Cold Mourning by Brenda Chapman

 Kala Stonechild is the newest member of the Ottowa specialized crime unit.   She has come to Ottowa escaping an uncomfortable situation, and wanting to find a long lost cousin whom she fears is in trouble.  She knows she will have a tough time gaining respect of the other investigators as both a woman and a member of First Nations. A grisly death over the Christmas holidays gives both her, and the new crime unit a chance to prove themselves. 

I read this book because it was available and I was waiting for other holds.  It had good reviews and Chapman won awards with it as a new author.  In the end, however, it turned out to be super gritty.  There are descriptions of no less than three brutal rape situations.  I don't know why I kept reading.  I guess I hoped that if it had good reviews, the ending would be amazing and worth slogging through the smut. The plotting was good and the characterizations complex and authentic.  But in the end it wasn't worth reading.  I can't really recommend it to anyone unless you are super immuned to that kind of content. (2014, 392 p.)