The Dogs of Winter

July 2020, Toronto--The Dogs of Winter is Ann Lambert's sequel to The Birds That Stay, acclaimed by The Globe and Mail as one of "Ten Thrillers That Will Keep You on the Edge of Your Seat Until Summertime" and included on Book Riot's list of "Highly Anticipated Crime Novels." Lambert's writing has been likened to Louise Penny, and Ann Cleeves says of this new instalment: “The Dogs of Winter is as much an exploration of a city and its communities as a traditional crime novel. It's about power and powerlessness in the dead of winter. And more than that, it's a rollicking good read.” 

This second book in Ann Lambert's Russell and Leduc mystery series sees Detective Inspector Roméo Leduc and Professor Marie Russell together again. The book begins as a howling snowstorm envelops the city of Montreal, and the body of a young woman is discovered in its wake. The only clue to her identity: a photograph in her pocket with the scribbled phone number of Detective Roméo Leduc. Meanwhile, Marie Russell is trying to help one of her students who has been the victim of a terrible assault. In both cases, Roméo and Marie find that achieving justice may be impossible in a society blind to inequality, while a killer is still on the loose, stalking the most vulnerable on Montreal's frigid streets.

The Birds That Stay was shortlisted for the QWF's First Book Prize. The Montreal Review of Books praised the book's "complex characters...part of what makes the book so engaging,” and The Montreal Gazette called it "fully engaged with life." Fans of the first book will be just as engaged with this latest instalment, which again mixes page-turning suspense with deeper themes of social justice.