Simultaneously black- and warmhearted, a Victoria author’s sophomore novel satirizes corporate culture. In it, a nebbish hero simmers with fantasies of power and revenge… and then strikes a fateful bargain with dire consequences. —Ron Verzuh reviews Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World, by Mark Waddell (Toronto: Viking Canada, 2025) $26.95 / 9780735250321
“If you’re looking for dour, deeply depressing escapism, go fish. But if you’re in the mood for humour and meta-humour…”: in this novel, self-involved TV personalities and mystery writers congregate for a festival where—gasp!—there’s a murder. Dialogue is snippy, the mood is light, and the shenanigans are frequent. —Jessica Poon reviews Killer on the First Page, by Ian Ferguson and Will Ferguson (Toronto: Harper Collins Canada, 2025) $24.99 / 9781443475099
“Like many love stories, this one involves a love triangle”: with “characters that are not only vivid, but full-on loose cannons,” a Vancouver-set sophomore novel tackles marriage, identity, and contemporary reality. —Theo Dombrowski reviews You’ve Changed, by Ian Williams (Toronto: Random House Canada, 2025) $37.00 / 9781039012356
In a debut novel, “a party animal of a book that resoundingly delivers,” two sisters—one “prone to shoplifting in her job as a cashier,” the other a “skin care influencer with a cult-ish following” tussle in a wacky story that marries social critique and wit. —Jessica Poon reviews Julie Chan Is Dead, by Liann Zhang (Toronto: Simon & Schuster Canada, 2025) $24.99 / 9781668079867
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
A debut novel, a moderately appealing political satire, explores the notion of radical democracy. —Valerie Green reviews Owls, Doughnuts, and Democracy, by Jason A.N. Taylor (Victoria: independently published) $7.99 (e-book) / 9798333346148