Synopsis: Bottom Bracket is a great little murder mystery novel set in modern day downtown Toronto. The book centres around main character Abby, an independent female bicycle messenger from a family with a history of activism, namely preventing low income housing from being turned over to corporate-built condominiums. Abby chooses to ignore the risks and decides to help a young woman caught in the middle of a drugs-turf war after she witnesses the killing of a small-time dealer in the notorious Kensington Market area of the city. Not knowing who to trust among her friends, the relevant business people or the police, Abby sets out to solve the crime while at the same time saving the underdog witness from a villain-ridden life of exploitation and addiction, all the time trying to maintain her own tenuous hold on employment and meagre income. With a rush climax and surprise twist ending, Bottom Bracket is a nifty look at both the universal issue of the displacement of the disenfranchised from affordable housing, and an adept exploration of the intriguing lifestyle of the working bike courier in the big city.
Comment: A realistic portrayal of the nature of the urban bike messenger in extraordinary circumstances. Accurate discussion of the personality type, the nature of the job and the valued role of the bicycle in the lifestyle. Great descriptions of daily existence on the road and of the geography of Toronto. Touches on all the requisite topics to be believable, yet treats them in a manner that is still suitable for youth reading. Recommended and interesting to anyone wanting to know more about those folks you see zipping in and out of traffic everyday: why do they do it and where do they go after the work is done?
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