Cait Morgan, a Welsh Canadian university professor and esteemed criminologist, is on her way to a w“Aha … you are the Canadian … you speak oddly!”
Cait Morgan, a Welsh Canadian university professor and esteemed criminologist, is on her way to a well-earned dream vacation at a Mexican beach resort with her new squeeze, Bud Anderson. But, of course, THE CORPSE WITH THE EMERALD THUMB is a mystery novel so it is a given that murder is in the wings and will enter the drama at the earliest opportunity.
Bud has been “captured” by the local constabulary at the scene of the murder of a local popular florist with his bloody hands quite literally around the victim’s neck. Of course, it falls to Cait to prove Bud’s innocence and to sleuth her way to the identity of the actual murderer before Bud – held in a local jail for the duration of the novel - is turned over to the “federales” and consigned to the bleak confines of a Mexican prison.
THE CORPSE WITH THE EMERALD THUMB is very much a Poirot-esque character driven mystery. Seasoning her presentation with a modicum of romantic suspense and a modest serving of history, author Ace dutifully follows the “rules of the road” for a cozy mystery – a reasonably limited number of contenders for the killer’s identity; all of the clues necessary are presented at some point in the narrative; and the final solution is revealed in a drawing room style presentation with the entire cast (including the murderer, of course) present for the ultimate reveal.
An enjoyable well executed mystery and a workmanlike addition to the growing Cait Morgan series.
“Even if, one day, proof is given that our fear-created beings do not actually exist, we will probably invent new ones”
Even as Shakespeare’s coven“Even if, one day, proof is given that our fear-created beings do not actually exist, we will probably invent new ones”
Even as Shakespeare’s coven of witches knew that meeting with Macbeth would ultimately result in something evil,
“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes. Open locks, Whoever knocks!”
so did the mind of Canadian author and purveyor of horror shorts know that unexpected meetings between strangers might produce strange, dare I say it, twisted outcomes!
UNEXPECTED STRANGERS is a delightful, quirky, quick and easy, eyebrow raising collection of oddball shorts. I was more than pleased to see the author take a couple of quick shots at two of my favourite boogiemen - organized religion and its propensity to proselytize; and the world’s current misguided fascination with fascism and the far right!
Well done, Mr Leslie. Keep ‘em coming! I’m a big fan and I’m definitely looking forward to further anthologies like this one.
“Literature has always fascinated me. With writing, humankind has developed the ability to elevate a person to a state of immortality.”
… “Perhaps that“Literature has always fascinated me. With writing, humankind has developed the ability to elevate a person to a state of immortality.”
… “Perhaps that is why I had spent the last three decades of my life writing, trying to capture the spirit of myself on paper.”
Well, Mr Leslie, I gotta hand it to you. If this literary tidbit reflects your objective as an author and this gruesome, juicy collection of three little pieces of mayhem reflects “your spirit” on paper, then you’re one mighty sick puppy, LOL!
ACTIVE READER and Other Cautionary Tales From the Book World is a short (but most definitely not sweet) read at 64 pages that will take little more than an hour of your time. But the frisson factor and the number of times that you will find yourself raising your eyebrows with a wry head-shaking grimace are out of all proportion to the miniature proportions of the collection.
ACTIVE READER is a tale of stalking and psychopathy with a brilliant, totally macabre twist ending that would shock even hard-core fans of LAW AND ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT. BROWSERS is a tale of a bookstore with a twisted personality, reminiscent in my mind of the rooms in Robert A Heinlein’s AND HE BUILT A CROOKED HOUSE. If the limited reading time remaining in what we all know is our limited life bothers you, it is a tale that will give you pause and make you perhaps more careful of what you wish for. Last but not least, DISTRACTIONS is a cautionary tale that speaks against taking the simplistic mantras offered by many self-help gurus too literally.
I’ve been a Mark Leslie fan for some time now and ACTIVE READER is obviously on the list of reasons why. Definitely recommended and a virtually certain addition to my Top Ten List for 2024.
And (LOL … I think!), once you’ve read the eponymous story, you’ll understand why I’m a little bit freaked that Mr Leslie signed my copy with the caption, “To Paul, one of my favourite ACTIVE READERS”!! Oh, oh!
I might also add that I'm prompted to seek out my long unread, languishing copy of George Stewart's EARTH ABIDES.
In late 1929, “ … the Depression began on that manic morning of October 29, to be known forever as Black Tuesday, …”
“… when the easy, buoyant era of In late 1929, “ … the Depression began on that manic morning of October 29, to be known forever as Black Tuesday, …”
“… when the easy, buoyant era of the twenties – the roaring, turbulent, high-flying twenties – came to a dead stop. Yet those fevered October days were more than symptoms of a deeper malady, undiagnosed and untreated.”
And I had absolutely NO idea of the magnitude and depth of those issues – hard-core right wing fascism that threatened to blossom into actual support of Hitler’s Nazism; a paranoid fear of socialism or public programs which knee-jerk reactionaries labeled as Communism; xenophobia and anti-immigrant racism; the enormity of the already well-developed divide between what Hugh MacLennan would characterize as THE TWO SOLITUDES, Quebec, French Canada and the Roman Catholic Church versus English Canada and all comers; the nasty, near criminal nature of Old Boy politics at municipal, provincial, and federal levels; the decade long (and more) domination of federal politics by RB Bennett and Mackenzie King; illegal right-wing police tactics from both municipal forces and the RCMP; work farms for unemployed men more properly described as prisons and military concentration camps; hunger marches, soup kitchens, protests and riots quelled with police batons and truncheons, endemic unemployment, grasshoppers, dust bowls and multi-year crop failures; … I repeat, I had NO idea!
And, suddenly, on September 8, 1939, “ … Parliament declared that a state of war existed between Canada and Nazi Germany. On that day, the Great Depression can be said to have ended. For war, which would bring mutilation and death, would also bring jobs … Suddenly a country that had been unable to provide work for a fifth of its people found work for all. The chronicle of the Great Depression is a catalogue of ironies, but that is the bitterest irony of all.”
The greatest irony of all is that Canada’s conversion to a left-leaning country with universal government paid health care, unemployment insurance, social welfare programs of all stripes, Old Age Security, Family Allowance, minimum wage laws, accident and sickness insurance, amended income tax laws to correct serious inequalities in wealth distribution, laws limiting hours of work, and a host of other ideas which in the twenties and during the Depression would have been reviled as much dreaded Communism is attributable to Canada’s decision to participate in World War II, to combat the Nazism which so many in Canada at the time seemed to genuinely support and believe in. The bullet that we dodged in our development of the policies of that new nation was not a mere infantryman’s bullet fired from the trenches. It was a full-fledged bomb that any tank in the coming war would have been happy to launch at a Canadian population well on its way to right-wing hatred and governmental autocracy.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION should be considered as mandatory reading in any Canadian history course. It’s not light reading and it’s not a short, easy read by any stretch but it’s informative, it’s compelling, it’s gripping, and it’s genuinely eye-opening. Thank you, Pierre Berton.
Paul Weiss
An interesting personal observation:
One of the developments of that decade was the formation of the CCF, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation – the precursor of today’s NDP - a left-leaning political party whose objective was to formulate and effect change through parliament in the manner of Britain’s still youthful Labour Party. With a rather rueful shake of my head, I can recall ever so clearly my deceased father’s (he was born in 1930) pejorative scornful reference to that party “CCFers? Common Cow F—kers!” I guess that will tell you clearly enough what he thought of any new-fangled socialist ideas at the time!...more
His “true self suddenly awakened … trying to claw its way, biting and scratching, out of a deep, dark closet.”
In many respects, FLIGHT OF AQUAVIT is aHis “true self suddenly awakened … trying to claw its way, biting and scratching, out of a deep, dark closet.”
In many respects, FLIGHT OF AQUAVIT is a typical private investigator mystery – blackmail, ambushes, attempted murder, decoys and deceit, twists and turns, romance, and red herrings. Well written, well conceived, fast-paced easy reading and thoroughly enjoyable.
BUT (and here’s the trigger warning), the LGBTQ theme is absolutely relentless to the point of nearly overpowering the story itself. (In all fairness, Russell Quant IS a gay detective and I’m sure the power of the theme was absolutely intentional and intended to convey a message). If you find that to be the least bit distasteful, then perhaps you ought to question whether you have genuinely dispensed with your own closeted homophobia. After all, I put it to you that you would not be the least disturbed by reading a Sandra Brown hot and heavy romance thriller that is peppered with heterosexual innuendo and interludes.
Think about it!
AMUSE BOUCHE and TAPAS ON THE RAMBLAS, other titles in the Ray Quant series have definitely been added to my future reading list.
I had such high hopes for this self-published guide to planning a Romanian adventure in Bucharest!
But this piece of trash is not just bad. It's outragI had such high hopes for this self-published guide to planning a Romanian adventure in Bucharest!
But this piece of trash is not just bad. It's outrageously bad and a serious rip-off at the price. Not a single map; not a single photo; not a single street address; not a single drawing.
And the level of repetition is beyond outrageous. "Lipscani district, where cobblestone streets wind their way past colorful buildings and charming cafes" appears for the first time in the opening chapter and is repeated, frequently with verbatim words (how sad is that?) at least 10 to 15 times throughout the course of the remainder of the book. Other tourist areas such as "Grădina Icoanei, a peaceful oasis in the heart of the city" or "the vibrant art scene of Victoriei, where galleries and studios showcase the works of talented local artists" are subject to the same level of repetition. And these are far, far from the only examples. If this book were properly edited and organized, I have absolutely no doubt that the page count would be reduced from its current level of 113 pages to something on the order of no more than 30 to 40 pages.
Chapter 7.1 entitled "Parks and Gardens: Tranquil Escapes Amidst the City Buzz" is an absolutely verbatim cut-and-paste of 2 1/2 pages that repeats Chapter 5.3 entitled "Walking and Exploring: Discovering Bucharest on Foot" ... believe it or not, in its entirety.
And, just a gentle reminder to the author of her title, this is supposed to be a travel guide for the city of Bucharest!! The author has mindlessly thought to include reference to some sites in Romania such as the painted monasteries of northern Moldavia which are nearly 500 km to the north of Bucharest on the Romania border. How is that possibly useful for a tour guide to Bucharest?
If you're looking for a quality tour guide to Romania, you're going to sadly discover that they are not exactly a dime a dozen. And this most definitely is not the pot of gold at the end of your rainbow. DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY HERE!
“We will take civilization to unprecedented heights, lighting the way forward for all of human existence. We are Zarathustra, Lord of the Heavens.”“We will take civilization to unprecedented heights, lighting the way forward for all of human existence. We are Zarathustra, Lord of the Heavens.”
Somebody or something is causing plains to refuse manual input from their pilots and their instruments and to direct themselves into twisting rolls, uncontrolled high speed descents, and ultimately crashes that are killing every occupant. In a cryptic message sent to Kate Page, investigative journalist, Zarathustra, whoever or whatever that might be, appears determined to take responsibility for the crashes and is looking for widespread public acknowledgement of their technological brilliance and dominance of the aviation skies. But the full dictionary of administrative regulatory acronymns related to these incidents – the TSA, the NTSB, the FBI and the CIA, and the NYPD, refuse to accept that the control systems of the planes that crashed might have been hacked, that some outside agency may have wrested control of the planes from both their remote pilots and their flesh-and-blood crew. They are insistent that the crashes were caused by inattention, pilot error, and invisible wind shear.
Zarathustra is not going to accept that lack of recognition and is intent on ensuring the world sits up and takes notice as it plans what would certainly be the worst aviation disaster in the history of flight. FREE FALL is the gripping story of Kate’s investigation into Zarathustra, her attempts to bring the reality of their insanity to the attention of the authorities, and her efforts (naturally) to keep a grip on the exclusivity of what would be a career topping news story!
Tense, gripping, adrenaline-packed stuff but, frankly, Rick Mofina’s continued success in the thriller genre has me expecting nothing less. Two thumbs up and a proud ”woot, woot,” to a celebrated successful Canadian author from a firmly convinced Canadian fan.
On a fascinating side note to those who scoff at the value of algebra or geometry in high school … cast a wide and very shocked glance at this brief description of the contents of a thesis on topics related to remote flight control in aeronautical engineering:
“her research, which had involved new perspectives on transmission probability, independent Gamma random variables, innovative methods on employing the infinite-horizon LQR control in satellite systems; her new ideas on approaches on the stochastic first-order system with linear dynamics and nonlinear measurements … and … her new work on Gaussian white noise processes.”
Even with an undergraduate degree in math and physics, that’s well beyond my capabilities. But I digress …
Enjoy FREE FALL. If you like red hot suspense thrillers and techno-thrillers, you’re in for a treat.
A story in a triangle cornered by puzzling mystery, compelling drama blended with a helping of melodrama, and prize winning Canadian literary fiction!A story in a triangle cornered by puzzling mystery, compelling drama blended with a helping of melodrama, and prize winning Canadian literary fiction!
Solace is a typical northern Ontario town. Home base to millions of mosquitoes in countless lakes; a year comprised of two seasons – winter and July; surrounded by marsh, swamp, rivers, and boreal forest with only one road in and one road out – the opposite sides of the same road that eventually wends its way south to Toronto; fun evenings out and dating restricted to watching the hockey games at the local rink, shopping at the Hudson’s Bay Store or asking the waitress at the local café for the daily special with a plate of pie à la mode to close out the evening festivities!
A reader’s natural inclination might be to yawn and wonder what possible stories might be told about such a dreary location. But Mary Lawson has prepared a novel that weaves and braids three first person narratives into perspectives that overlap each other in real time and unfold into an absolutely brilliant, breathtaking, heartwarming and heartbreaking, humorous, evocative and thoroughly compelling tale of down home Canadian drama that never drifts away from credible realism for even an instant. The first narrator is Clara, the youngest daughter in a family and the younger sibling of a missing rebellious teen. The second is a recently divorced man and the new owner of a house gifted to him by a woman who knew and loved him when he was a child. That woman, Elizabeth, is the third narrator, telling her story and her memories of a thirty year old crime from her death bed in a hospital where she knows she will succumb to terminal heart disease much sooner than later.
Covering themes of love, death, chronic infertility, child abduction, teen rebellion and runaways, grief, and remorse, A TOWN CALLED SOLACE was a pleasure to read and is easy to recommend as a 5-star winner and one of my favourites of the year.
“Why did he come back here? Why couldn’t he just leave us alone?”
As a young boy, Finn suffered a loss that no boy should have to endure – the loss“Why did he come back here? Why couldn’t he just leave us alone?”
As a young boy, Finn suffered a loss that no boy should have to endure – the loss of his mother to murder. Years later, as his stepmother is gunned down by the same murderer and his father reacts and kills the gunman, Finn witnesses the event in shocked silence. During subsequent visits to the police station, Finn meets Lila, the daughter of his mother’s convicted murderer, and unknowingly strikes up a friendship.
GUILTY is a brilliant young adult mystery told in alternating chapters of first person narrative from Finn’s and Lila’s dramatically diverging points of view. Friendship, growth, loyalty, coming of age, regret, sorrow, and forgiveness all make their appearance in a gripping novel which doesn’t slip into sappiness or melodrama for even an instant.
Definitely recommended. And kudos to a Canadian author whose work I’ll be looking for in the months to come.
“Three smallmouth bass so far, another three pike, and a couple of smaller pickerel … she had pulled in about half of the net already. She’d hoped “Three smallmouth bass so far, another three pike, and a couple of smaller pickerel … she had pulled in about half of the net already. She’d hoped for a few more fish.”
In MOON OF THE CRUSTED SNOW, Canadian author Waubgeshig Rice explored what happens in a post-apocalyptic world where the bridge to civilization, as fragile and as tenuous as it was when it existed, collapses utterly – complete power failure, total communications blackout, no internet, no telephone, no television, no delivery of any goods or commodities, no fuel.
Ten years later, life in a small aboriginal community fully isolated from the outside world, from the white world, a life renewing their dwindling Anishinaabe traditions, has encountered the fatal roadblock of dwindling resources. Their lake is overfished and the land-based animal resources have fled the neighborhood of their community. Migration to a new home has become a vital necessity and the elders of the community have decided it is time to send a scouting party to their traditional home area of the northern shores of Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. They need to discover whether life in their former home is viable.
As one might expect in any such novel, the reader is met with a complete spectrum of actions and reactions – heroism, cowardice, bravery, courage, violence, fear, hope, despair, doubt, greed, generosity, leadership, withdrawal and, of course, more than a few deaths under a myriad of related circumstances. Sadly, author Rice also tells a story in which a post-apocalyptic world has failed to learn from its past errors, its past hatred, and most definitely has not evolved into a post-racial world. Racism and xenophobia remains an endemic component of white, western society.
MOON OF THE TURNING LEAVES is a worthy sequel and although it does not have quite the strength and compelling urgency of its predecessor MOON OF THE CRUSTED SNOW, it is an easy novel to recommend to those who enjoy themes of post-apocalypse and dystopia. Learning some of the components of aboriginal Anishinaabe culture and their relationship to the world around us is a definite bonus.
“C’est la douche écossaise, how we Québécois say, good news, bad news.”
Living on the isolated western Quebec property that she inherited from her grea“C’est la douche écossaise, how we Québécois say, good news, bad news.”
Living on the isolated western Quebec property that she inherited from her great aunt, a fragile but determined Meg Harris is grappling with the double-barreled threats of encroaching alcoholism and the attempted continued domination of a husband whose attractions she can’t seem to shake. Harlick’s portrayal of isolation and small town/northern wilderness aboriginal culture in the face of murder, racism, policing, and the arrival of corporate Canada with money and a desire to despoil that wilderness and develop a gold mine is compelling. Having lived in Ontario’s far north for a period of time, I can assure you that her description of the vast gulf between even a well-intentioned white resident and aboriginal society is absolutely spot-on.
Great character development; a compelling, credible plot; atmospheric cultural and environmental background; educational and informative native lore … DEATH’S GOLDEN WHISPER is an easy novel to recommend and a worthy debut novel for a series that I definitely intend to read more of.
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