Book review : All That Glitters - Mike Martin

All That Glitters is the thirteenth book in the series by Mike Martin featuring Winston Windflower and his life in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. (Click here to see my reviews of the other books in the series.) Up until now, as well as being a married father of two, Winston has been an officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but this book sees a new beginning for him as he starts a new job as a Community Safety Officer in his small town. As the book begins, he is about to start his first day in his new position and he is not at all sure how his role will develop. It turns out that nothing much changes at all though as he is swept into a new police case involving many of his friends and former colleagues.

Things begin at the guest house run by Winston and his wife, Sheila. A dead body is uncovered in one of the rooms and the victim is soon discovered to be involved with a diamond smuggling operation, having ingested a quantity of jewels. The lovely Dr Sanjay, fan of fine whiskey and chess games with Winston, is brought in to examine the body and ends up getting kidnapped by another group of diamond smugglers, keen to recover the gems. They want no police involvement in the exchange of jewels for Dr Sanjay so, obviously, Winston is the perfect choice.

Due to various departures and transfers at the RCMP, the newly promoted Corporal Eddie Tizzard is brought in on the case and works alongside Winston. It is lovely to catch up with him and his wife, Carrie, along with their growing son. Winston's own children, the cheeky Stella and Amelia Louise, are growing up too. Now aged six and three and a half, they love playing together and baking cookies with their mother Sheila, but they are also great at squabbling and fighting with each other. The numerous references to Winston's mealtimes and the moments that he spends with his family add another focus to the stories and frequently reminded me of the time when my own children were small.

While Winston's life is deviating from his career as a Mountie, his new professional horizons look equally exciting and unpredictable. Grand Bank is a lovely, charming small town with a close-knit community feel, but that doesn't stop it having its fair share of dangerous criminals and dodgy goings-on for Winston to help stamp out. I look forward to seeing where his new life takes him next.

star rating : 4.5/5

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ottawa Press and Publishing Mystery (19 May 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 260 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 199089609X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1990896095
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 1.65 x 22.86 cm

Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book in order to share my honest opinion.