The Ottawa Westender, October 26, 2001

by Rose Cohoe, Westender Staff

Maggie Wheeler weaves past and present into a mystery set in the “Lost Villages” of the St. Lawrence Seaway.

She tells the story through the eyes of Farran Mackenzie, a university professor who is trying to find out about her parents’ past. Her Mother has recently died holding a newspaper clipping identifying a man whose body had been recently discovered during a drought. The body had been buried in the foundation of a house covered by the flooding which created the St. Lawrence.

Farran is shocked to discover it is the father she never knew. Her Mother had never talked about her past so Farran investigates this as well as why her father died.

Farran’s parents grew up in Aultsville, one of six towns flooded over 40 years ago to create the St. Lawrence Seaway. Their tale is told against the changes that came during the creation of the Seaway. Along with their friends and neighbors, they were among 6,500 people who were moved when over 10,000 hectares of land were flooded. A few homes were moved to the newly created towns of Ingleside and Long Sault, or to Upper Canada Village, a recreation of a 19th century town that still attracts visitors to the St. Lawrence valley. The homes that were not moved were burnt along with businesses, churches and all other buildings.

I could feel the reactions of the villagers as they dealt with Ontario Hydro over the price of their homes, coped with being moved and watched their homes destroyed. They reacted both in fear and excitement. This was a part of Ontario history that I did not know and I found it compelling.

In the present, Farran not only discovers details about her parents but also discovers that someone is willing to murder again to keep secrets of the past. People who say they will talk to Farran are murdered or die suddenly. Farran worries she might be next. 

The mystery takes a back seat to the activities in the past. The murderer became obvious half way through but the history of the lost villages along with how people feel about the creation of the Seaway 40 years later carries the book. The reader visits Upper Canada Village and the Lost Villages Museum along with Farran.

“A Violent End” brings the reader another view of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is not just a shipping route. It was six villages, many farms and, most of all, people who lost their homes, way of life and their dreams.

Maggie Wheeler has made her characters and situation come alive as they wait for their homes and businesses to be destroyed along with everything they know.

This is an interesting mix of history and present day mystery: a fascinating book about a vanished past.

To order the book, call General Store Publishing at 1-800-465-6072. Or, pick it up in Chapters Pinecrest or Chapters Kanata.

Site last updated May 11, 2007. Copyright © 2001, 2007 Maggie Wheeler. All rights reserved.