Danchuk remains
convinced - against all evidence - that McCann murdered his wife,
Merriam, two years earlier in order to clear the way for his love
affair with Vhanna Chan.
Hands Like Clouds is the first in a series of mysteries
revolving around the troubled life of Elias McCann, son of a
remittance man and local coroner.
[Zeuhlkes] protagonist in
Hands like Clouds
is one of the most original Ive ever encountered in crime fiction...
[This is] one of the better mysteries to come out of British Columbia,
or Canada, in many years.
Mark Zuehlke lives and writes on
Vancouver Island. This is the third book in the Elias McCann Mystery
series. The first, Hands Like Clouds, was shortlisted for the
Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. It was followed by Carry
Tiger to Mountain. Zuehlke's other books include Juno Beach
-- Canada's D-Day Victory and Scoundrels, Dreamers, and
Second Sons.
