The Luck of the Mounted

A South Alberta blizzard surrounds the Mounted Police barracks as George Redmond returns to their warmth, where comrades clean their equipment and trade pointed jokes. Ralph S. Kendall opens this adventure novel with the sounds, clothing and routines of police life, from scarlet tunics and riding boots to arguments about the old days. Redmond's good humour and the older men's teasing give the opening a lively, conversational character.

Police business in a small community brings a different set of pressures. A prisoner leaves by train with an inspector and Redmond, while Slavin and Yorke prepare for an inquest. Nick Lee arrives with a detained vagrant, and the local justice, Mr. Gully, directs the next steps. These scenes place official duties alongside personal reactions and comic exchanges. Readers interested in Canadian police fiction will find a story attentive to barracks fellowship, local authority and the practical complications of an investigation.