Fifth Son, by Barbara Fradkin, opens with the discovery of the body of a man, by his clothing and physical state a homeless person, at the foot of a crumbled disused church in a small farming village in Ontario, not far from Ottawa. As part of an expansion of the duties of the Ottawa Police, Inspector Michael Green is called out to the scene, and right away he finds anomalies that are difficult to reconcile with the prevailing theory of suicide; for example, the man's body is facing the wrong way. As he investigates, he starts to uncover the past of a tragic family in the area, and crimes long thought past and buried. But can he determine the culprit before said person strikes again?.... This is the fourth in Barbara Fradkin's Inspector Green series, and unusually takes place mostly outside of the city of Ottawa. There is an emphasis on the mindsets of rural people as contrasted with that of the extremely urban Green, and we also learn a bit more about Green's relationships, particularly with his wife and with his former partner, Sergeant Sullivan, who has yet again been passed over for promotion. I very much enjoy this series, not least because the author, a trained psychologist, takes the time to delve into the mental states of her characters; this story is almost as much a psychological novel as it is crime fiction. I also find that it's not absolutely necessary to have read the previous books in the series to enjoy any given novel in it, although as always once one starts to read and enjoy the series, the pleasure of reading is enhanced by having the complete picture. Recommended. ( )