“First I will destroy you, then I will hurt the ones you love, then you’ll beg me for mercy.” 
 
Does opium have an expiration date? Jade Thyme must delve into her mother’s free-spirited past if she wants to prove her father was murdered and hadn’t died from a fentanyl overdose.
 
Legislative Clerk Adam Younghusband drops on Jade’s desk damning evidence regarding the island’s once feared drug dealer, Oscar Cooper. Immediately Jade and Sage are targets. They hide from an arsonist determined to destroy them.  Is it all connected? 1968 clashes with the present as Jade uncovers a deadly secret while trying to stay one step ahead of a murderer hellbent on revenge. 

Debra Purdy Kong review

This second installment in the Jade and Sage series picks up Jade’s story six months later. She’s just opened her own law firm when she learns that her father’s died of an overdose. Not known to be a drug user, she and her sister Sage dig a little deeper. Their efforts only add to troubling questions with disturbing consequences and a whole lot of danger.

This fascinating, intricately woven plot involves stories from two time periods. The second involves their deceased mother, Genie, when she was a young woman and in love with a gangster named Oscar. It’s a poignant story showing how the trauma of earlier generations often has a long-lasting effort on others.

As with the first book, the Victoria setting is beautifully described and we also see a little of Vancouver in this book. Dealer’s Child is an engrossing page-turner and thoroughly enjoyable read. Highly recommended.