The Opposite of Dark: A Casey Holland Mystery by Debra Purdy Kong

Published by Touchwood Editions

What is a daughter to do when 3 years after she has buried her father she is presented with another body identified as her father? The first thing to come to mind of course, is that he is already dead and can't be dead again. Or can he? If it wasn't such a horrifying thought, it would be almost comical. There are so many things one doesn't think of in a case such as this. In particular, the funeral home where her father was buried the first time is adamant that he is still in plot 352, so how do they handle this second burial? Who passed for her father to all who viewed the body in the casket, including his daughter Casey, to allow them to believe they were looking at one Marcus Adam Holland Which is the corpse of the real Marcus? If that weren't enough, how could her father possibly have a home in West Vancouver, if he was dead, and why, if he was in hiding, would he choose to be so near and yet not contact his daughter or his fiancé Rhonda? They were just finally getting on with their lives from his first death and now he's died again, or so it would seem. What a great plot, and I don't mean burial plot. Debra Purdy Kong has outdone herself.

The lives of the human race consist of so many secrets, I sometimes feel we could be living in two dimensions and not even know it. Casey works security for the Transit Service in Vancouver, BC, and is no stranger to awareness of her surroundings and netting several suspects for various crimes. She decides if she is ever to sort this dilemma out, she will have to go to Europe, where her Dad "died" the first time, and try to learn what he was doing there. She knows she is being followed most of the time, and that someone is looking for something, but she doesn't know who or what. She only knows she must try to find out the truth. What she does learn is that there are many people looking for that something. What was her father involved in? Was he importing and/or exporting illegal or dangerous goods? She is shocked when she finds out just before leaving home that her estranged mother is somehow involved in whatever her father was doing.

This is truly a fast-moving action-packed thriller with many twist and turns, many suspects, and many secrets and lies. Trust is something that is very slippery, hard to determine and equally hard to hold on to. Trust and misguided trust play a major role in this book. Not only is Casey's life in jeopardy, but her friends are as well, even the police trying to protect her. I would have read this book at one sitting were I able to, I was so involved in the story. I am happy to learn that we will be seeing more of Casey in future books and can hardly wait! Great story with strong plot!