Heart of the City is the fifth novel in Robert Rotenberg's mystery series set in Toronto and featuring Homicide Detective Ari Greene. I love this series, and if you aren't familiar with it, you should start with the first book, Old City Hall. Like all good series, the characters and their relationships evolve and develop and if you start on book five, it will ruin many a plot twist.
So why do I love this series? I can sum it up in one word: authenticity. Rotenberg is a criminal lawyer, and he brings a depth of understanding of the Canadian legal system, police procedure, and court process to his novels. His books cannot be strictly described as police procedurals since often the focus is less on what has led to a suspect's arrest and more on the actual trial. I once spoke with a Crown Attorney, who told me how a murder trial can be all consuming and leave one drained, and that is exactly what Rotenberg portrays: that tight claustrophobic world from the inside. He reveals process and procedure and legal strategy, but in such a way that it never feels like you accidentally stumbled into a dry criminal law seminar at Osgoode Hall.
The other reason I love this series is how he captures the essence of Toronto. As a former resident, I feel transported back to the city. Every detail he offers up, from the gargoyles on Old City Hall to the decor of the local Tim Horton's, rings true. He has a wonderful eye for detail and explores every corner of the city: its diversity and dark alleys, as well as its dreams and obsessions. And in Heart of the City, he dives into one of Toronto's biggest obsessions--real estate development.
At the end of the previous novel, Ari Greene had left the police services and moved to England for a year, but now he's back in the city and working in construction. Greene is clearly not meant to live the simple life of a labourer, for at the end of his first week on the job he discovers a dead body on the construction site. The victim is Livingston Fox, the boy wonder developer who is transforming the skyline of Toronto. Along the way Fox has accumulated a broad range of enemies, including activists who are protesting his most recent development in the iconic Kensington Market neighbourhood, fellow developers who may want to take over some of his projects, and dissatisfied clients and business associates who are suing him for various reasons. Toss in a bitter ex-girlfriend and slightly daft parents, and you have an intriguing range of potential suspects. Although Greene claims he wants to turn away from his former life, he cannot help but insert himself into the investigation.
As in all his novels, Rotenberg not only presents a satisfying murder mystery, but also delves into Toronto's larger issues: the rapid development and foreign investment that is making it unaffordable for many to live in the city; the strong NIMBYist tendencies as traditional neighbourhoods come under threat; and the rise of social media journalism and its uncomfortable relationship with traditional media.
I would highly recommend the whole series.
Four smileys out of five: 😀😀😀😀
Darn, you've added to my book list again. How do I keep up? How do I remember to get it? Darn, aging.
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