The Halifax Incident

It is 1959 and the Canadian Navy is at the forefront in the area of anti-submarine warfare systems research and development. The RCMP has received information from the FBI in the States, warning of a possible Soviet plan to send agents to the port city to steal whatever they can get.

The security in Halifax is run almost entirely by the navy. The RCMP decides to send their own man down to assess the effectiveness of their system and to try and root out the Soviet agents along with exposing any contacts within the service that may be cooperating or otherwise, assisting them. That man is Inspector Jesse Thompson of their intelligence section.

Thompson, who is just back from an assignment in the Northwest Territories and the DEW Line network is not overly happy about the assignment. He was expecting a well deserved week's vacation with the love of his life, not another mission, particularly down in Atlantic Canada.

When he arrives he quickly learns that security, as such, seems sketchy at best and is run by a British naval officer, Jules Swanson, but on closer examination he sees that it is much more comprehensive. Over the course of a week, he uncovers several people working for the navy who are also working for the Soviets and soon gets a line on the agents sent here. Everything is resolving itself nicely until the day Pavlo Palyvoda arrives.

Editorial Review

Nancy M. Bell

5 Stars

Doucette has embarked on a new series now that John Robichaud, of the Detective John Robichaud Mysteries, has retired. Matt Murphy is now the detective who is embroiled in espionage and the underbelly of post war Halifax.  Fans of the Robichaud series will be happy to see old friend Pete Duncan is still on the job and willing to jump into a situation that requires his co-operation with the Navy and Naval Intelligence. Doucette does his usual bang-up job of weaving a tale of danger, deception and national security into a engaging and entertaining story.