All Pure Souls AUTHOR: John Brooke ISBN: 0921833806 240 PAGES $16.95 CDN $14.95 US SHORTLISTED FOR THE HUGH MACLENNAN QWF FICTION AWARD ABOUT THE BOOK: There’s a deadly August heatwave and Inspector Aliette Nouvelle is looking forward to her upcoming vacation. She’s been working hard, without much reward. Denied promotion to the coveted Commissaire’s post—which seemed practically guaranteed before the dubious Jacques Normand affair—she now finds herself working under the new acting Commissaire, Claude Néon, her former assistant. It’s hard not to be bitter. When Claude presents Aliette with the report on the murder of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike who had been the star attraction at the upscale brothel known as Mari Morgan’s, he assures her it’s an open-and-shut case. The prime suspect is already sitting in a cell awaiting questioning and psychiatric evaluation. But Aliette’s instincts tell her that this is not quite as simple as it appears. Claude doesn’t always agree with Aliette’s methods, but he has learned from first-hand experience to trust her instincts: she’s still the best cop in la brigade. He reluctantly hands over the case and Aliette embarks on an unsettling journey, the strangely uncooperative putes’ clues leading her to a sisterly cult and the ancient goddess who rules it. Check out John's website for more information: www.dwbcommunications.com/jbflabout.swf     Other Signature titles by John Brooke: The Voice of Aliette Nouvelle REVIEWS: "This is Brooke's second Aliette Nouvelle mystery. He has a great eye for detail and is a dab hand with dialogue. That, along with a strong plot, great setting and good characters, is everything anyone can ask for in a mystery. It's August, and Inspector Nouvelle has been passed over for promotion after the sensational Normand case (in The Voice of Aliette Nouvelle). In fact, the promotion goes to her assistant, Claude Neon. When he hands her the case of a dead prostitute, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike at a high-class brothel, he assures her that it's all in hand. The prime suspect is in jail, the evidence assembled; all she has to do is sign the papers. But nothing in this case is as its seems." –The Globe and Mail   "While Nouvelle's co-workers consider it an open and shut case, Brooke's protagonist suspects, correctly, that it is not as straightforward as it seems. Through twists and turns of a contrived plot involving a secret cult, a hallucinogenic potion and a houseful of sad, pathetic, lonely and disturbed women, Nouvelle proceeds with her investigation. The character of Nouvelle is intriguing and refreshingly unconventional. She is an intelligent and independent single woman, open and honest about her weaknesses and her desires. She seems to understand and accept the cost of putting her professional life before her personal life. Brooke is equally adept at depicting the eastern French setting in which the novel takes place. While he resides in Montreal, where he is well-known as a poet and short story writer, it is evident that he is intimately familiar with the streets and people of France. His explanations of the workings of the police and legal systems there are particularly engaging and necessary to a clear understanding of the narrative and of the career of Aliette Nouvelle." –The Winnipeg Free Press   "Brooke's dream-like style and powerful sensuality clash with the sordid reality of the lives of Marie Morgan's whores, creating a dissonance that draws us into the heart of the story. It is less about a criminal investigation than about the myths that we construct to mask life's grimmer truths, and though the prostitutes' secret, paganistic cult is perhpas fanciful, Brooke's message rings true." —The Montreal Gazette   "All Pure Souls is definitely not a dimestore detective novel. The writing is good and the dialogue is sharp…the point of the book seems to be less about solving the crime than figuring out what motivates the characters. William Brown writes —Montreal Review of Books