I was unable to get into this book, which is odd since I really enjoyed the first two in the series.

This is the third book in the Amanda Doucette mystery series. Amanda is a passionate and adventurous aid worker who returns to Canada to recover from a traumatic event overseas which continues to haunt her
Set in the Georgian Bay area Amanda sets out on a scouting expedition for her group kayaking adventure in July. When trouble occurs. Chris is her Mountie boyfriend who risks his life and job to track her down after she goes missing. I felt really felt sorry for him as it seemed every time he tried to have some quality time with her she wanted to go off on the trail of something. Their relationshipis still getting off the ground and they are uncertain around each other. Kayleigh is her devoted dog and I loved how she was woven into the story.
A story with a compelling storyline containing exploitation of foreign workers, murder, money, a missing nanny and more. You will find dreams have the power to inspire and corrupt all in a setting where Conservation and wealth arent friends. This is the second book I have read by this author and look forward to more.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

I had really enjoyed “Trickster’s Lullaby” and was looking forward to reading this next Amanda Doucette mystery. Once again, we are in the beautiful Canadian wilderness, and once again Amanda is trying to organise a charity trip for people, whose life has been damaged – this time a kayaking expedition for a party of abused mothers and their young children (all city folk). A lovely idea, but probably a bit too ambitious. Goodness knows who would sign off on the health and safety protocols for such a trip. In any event, it does not go ahead during the time of the book.
Following Amanda’s traumatic experiences in Nigeria where she was unable to save children under her protection from Boko Harum, she has an obsessive need to save people, and a distrust of police and officialdom. Amanda is always full of good intentions, and lets nothing stand in the way of her mission to save. That includes the police, legality, friends’ livelihoods and safety. Basically, if you are in trouble, Amanda Doucette is someone you really want on your side. But be very, very wary of offering her friendship, as she sees friends as tools to be used. Her boyfriend, Chris, and her journalist friend and colleague, Matthew, are expected to drop everything to fit in with her needs. “Amanda had blown into his (Chris’s) life like a tornado, carving a swath of chaos and sweeping him helplessly along with her. She had the power to stop, but she didn’t. So maybe she didn’t give a damn”.
While out scouting for possible locations, Amanda and her local guide save a Filipino nanny from drowning after her boat sinks. Salvage number one. This simple rescue explodes into a convoluted tale of murder, revenge, abuse of foreign nationals and dysfunctional families. Loads more people obviously in need of saving. Some may be guilty of murder – but Amanda sees only victims.
While on the surface, Amanda seems to be a very admirable woman, she is also exceptionally selfish. Her way is always right, and no-one else’s feelings are taken into account. She actively meddles in police investigations: “There, nestled in the deep leaves, was a small, rectangular shape. She knew she should leave it for the cops, but curiosity got the better of her. Just a quick peek”, and withholds crucial evidence. The reader discovers most of the guilty parties, but the police do not. I became more and more annoyed with Amanda as the book went on, and can fully understand the police exasperation with her.
Actually, almost all the women in this book are selfish in one way or another, and I only found (some of) the men to be likeable. Rather unusual for a female writer.
The story is interesting and very readable, with multiple mis-directions and twists. But I felt that the character of Amanda lets it down. Four stars for the story – two for Amanda – so an average of three.

Amanda just keeps finding trouble. This time, she's in Georgian Bay (terrific setting) and stumbles into a murder and the topical issues of economic disparity and abuse of domestic workers. Along with her dog Kaylee, her friend Matthew, and, of course, her love interest Chris, she unravels the mysteries. As others have noted, Chris, an RCMP officer, is once again out of his jurisdiction but what the heck, it makes for an interesting read. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Don't worry if you haven't read the earlier books as Fradkin gives you enough background on Amanda and the others to get you going.

Amanda Doucette travels to Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada to scout a future kayak trip she is organizing for a group of disadvantaged families. A young tour guide joins her to map out the excursion. However, the journey is interrupted when they rescue a woman stranded on the bay. From that point, many storylines take over: the murder of a cottager, the disappearance of the tour guide, the arrival of Amanda's RCMP love interest, the missing rescued woman, the search parties to find several lost people, etc. The plot is sometimes too busy but moves at a quick pace. Many subjects are dealt with here: abused families, humanitarian workers, undocumented immigrants, drug abuse, lifestyle of the wealthy, abuse of domestic workers. All this in one of Canada's most beautiful settings. An enjoyable and interesting read. Thank you to Dundurn Press, Net Galley and Barbara Fradkin for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Murder, fear and death set against descriptions of exquisite wilderness in Georgian Bay Canada

Amanda Doucette, an adventurous humanitarian, was exploring wilderness kayaking trails for disadvantaged families from a rural Ontario community. George Gifford, a fourth-generation Georgian native, was the man who would assist her planning route.

While waiting for George, Amanda struck up a friendly conversation with Benson (Ben Humphries) one of the local holiday home owners. George’s son Ronny fetched her instead. Things go from bad to worse when her colleague could not join her and her new boyfriend Chris Tymko also phoned to say he could only arrive a day later.

Strange twists take place like the convoluted nooks and bays vividly described alongside the build-up of the complicated plot. It is not possible to read this book without concentrating. Ronny vanishes after they rescue a terrified young woman, Benson is found dead, and Amanda is stranded.

Fortunately for Amanda, Chris does arrive, and together they are somehow driven to investigate the strange deaths and disappearances of characters in the story. It is through their race to uncover a sinister plot that their budding romance grows but must face more difficulties.

The fact that this is a complicated story makes the intense anxious reading worthwhile.

BonnieK

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Barbara Fradkin has embroiled Amanda Doucette and her boyfriend RCMP officer Tymko is Prisoners of Hope.
Amanda has gone to Georgian Bay in Northern Ontario for a boating holiday; she leaves before her boyfriend arrives. Wrong decision. Her local tour guide abandons her and her dog on an island to take a fugitive female to shore. Drugs, murder, illegal immigrants and rich cottagers from Rosedale in Toronto intersect. Mayhem and murder spiral out of control as Amanda tries to figure out who are the good and bad guys. Read this excellent mystery.

Amanda Doucette is in Georgian Bay, Ontario scouting for a suitable location for her charity to hold its next wilderness adventure for marginalized families. But things go wrong from the start. Excursion guide George Gifford bails and sends his son Ronny in his place. Ronny insists on a short trip by kayak to a tiny deserted island where they end up rescuing a drowning woman. Ronny then takes off with the woman leaving Amanda stranded on the island without any means of communication. Amanda gets rescued by Janine Saint Claire, owner of one of the luxurious mansions in the area. Her doctor husband Benton has been found dead of a drug overdose and their Filipino nanny Danielle has gone missing. Then Ronny's body is found on one of the islands and another teenager almost dies of a drug overdose. Amanda's reporter friend Matthew Goderich and boyfriend Newfoundland RCMP Chris Tymko get involved in trying to find Danielle who is either an innocent victim or a desperate killer.

This was a thrilling read which contrasts the world of foreign domestic workers and the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Dundurn with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Title was archived before I could review it sadly. Guess I will have to buy it if I would like to read it. I am new to the Galley and was not aware of the fact that the archival date meant that I could not access the title anymore. Too bad

Thanks to #Netgalley #Bookcouture and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "Prisoners of Hope" by Barbara Fradkin. This the third book in the series featuring Amanda Doucette, Chris Tymko and Matthew Goderich and I have to say that the quality of the story has not suffered in the least.
Part social commentary part murder mystery - as has been the case in the previous two installments - this time Amanda is dealing with the murder of a prominent physician, presumably by his children't nanny, who has been held 'ransom' for her entree into Canada: she has to work for two years (and maybe more if the family forces the issue), but all she wants is to bring her husband and child to Canada from the Philippines (possibly at any cost).
Amanda Doucette is 'perils of Pauline' in reverse - she runs knowingly into the face of danger, based on her ideals and the need to protect the underdog.
This time, though, she is somewhat tempered by her burgeoning romance with RCMP Officer Tymko, who can sometimes rein her in (but mostly, unsuccessfully).
The characters are well drawn this time, and the outcome is somewhat believable. Although, nothing about the case is completely solved.
I have been reading Ms. Fradkin's other series - Detective Mike Green - and I enjoy both of her characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Dundurn for the eARC.
In this 3rd Amanda Doucette mystery, Amanda is a preparing for an upcoming kayak trip in Georgian Bay, the beautiful East Coast area that teems with islands, big and small. It's one of Canada's best vacation areas; many of Canada's (and American's) rich and famous own lavish mansions there. Amanda and Kaylee, her faithful dog, are meeting with a tour guide to scope out the area's best spots to kayak and camp. Her plan is to take disadvantaged mothers and their older children on the holiday of a lifetime. Unfortunately her plans take 2nd place to the plight of a nanny who is in the freezing water on the point of drowning. This incident leads to her meeting the Saint Clair family on Saint Clair Island where the nanny worked. When the eldest daughter's husband is killed, the nanny is the no. 1 suspect and Amanda just can't help herself; she has to find out whodunit!
Amanda's boyfriend is with her and being a policeman he is not too keen on her sometimes reckless actions when she gets involved in one of these 'adventures'. Somehow she gets him to do things that aren't quite kosher - he might even lose his job.
The descriptions of Georgian Bay are breathtaking. I enjoyed them immensely, especially because I spent time there. That's one of the great things about this series, one gets to visit beautiful Canadian areas, going on a mental adventure vacation. At times Amanda does things that make me cringe. It's like watching a creepy movie when the heroine goes into the basement and you go: no, no, don't! She's an interesting character, she still suffers from PTSD after her harrowing escape from a killing spree in Africa, but plucky enough to fight through the fear to accomplish her goals.
I can't wait for the next book, wonder where we'll go next!
Highly recommended.

A great premise and an equally intriguing cover. This is about an international aid worker traumatized by her experience of working in Northern Nigeria and the massacre she saw. This makes her the kind of person you’d want on your side however as she gets the job done, isn;t afraid to get her feet wet so to speak but she does sometimes take risks too.

She’s in the Georgian Bay area looking for a place to hold an adventure activity for the charity she works with which helps women and children in dangerous situations. A woman is found almost drowned in the stunning Bay area - in the background there are mansions and signs of wealth alongside the poorer ones. And then she gets taken to an island where the adventure day is to be held....and gets stranded there.

There’s a lot of present day themes involved in this novel such as social norms and expectations, abuse of women and children, the coexistence of rich and poor, and the hardships immigrants face when in a new country.

This is one in a series but I didn’t have any problems reading this as a standalone. Characters from the past do come back but then that’s just like in real life - you get to find out their backstories later on!

I really enjoyed this one with its unique setting and characters. More please!

Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Publishing for this exciting and suspenseful book. I was thrilled to receive it because in the past week I had read with enjoyment the previous two books in the Amanda Doucette series and was anxious to know the Canadian location for her next adventure. There was a high probability that this impetuous, independent woman would rush into some sort of danger resulting in her most devoted friends also being in peril through efforts to help.

Amanda was an international aid worker who witnessed a bloody massacre in Northern Nigeria, and is haunted by her experience where she was unable to save anyone. She is impulsive and takes huge risks, recklessly attempting to save people in danger. She does not always wait for the police or her devoted friends. She is always accompanied by Kaylee, her faithful dog and companion.

The author’s characters are well developed and believable. Her descriptive passages of the landscape, water and weather keeps me enthralled. This suspenseful mystery plot includes issues of social relevance tied into a fast paced plot. It involves the abuse and hardships that immigrants on temporary work permits experience and also the opioid crisis.

Amanda is in the Georgian Bay Area scouting for a suitable location for her charity to hold its next wilderness adventure. It will be for abused women and their children. Things go very wrong from the beginning. The guide who helped plan the excursion fails to show up and instead his son comes as a guide. He insists on a short trip by kayak to a tiny deserted island. They rescue a drowning woman from the water. He then takes off with the woman leaving Amanda stranded on the island without any means of communication.

Soon things get worse. There are a couple of murders, a teenager in hospital from a drug overdose, and a man injured by gunshot. Amanda senses that the woman who almost drowned is in danger but she has vanished.

The story shows the great disparity between the very wealthy people in their luxurious mansions along the Bay and their hired help. This book works very well as a stand-alone and is recommended. The other books in the series are also enjoyable and suspenseful. Matthew, a former war reporter, now involved in Amanda’s charity, and Chris, a Newfoundland RCMP officer are back to provide assistance.

I can’t wait to see where Amanda’s adventures will next take her and in what dangers she will find herself.