For those intimately familiar with Canadian Publishing and its history, the name Anna Porter will likely ring a bell. She started a publishing house that was quite successful for awhile, Key Porter Books, which was then bought out by another publishing house, eventually ceasing operations in 2011. Porter has also written quite a few books…
As I continue to read and review self-help books in anticipation of my January radio segment for the CBC, next up is Dialed In, Do Your Best When it Matters Most by Dr. Dana Sinclair. This is a book that focuses on advice for those who want to perform better during high-pressure situations, and although…
Addiction is a popular topic these days, with no shortage of narratives, both fiction and non-fiction, detailing the rise of highly addictive drugs. The opioid crisis is one that most of us are familiar with now, and if you live in an urban area like I do, you’re likely used to seeing people suffering on…
Even though I don’t read many romance novels, I’m always up for one, especially a holiday-themed book. So when Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun landed on my doorstep I was excited to read it. I was also curious about it, as it’s the first queer romance I had ever read, but I’ve…
A trigger warning before I launch into this review; for those who have struggled with getting pregnant, give this novel a pass. Magpie by Elizabeth Day is a domestic thriller with a shocking plot twist, but it also offers an incredibly detailed and realistic accounting of infertility, and its affects on a relationship, and the…
Although I don’t consider myself a huge horror fan, I’ve been reading lots of it this past October, and I’ve now read the first and second in the Indian Lake Trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones. Don’t Fear the Reaper is the second in the series, returning to the site of the bloodbath from the first…
There’s been lots of hype around this latest book by Liz Nugent. I read her first novel a few years ago and found it sufficiently creepy, so I was happy to give Strange Sally Diamond a try when it was sent my way. A few books into their career I find many thriller writers really…
I was in need of a lighter story that I knew would whisk me away into a well-developed plot. Also: books about books!!! The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry is a work of historical fiction focusing on the mystery of a lost story and its connection to a lost girl, set…
I’ve read novels by both Nick Cutter and Andrew F. Sullivan in the past, so I had some reasonably high expectations of this work going into it. Nick Cutter is a well-known Canadian horror writer, also writing literary fiction under his real name, Craig Davidson. Sullivan has written gritty literary fiction in the past as…
I’ve read a few Catherine McKenzie novels so far; Please Join Us is her 13th book. She’s known for writing thrillers, none of them gory or violent, but definitely page-turners. I read this latest in approximately 24 hours – I was up at the cottage on vacation, it had a great premise with a protagonist…
Better known for her ‘Still’ series, Canadian author Amy Stuart has just released a new domestic thriller titled A Death at the Party, perfect for those looking for a fast-paced read that covers the usual tantalizing menu: affairs, long-held secrets among family, a hint of sinister periphery characters. But just because I’ve read a book…
A great big doorstop of a book, Homecoming by Kate Morton was a work of historical fiction I had to prepare myself for. Some people love the prospect of digging into a giant family saga such as this, but I was hesitant about the length. It’s one of those historical books that switches back and…
