Death by Misadventure

Death by Misadventure is McKercher’s fourth novel and second murder mystery. Frances McFadden extends her sleuthing adventures with police and military personal introduced in Carbon Copy.

Carbon Copy

Ian McKercher’s third novel, Carbon Copy, represents a genre switch from historical fiction to mystery, although many of the characters from The Underling (2012) and The Incrementalist (2016) have starring roles.

The novel is set in February 1942, with Canada at war against Nazi tyranny and Ottawa mired in a vicious winter.

Frances McFadden, personal secretary to Graham Towers, Governor of the Bank of Canada, is hoping to get away on a much-deserved holiday when she is summoned before a military intelligence tribunal and accused of espionage and treason.

Someone appears to be trafficking in state secrets and is willing to resort to murder to cover the trail. It’s one thing for Frances to proclaim her innocence, it’s quite another thing to prove it.

Facing a fourteen-year prison term and possibly the death penalty, Frances joins RCMP Inspector Hollingsworth and Ottawa Police Sergeant Scobie in a race through a labyrinth of dead ends, dopplegängers and deceptions to solve the deadly puzzle.

The Incrementalist

The Incrementalist is the sequel to The Underling and follows the activities of Frances McFadden at the Bank of Canada into the first year of World War II.

This fusion of fact and fiction brings authenticity to a little known facet of Canadian history. In September, 1939, a modest country with limited resources or military tradition signs up for world war.
Frances McFadden finds herself propelled into the top echelon at the Bank of Canada as it faces the crushing weight of financing the conflict, following the famous tenet of Marcus Tullius Cicero “Endless money forms the sinews of war.”

Marginalized as a female, Frances struggles to support a desperate cause with the help of a curious raft of characters. Her love life is compromised by covert duties that the Official Secrets Act prevents her from sharing.

On June 20, 1940, as France falls, a warship arrives in Halifax harbour with three hundred million in French gold that the Bank of Canada has promised to safeguard. However, life gets in the way of best intentions.

Review

“Ian McKercher’s second novel, The Incrementalist, will not disappoint his fans. Written as a sequel to The Underling, many of the familiar characters are back.

World War II is all heady stuff for Ottawa High School of Commerce dropout Frances McFadden, who takes on the challenge with all the common sense and pluck we’ve come to know her for.

As the story progresses, the reader is struck with the haunting fear that Frances is on a path that few would willingly chose.”

Terry West, The Glebe Report

The Underling

Ottawa, Canada, 1934. Seventeen-year old France McFadden is plucked from the tedium of school routine and the control of a domineering mother to gather resources for the new Bank of Canada. Like many hard-working women of her generation, she comes to wield tremendous power without any of the trappings of authority. Many noble acts, some skinny-dipping.

Over the course of five years, Frances rises through the Bank hierarchy until, in late August 1939, she is entrusted with a mission to Warsaw, where the Polish gold reserves bait a rapacious neighbour. Beset by Nazi spies and double agents, Frances is called upon to draw deep from her own resources.

Speaking of The Underling…

“…a sly mixture of fact and fiction, with characters well-drawn, dialogue fun and lively, the plot full of surprises, wit, and wisdom.”
Allison Dingle

“Frances McFadden … a compelling protagonist in a fiction crafted to be totally believable.”
Pat Belyea

“I can’t believe that I’m enjoying a novel based on banking!”
Marilyn Blattel

“… a fine read. Who would guess that the founding of the Bank of Canada could be made lively and exciting? Frances is a memorable character. The reader roots for her the whole way…would make a great mini-series for TV.”
Brian Doyle

“I really like the novel’s sense of how work can be fulfilling – particularly socially fulfilling. Working people build friendships and social networks that make their lives richer. I also felt that the “coming of age of Canada” aspect of the novel was well done – clear and important but not overstated.”
Bob Neilson