Reviewer picks 2024 (pt. 1)
BCR asked some of our regular contributors about books they read in the past year that really stayed with them. “Eclectic” is our word of the year.
Crime, mystery, thriller
Queer-rom, literate characters, revenge
“If you’ve grown weary of heterosexual couples… [and] like the idea of a Sapphic romance involving literate characters,” then this dark fantasy will keep you enthralled. —Jessica Poon reviews Serpentine Valentine, by Giana Darling (BC: Giana Darling Publishing, 2024) $24.95 / 9781774440469
Urban fantasy, mystery, and romp
A brooding hero gives a centuries-spanning novel gravity, but too many characters “create a pacing that is reminiscent of old ‘monster of the week’ television, à la Scooby Doo, or Doctor Who, without the levity that makes these shows so digestible.” —Zoe McKenna reviews The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, by Peter Darbyshire (Hamilton: Wolsak & Wynn, 2024) $24.00 / 9781998408054
‘Our weapon of liberation’
“Once again, as with his previous graphic novels, he offers readers a lesson in ‘history from below’ about how ordinary people can rally against tyranny.”—Ron Verzuh reviews Revolution by Fire: New York’s Afro-Irish Uprising of 1741, A Graphic Novel, by David Lester and Marcus Rediker with Paul Buhle (Boston: Beacon Press, 2024) $18.95 / 9780807012550
Quandaries amid crises
Nigeria-set sophomore novel “has enough tangly relationships for a soap opera, ample tension for a psychological thriller, and meaningful, if slightly under-explored sociopolitical commentary on race, religion, and gender.” —Jessica Poon reviews Every Drop of Blood Is Red, by Umar Turaki (New York: Little A (an Amazon Imprint), 2024) $24.99 / 781662508110
Crime and consequence
At a glance a standard police procedural, this debut novel “offers an extra layer of depth that examines deeper truths of the human condition.”
—Trish Bowering reviews Barcelona Red Metallic, by Christine Cosack (Toronto: Second Story Press, 2024) $22.95 / 9781772603910
BC Review Annual Fundraiser, 2024
A note from Richard Mackie, publisher, The British Columbia Review. * Dear friends, supporters, and readers, On behalf of the Board of Directors and Advisory Board of The British Columbia Review, I must mention our pressing need for continuing financial support from our reading community. We make this request for private donations annually to keep the…
Read more BC Review Annual Fundraiser, 2024
Angry, admired by men, and righteous
“At times, the novel feels—and this is praise—like a couple of opinionated art students kvetching while wearing designer clothes—or latex—in Geneva.” —Jessica Poon reviews Bold Strokes, by Jane Boon (Toronto: Regan Arts, 2024) $22.00 / 9781682452288
One brutal day in Cloverdale
Enthralling, comedy-flecked murder mystery capably illustrates how a “lot can go right–and terribly wrong–in a 24-hour window.” —Caileigh Broatch reviews Bronco Buster, by A.J. Devlin (Edmonton: NeWest Press, 2024) $22.95 / 9781774391020
Forged in Fort Simmer, NWT
With “each new offering, Van Camp reminds us of his remarkable gift for storytelling. ‘Beast’ is no exception.” —Zoe McKenna reviews Beast, by Richard Van Camp (Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2024) $24.95 / 9781771624145
After the incident at Level 72
Veteran mystery writer returns with an intriguing case, a “captivating, enigmatic” style, and a chase for clues across England. —Valerie Green reviews Bad Boy (A Jason Davey Mystery), by Winona Kent (New Westminster: Blue Devil Books, 2024) $19.99 / 97817390418
War experiences, recovery from them
Vancouver Island author’s sophomore novel is “a tightly plotted, ambitious work of historical fiction that has fast-paced thriller elements and, at other times, the makings of a slow burn romance.” —Jessica Poon reviews The Last Secret, by Maia Caron (Toronto: Doubleday Canada, 2024) $25.00 / 9780385688826
Nefarious investments, cool drones
“Newland’s talent with the architecture of sentences never detracts from the exhilaration of his plot, with its strange events and estranged sense of time.” —Peter Babiak reviews The Marysburgh Vortex (Volume 1: Jack Wenland, Time Guardian), by Trevor Newland (Vancouver: Simply Read Books, 2024) $22.99 / 9781772291001
Living legends
Sisters who happen to be creatures of myth offer wit and wisdom, cynicism and love in a breezily written and beguiling novel. —Jessica Poon reviews Roxy and Coco, by Terese Svoboda (Morgantown: U West Virginia Press, 2024) $29.99 / 9781959000068
You want I should feed him some lead?
Infectiously fun, rapid-fire novel recounts tales from the golden age of charismatic criminals, and ushers readers into “into a fictional world of real-life events that is grippingly good reading.” —Ron Verzuh reviews Crooked: A Crime Novel, by Dietrich Kalteis (Toronto: ECW Press, 2024) $22.95 / 9781770417076
Writing (and its hazards)
With a cast of writers, this stylish thriller provides “deeply satisfying escapism; however, it also skillfully depicts parental grief, artistic struggles, and that persistent feeling that, if you just find the right words, then, your life will have meant something.” —Jessica Poon reviews The Deepest Lake, by Andromeda Romano-Lax (Toronto: Soho Crime, 2024) $26.95 / 9781641295604
Wealth! Influencers! Destination wedding! Murders!
A fun and easy beach read, this Mexican resort-set murder mystery brings together secrets, ulterior motives, and extravagant wealth. —Candace Fertile reviews The Plus One, by S.C. Lalli (Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2024) $25.99 / 9781443467049
Psychopathology of everyday CEOs
“What do schools of dead fish, a cure for Alzheimer’s, and nuclear fusion have in common?” A debut psychological thriller answers this question and more. —Jessica Poon reviews The Outlier, by Elisabeth Eaves (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2024) $24.95 / 9781039008045
Murder spree: ‘a means to an end’
“In a regionalized case of a murder that occurred in the heart of British Columbia, deep in its rural country, Warren asks his readers to draw upon universal empathetic feelings of disgust at the crimes of Shearing and sympathy for those impacted.” —Matthew Downey reviews Murder Times Six: The True Story of the Wells Gray Park Murders, by Alan R. Warren (Self-published, 2020) $20.00 / 9781989980132
Artists’ egos → artist psychodrama
“Though the novel is neither a traditional detective story nor a thriller, the ongoing discoveries and displacements are reminiscent of those genres, but with a rarefied literary focus that makes for a worthwhile page turner.”
—Jessica Poon reviews The Mythmakers, by Keziah Weir (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 2024) $24.00 / 978077100029