It has been a few years since I read my last Fiona Barton book, but a quick glance through my review of it reminded me how much I enjoyed her writing, and her latest release Local Gone Missing is another winner. This is more of a police procedural than a thriller, and reading about the…
I enjoy a good Linwood Barclay book – this Canadian journalist turned novelist writes suspense incredibly well and he’s got a biting sense of humour that sparingly shines through the darkest of plots. His latest book Take Your Breath Away was just released a few months ago, and I brought it up to my cottage,…
I pay for an online subscription to Canada’s major newspaper, The Globe and Mail, mainly to access their book review section. Occasionally I’ll glance at their bestseller lists just so I can get a sense of what most folks are reading, and like many Canadians and Americans, I tend to see Colleen Hoover‘s name pop…
I distinctly remember picking this book out from a long list of pitches sent by a publisher, simply because the premise hooked me immediately; an old woman picks up the phone, hears one word, and shoots dead the husband she’s been married to for decades before fleeing their home. Now that’s a beginning to remember!…
I did not request this book, I did not pick it out of a publisher’s catalogue. Instead, it landed on my doorstep, and when I realized it was all about video games and the people who make them, I was…less than enthusiastic. Still, its focus fit the theme of a CBC segment I was recording…
Yet another book that takes place on a boat, The Rebellious Tide by Eddy Boudel Tan is a more serious, character-driven novel that tackles the class divide that is so painfully obvious on a cruise ship. Much like the book The Swells that I read a few weeks ago, the exploitation of those who work…
These past few weeks I’ve been checking my news feed every few hours, hoping for a break in the case of missing author Dawn Dumont and her son, and I’m happy to report she has been found safe with her son, in the U.S. There will be some difficult times ahead for them, as it…
The subtitle of Sharon Butala’s latest book This Strange Visible Air is: Essays on Aging and the Writing Life. Maybe it’s because I’m keenly aware that my forties are now in my sights, or maybe it’s because I recently discovered I may have trouble digesting gluten and the thought of a life stretched out before…
I save all my ‘summerish’ books for reading in July and August, and because The Swells by Will Aitken takes places on a boat, I figured it would be a great novel to dive into while at my family cottage. At first glance I thought this book would make for great dockside reading considering the…
While on vacation I indulged by reading my favourite author of all time, David Sedaris. I picked up this quirky little collection of animal-themed stories Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk at the Calgary Reads book sale a few months ago, and because this is a departure from his typical books of essays, I was excited to read…
I’m finding it harder and harder these days to find a simple mystery among the new books released each month. So many big publishers seem to be churning out a never-ending barrage of thrillers, yet the good ol’ fashioned mystery seems to be falling out of style. This is where small presses like Second Story…
I’m in the midst of preparing my ‘hot summer fiction’ segment for CBC Calgary, and I knew as soon as I read the first review of Every Summer After by Carley Fortune that I’d have to include this novel in my annual round-up. Canadians are buzzing about this one as it’s a first-time author (but…
