A writer’s first mystery novel garners the ultimate praise: “The twists and turns along the way will hold readers’ attention to the last page.” Plus, appealing characters, exotic settings, and snappy repartee don’t hurt either. —Valerie Green reviews Thirty Feet Under, by William Wodhams (Toronto: ECW Press, 2026) $24.95 / 9781770418547
YA horror set at a spiritual retreat that isn’t: “Structurally impressive, mythologically rich, and recurrently dark, Cheng has carefully infused just enough humour and hope in a novel where it’s easy to root for the good guys.” —Jessica Poon reviews Beautiful Brutal Bodies, by Linda Cheng (Toronto: Listening Library, 2025) $20.99 / 9781250865816
Atmospheric BC-set debut novel grows nearly hallucinatory with grotesque and supernatural elements. Teen investigators Alinta and Ruby ground a (somewhat overstuffed) story with their tight bond and quest to solve a mystery. —Brett Josef Grubisic reviews Woodbine Grove, by Ryan O’Dowd (Hamilton: Manor House Press, 2025) $29.95 / 9781998938193
The sleuthing elements of this YA novel have their appeal, but the real stand outs include the interplay between teammates and the “multi-generational openness and connections.” —Alison Acheson reviews Rhapsody Smith, Ice Angel, by Lorna Schultz Nicholson (Winnipeg: Yellow Dog/Great Plains Press, 2025) $18.95 / 9781773371306
Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance, Vancouver’s First Forensic Investigator by Eve Lazarus Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2017 $21.95 / 9781551526850 Reviewed by Bonnie Reilly Schmidt First published Nov. 8, 2017 * In Blood, Sweat, and Fear: The Story of Inspector Vance, Vancouver’s First Forensic Investigator Eve Lazarus rescues one of the…
Read more #198 Inspector Vance, I presume?
The White Angel by John MacLachlan Gray Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2017 $29.95 / 9781771621465 Reviewed by Ginny Ratsoy First published Sept. 8, 2017 * The challenges of writing historical fiction are manifold. Writers must capture both the exterior (surface and sociological details of a time they know only through research) and the interior…
Read more #167 Janet Smith & Wong Foon Sing
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
2050: A Post-Apocalyptic Murder Mystery by Michael Kluckner Vancouver: Midtown Press, 2016 $19.95 / 9781988242187 Reviewed by Mark James Dunn First published May 30, 2017 * Vancouver historian, artist and illustrator Michael Kluckner has turned his eclectic talents in recent years to graphic novels, starting in 2015 with Toshiko, a remaking of Romeo and Juliet…
Read more #132 The demise of Vancouver
First published April 17, 2017 REVIEW: Speakeasy by Alisa Smith Madeira Park: Douglas & McIntyre, 2017. $22.95. 978-1-77162-066-6 Reviewed John Douglas Belshaw — With her partner and co-writer James MacKinnon, Alisa Smith recounted their year-long attempt to eat only foods grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of their Vancouver apartment. Their collaboration, The 100-Mile Diet:…
Read more #121 A 100-mile crime novel
Invisible Deadby Sam Wiebe Toronto: Penguin Random House 2016$22 / 9780345816276 Reviewed by Maansi Pandya First published April 5, 2017 * Soon to be released in the United States, Sam Wiebe’s Invisible Dead is a gritty journey into Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside crime world of biker gangs, drugs and suspicious characters against a backdrop of homelessness…
Read more #116 Wakeland in the DES
First Published: September 19th, 2016 — by James Paley Ann Eriksson’s fifth novel The Performance (D&M $22.95) contrasts the worlds of elite classical piano with urban homelessness. Hana Knight, a privileged and talented young pianist, develops a tenuous friendship with Jacqueline, a homeless woman who collects empty bottles and cans to buy tickets to Hana’s…
Read more #18 The pianist and the knitter