I've enjoyed Mandel's books in the past, so added this one to my Christmas wish list. Mandel creates complex and memorable characters and unusual situations, and this book is true to that form. Based indirectly (but very closely) on the Bernie Madoff scheme, the unlikely central character is Vincent Smith, a young woman from Northern Vancouver Island... Continue Reading →
A Season for Spies, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2025
A banner year with two Lane Winslow stories! This one is a prequel of sorts, going back to Lane’s years during WWII. Here we read about her inaugural mission, where she of course goes above and beyond to thwart the Nazis and save the day, impressing some superiors and irritating others. I hope that there... Continue Reading →
Mindful of Murder, by Susan Juby. Pub 2022
I was drawn to this book on the recommendation of a friend, who knows the author. I was promised a light and engaging murder mystery, and this delivered. Set primarily at the Yatra Institute, a meditation centre and lodge on a remote island in BC, we follow Helen and her colleagues, all recent graduates of... Continue Reading →
The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields. Pub 1993
Like so many favourite books from the distant past, this is one I hadn’t read since the first time, so didn’t remember much of the story (and in fact was confusing it in my memory with The Stone Angel). Like with A Prayer for Owen Meany, I decided to read it again to refresh the... Continue Reading →
The Cost of a Hostage, by Iona Whishaw. Pub 2025
The latest in the Lane Winslow series, this time we find Lane and Darling in the wilds of Mexico seeking Darling’s kidnapped brother, while back home in Nelson the young police officers solve a local kidnapping, murder, and smuggling ring. I enjoyed this split story – I bit like A Match Made for Murder –... Continue Reading →
Fifteen Dogs, by André Alexis. Pub 2015
A friend suggested this to me, not really as a recommendation but just something she happened to be reading (which surprised me, as she's previously said she's not a fan of anthropomorphizing animals in stories). This turned out to be an enjoyable light-ish and short read, just the thing to truly cleanse the reading palate.... Continue Reading →
A Way to Be Happy, by Caroline Adderson. Pub 2024
This book was a birthday gift last year, from a good friend and colleague with whom I meet regularly for lunch and discussion. For our birthdays, we often exchange books, and I always find something new and interesting in these gifts. Short stories are a tricky space. The author must get the reader engaged early... Continue Reading →
Curiosities, by Anne Fleming. Pub 2024
This was a Christmas gift from my sister, who heard an interview with the author and thought it sounded interesting. She was oh-so right. This book was terrific – engaging, surprising, well-written, and lives up to its name. This is historical fiction at its finest, with a few kernels of real history enveloped in an... Continue Reading →
Neuromancer, by William Gibson. Pub 1984
This is one of those books: when I say I haven’t read it, people who have and loved it are SHOCKED. “How can you not? Oh, you must!” The latest was my brother, and so to enable a conversation with him about it, I finally read it. Neuromancer is revered in modern sci-fi circles as... Continue Reading →
The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters. Pub 2024
This book was recommended by the same friends that recommended Project Hail-Mary. Since that one was good, I dove into this one with enthusiasm. Like that previous recommendation, this one was also good. This lost-and-found family story begins with a Nova Scotian native family of berry pickers working in Maine. One random summer day, after... Continue Reading →
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