Enjoyable listen

Interesting detective fiction. Hope to see the other books from this series on Audible soon.

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A little slow to start

Hang in, once the story gets going, it's worth it. I like how it all tied together at the end.

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Does it get any better than this?!

5 Stars all the way! What a page turner. This the third book written by Brenda Chapman that I have read ( er and not in sequence) Love the character development and the references to local eateries and neighbourhoods. Was also impressed with the gratitude and support expressed by the author in the acknowledgments. Brenda’s a true artist and gentle woman . Bravo

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Oh wow, did I ever enjoy this book!

This is the second Stonechild and Rouleau book that I've listened to. I loved the first and this is even better. A must-listen if you are a fan of detective stories, even more so if you live in Ontario. And I have to applaud Michelle St. John's narration once again. I hope other titles from the series will eventually become available as audiobooks. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to enjoying print versions of S & R.

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page turner (even though I am listening)

Live in Ottawa so delighted to discover this author. Enjoyed the first and second novel, the second even more. Like how two separate investigations intersect and how the author develops her characters. Sometimes I wish the narrator made more distinction between characters dialogue but generally enjoy her narration. Disappointed that only the first two books in the series about Rouleau and Stonechild are on Audible. Was looking forward to listening to them all.

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Solid Procedural

My rating is doubtless influenced by familiarity with the setting (Kingston, Ontario). I have never actually visited that community, but Brenda Chapman's descriptions are so Canadian, that it's as though this story took place in my home town ('Blue Jays' games on the TV in the background; discussions at Tim Hortons; suspects smoking 'Player's Light' cigarettes; etc.)
That said, this set of crimes could have happened anywhere in the Western world and been interesting. Chapman puts together a captivating investigation into (simultaneously) the violent murder of a volunteer at Queens University's Distress Call-in Center and a community rape case with a revenge killing.
To be honest, the author continues to struggle with finding a balance between plot advancement and character-development, but this Kayla Stonechild/Jacques Rouleau case flows much better than the first installment in the series (and includes more interesting suspects). Admittedly, I was able to guess the killer fairly early and there are some genuine deficiencies in the execution.. but the plot is sinuous, well-planned (the plotlines come together nicely), and loaded with Red Herrings.

Michelle St John similarly turns in an improved performance (relative to Book One of the Stonechild/Rouleau series). She still inhales too noticeably and ignores any attempt at "voice-acting" (every character sounds the same) - but there is a little more emotiveness to her reading tone. Despite the improvements, however, this is still overall a criminally lacklustre effort that lets the story down.

Altogether, 'Butterfly Kills' merits 7 stars out of 10. You don't need to read the first book in the series before this one - this episode is more focussed on the case itself - but your appreciation of the strengths of the audiobook will be improved if you do.

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