Murder was once an odd topic for women to discuss much less to write about, but with the help of pioneers like Agatha Christie, the murder mystery has become a genre as popular with women as with men, and the primary focus of many a female writer.

Barbara Fradkin is one such author, whose Inspector Green series and Amanda Doucette series have earned her acclaim as well as a place in the authors group known as the Ladies’ Killing Circle.

Her recent novel The Trickster’s Lullaby takes place in Québec and explores the motivations of young people who are drawn to terrorism. The tale is a dark one not only because of its setting in a Canadian winter but its delving into the sort of mind control and unfortunate emotional challenges that turn good kids bad.

Brooding, not fast paced yet intense, The Trickster’s Lullaby is a story worth reading and the issue at its heart is worth contemplating.

Do tales about social ills attract or repel you?