After-Image: A Vicky Bauer Mystery

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A murder with no body . . . of mixed Native and white heritage, fiercely independent and a graduate student in film studies, Vicky Bauer is far from the perfect wife for a school teacher working on a Canadian Armed Forces Base in Europe. Vicky has had the occasional minor scrape with military authorities, as well as an on-again, off-again drinking problem. So when Vicky claims she has seen a woman murdered, and the corpse cannot be found, nobody believes her. Rather, they think she has imagined the whole episode -- especially that the killer wore an armed forces uniform. But Vicky begins to uncover a complex web of secrets, illegal activities and plausible motives for murder. Suspects include her own husband, seemingly a bit too protective of the racist son of their landlord. There is also the base doctor who likes to keep military &"dependants&" tranquillised; the soldier harbouring a career-destroying secret; and the investigating lieutenant, suspiciously eager to dismiss Vicky's claims. When drug dealing, political extremism and homophobia become parts of the puzzle, Vicky realises she is not simply a witness, but may be the next target.