MURDER IN THE YUKON: THE CASE AGAINST GEORGE O'BRIEN M. J. Malcolm. Saskatoon, Western Producer Prairie Books, c1982. 175pp, cloth, $16.95. ISBN 0-88833-096-0. Grades 9 and up. Reviewed by Gerri Young. Volume 11 Number 1. 1983 January. All the good things said by the publisher about Murder in the Yukon and the author are true. M.J. Malcolm is a gifted storyteller, and the story is compelling. While working in the RCMP crime lab in Regina, Malcolm became intrigued with this interesting case that includes everything one expects in a classic crime story: "the violent crime, the investigation, the apprehension of the suspect and the unbreakable chain of evidence which led, O'Brien to the gallows." On Christmas Day, 1899, three men left a roadhouse on the Yukon River on their way to a NWMP post. They never arrived, and their bodies had disappeared. A most intensive search and investigation soon began. Incredibly, meticulous examinations were carried out by the North West Mounted Police. Under the snow and in the ice, they found an accurate picture of a horrifying crime. A proper British NWMP officer, Alexander Pennycuick, and a daring American detective, Philip Maguire, who worked well together, share the limelight in the book. So complete were their investigations that when the bodies were found it almost seemed unnecessary. A well-written, fascinating story, and although an adult book, I am sure good readers in grade 9 and on would be interested. Gerri Young, Fort Nelson, BC.