Jane Doucet’s Blood Typed: A New Halifax Cozy Series

Jane Doucet’s Blood Typed, the author’s fourth novel but first mystery, appeared in print last month. This is a fun addition to Canadian crime fiction, with a focus on Halifax and, more generally, Nova Scotia settings, including the South Shore and scenic Mahone Bay as well as Wolfville, the home of Acadia University.

And oddly, this is the second book I’ve read this month that features a vintage typewriter as a murder weapon. People, please treat typewriters with the care and respect they deserve.

Val Jenkins writes for a local newspaper with dwindling sales and advertising revenue; for years, she’s been stuck on the arts and books pages, but she longs for the crime beat. A murder at the weekend festivities celebrating Nova Scotia’s biggest book prize may be the career opportunity she needs.

NOVA has a jaw-dropping (for Canadian book prizes) award of a cool 100K, and the shortlisted authors all long for the money, although they have varying degrees of need for it. A retired anesthesiologist in a home overlooking the water would like a hospital wing with her name on it; a university professor breaking into popular publishing with his first novel envisions a glittering future of celebrity and even easier access to young women. And the authors are not the only ones longing to snag the prize: a desperate editor needs her author to win, or she won’t be able to repay her bookie/loan shark aunt, who directs her sprawling criminal enterprise from the comfort of her luxurious retirement home.

Doucet has a gift for levity: although there are hints of violence, this is firmly in the cozy vein. Val’s journalism skills are less on display here than her capacity for snooping, and she gleans vital information by scrolling through a suspect’s texts when a phone is left unattended for a few minutes during an interview. The characters are drawn in fairly broad terms, and Doucet sprinkles in a bit of romantic tension, but the well-paced plot keeps things moving and the touches of humour generally work well.

Shifting between the points of view of so many characters means that Doucet has had to signal setting and character in each chapter heading, and in a few scenes we start with the point of view of one character before a shift to another, which can be a bit jarring.

A real strength is the portrayal of setting: I’m spending two weeks in Halifax, and it’s a lot of fun to match Doucet’s portrayals to local landmarks.

And speaking of local: Halifax has a thriving independent bookstore scene. I picked up a signed copy of Blood Typed at Bookmark, which does a terrific job of showcasing local authors.

I’m hoping for more of Val’s adventures.