Set on Haida Gwaii during WW1, a novel’s teenage narrator, “a curious mixture of innocence and experience,” stands out among other characters that are “ciphers for the social problems the author illuminates.” —Candace Fertile reviews Sisters of the Spruce, by Leslie Shimotakahara (Qualicum Beach: Caitlin Press, 2024) $26.00 / 9781773861371
As it vividly sketches “the dailiness of farm work, country fairs, community meetings, and chores,” this historical novel “celebrates women’s independence and also their achievements in the face of hardship and opposition.” —W.H. New reviews Finding Flora, by Elinor Florence (Toronto: Simon & Schuster, 2025) $24.99 / 9781668058916
“Amanda Leduc’s Wild Life may be appreciated for its intrinsic craft and beauty; it may be read also as meeting our historical moment, amplifying Mary Oliver’s newly resonant question: ‘Tell me, what is it you plan to do/with your one wild and precious life?’”—Dana McFarland reviews Wild Life, by Amanda Leduc (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2025) $26.00 / 9780735272873
“But it’s how we get there, and the questions that go unanswered as we sit right there in the passenger seat with Teddy, that give the book its force.” —Ryan Frawley reviews The Passenger Seat, by Vijay Khurana (Windsor: Biblioasis, 2025) $22.95 / 9781771966306
“A true standalone gothic fantasy, What Wakes the Bells is full of blood and guts, action, and of course, romance”: for YA readers, a striking debut. —Myshara McMyn reviews What Wakes the Bells, by Elle Tesch (New York: Feiwel & Friends, 2025) $26.99 / 9781250322807
With vicious bare-knuckle fights, illicit booze runs, and bloody tussles with Al Capone’s goons, a veteran crime novelist gives the career of Huck Waller an immense, though gritty, appeal. —Ron Verzuh reviews Dirty Little War: A Crime Novel, by Dietrich Kalteis (Toronto: ECW Press, 2025) $26.95 / 9781770417960
Freshly returned to Vancouver, PI Dave Wakeland strives to keep cynicism and despair at bay as he investigates the Houseboat Massacre. Sam Wiebe’s latest excels in all the right ways. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews The Last Exile: A Wakeland Novel, by Sam Wiebe (Madeira Park: Harbour Publishing, 2025)
$24.95 / 9781998526086
A debut collection of “spare, sharply focused” and “intensely male” short stories depicts a “world of physical work, training for it, engaging in it—or suffering from its absence.” —Theo Dombrowski reviews Cane Wood: Based on True Stories, by Stephen L. Howard (Altona: Friesen Press, 2025) $13.49 / 9781038326300
In the latest instalment, a plucky “Canadian kid from a middle-class family” meets larger-than-life characters from the heyday of ’60s London. The bodies really pile up too. —Ron Verzuh reviews Curse of the Savoy: A Priscilla Tempest Mystery, Book 4, by Ron Base and Prudence Emery (Madeira Park, BC: Douglas & McIntyre, 2025) $19.95 / 9781771624381
“Citra vividly captures contemporary life for young people. The fact that it’s rural life makes little difference really: urban, suburban, or rural, our existence now is complicated.” —Alison Acheson reviews Like a Bird, by Becky Citra (Toronto: Second Story Press, 2025) $15.95 / 9781772604177
Debut novella offers a “heartfelt embrace of iconic werewolf lore, a tragic but charming peek at wholesome male friendships, and a careful balance between horror and humour,” but is overly influenced by its source material. —Zoe McKenna reviews A Canadian Werewolf in Montana, by W. K. Shephard (Altona: Friesen Press, 2025) $11.99 /9781038319982
“Deep Cuts is a fantastic debut novel that aptly captures being in your twenties, loving music, and chaotic will-they-won’t-they romance. Winsome, full of heart, and with unusually excellent dialogue, Deep Cuts is destined to become a fondly dog-eared novel, meant to be reread and replayed.”—Jessica Poon reviews Deep Cuts, by Holly Brickley (Toronto: Doubleday, 2025) $26.99 / 9780385699907
“If ever Moore decides to transform his novel into a screenplay for a Casablanca sequel, an intention suggested by naming his chapters as acts and scenes, I’d like to request a reserve seat. It promises to be a marvellous viewing treat.” —Ron Verzuh reviews The Last Reel: A Sequel to “Casablanca,” by John Moore (Victoria: Ekstasis Editions, 2024) $25.95 / 9781771715140
Set in urban and rural England during the 1940s, a debut novel features a captivating heroine with a noteworthy story. It throws in mystery, intrigue, and ornithological details too. —Valerie Green reviews Letters from Gerald, by R.W. Butler (Altona: Friesen Press, 2024) $22.49 / 9781038305459
Victoria’s Most Haunted: Ghost Stories from BC’s Historic Capital City by Ian Gibbs Victoria: Touchwood Editions, 2017 $19.95 / 9781771512138 Reviewed by Peter Grant First published August 13, 2017 * The standard general histories of the Victoria, most of them by popular (non-academic) historians, are now almost half a century old. These are: Derek Pethick’s…
Read more #152 Getting spidey in Victoria
Chilcotin Chronicles: Stories of Adventure and Intrigue from British Columbia’s Central Interior by Sage Birchwater Halfmoon Bay: Caitlin Press, 2017 $26.95 / 9781987915334 Reviewed by Lorraine Weir First published August 10, 2017 * Sage Birchwater credits playwright Gwen Pharis Ringwood with urging him to keep a record of his travels on the Chilcotin Plateau –…
Read more #151 Taking care of stories
First published Jul. 6, 2017 On Island: Life Among the Coast Dwellers by Pat Carney Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2017. $21.95 / 9781771512107 Reviewed by Pam Erikson The opening story of Pat Carney’s collection On Island: Life Among the Coast Dwellers sets a fable-like tone. On a sunny, summer morning a mysterious woman releases eight cats, then…
Read more #147 Cats–Pat Carney’s island carnival
Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson Toronto: Penguin Random House Canada, 2017 $32.00 / 9780345810786 Reviewed by David Stouck First published June 11, 2017 * In 1997 a book of remarkable short stories by a young Haisla/ Heiltsuk woman came across my desk. It had been selected as Editor’s Choice and Notable Book of…
Read more #138 The incredible deftness of being
Deadpoint by Nikki Tate Victoria: Orca Book Publishers, 2017 $9.95 / 9781459813526 Reviewed by Carol Anne Shaw First published May 31, 2017 * In Deadpoint, Ayla, a reluctant rock-climber, finds herself with two experienced injured climbers on the side of Black Dog Mountain. Reviewer Carol Shaw finds much to admire in the steep learning curve…
Read more #133 Black Dog desperation
Casting Back: Sixty Years of Fishing and Writing by Peter McMullan Victoria: Rocky Mountain Books, 2016 $25.00 / 9781771601740 Reviewed by Ian J.M. Kennedy First published Nov. 29, 2016 * In Casting Back: Sixty Years of Fishing and Writing, Peter McMullan, the former editor of the Nanaimo Free Press, conveys his passion for fly-fishing in his…
Read more #52 A fishing journalist looks on