Author: AJ

Exit – Belinda Bauer

Felix, a 75-year-old widower in SW England, is an Exiter, someone who offers companionship to terminally ill people who have chosen to die by suicide. His role is entirely passive, to lend moral support and then remove the evidence to not distress family and loved ones. But this act of kindness and charity goes off the rails with a terrible mistake when the wrong person dies. But what if this fatal mistake was a set-up to enable a murder? A wondaful treatise on aging with some seriously funny moments.

The Book of Accidents – Chuck Wendig

Nate, Maddie and their 15-year-old son Oliver move to rural Pennsylvania, and strange sinister things begin to happen. What follows is a Stephen King-like gothic thriller, with dark magic, alternate realities, a demon attempting to orchestrate the end of times (aka, the apocalypse). In short, a cracking good story.

A Single Thread – Tracy Chevalier

Ms. Chevalier writes superb historical fiction featuring strong female characters (e.g., Remarkable Creatures). In her new book, it is 1932 and 38-year-old Violet is one of the “surplus women” left unmarried or widowed by World War I. She finds purpose by moving to Winchester to learn needle point to create kneelers for the cathedral. And there is impeccable information on bell ringing. Sometimes a sentimental story is just what is needed.

Find You First – Linwood Barclay

Miles Cookson is a tech billionaire who at age 42 receives the devastating diagnosis of Huntington’s Disease. This prompts a search for 9 children he “fathered” as a sperm donor 20 years previously. But these potential heirs are disappearing without a trace! This is vintage Barclay with impossible-to-predict plot twists: very entertaining.

The Forgotten Daughter – Joanna Goodman

Ms. Goodman wrote the excellent The Home For Unwanted Girls about the Duplessis Orphans, created when Quebec re-classified orphans as being mentally deficient in order to transfer their care to mental hospitals. Her new book continues Elodie’s story to achieve justice and an official apology. The time is the early 90s with the backdrop of separation and the 1995 referendum, with two fascinating characters, James and Vero, on opposite sides of the separation debate. Anger is a powerful force in people’s actions. And the difficulty of acting on principles is a dominant theme. Highly recommended.

Seven Fallen Feathers – Tanya Talaga

Ms. Talaga has written an impeccably researched and powerful story about the deaths of seven Indigenous youths in Thunder Bay from 2000-2011. This is a modern version of the residential school tragedy. Indigenous youth are forced to leave their remote Anishinaabe northern communities due to lack of educational resources so they take High School in Thunder Bay. They lack a supportive social system and experience racism ranging from indifference to overt hostility with violence. This revealing book should be required reading for all Canadians.

Long Bright River – Liz Moore

Mickey is a patrol officer with the Philadelphia Police Department. Her routine patrol activities include searching for her sister Kacey, an addict and sex worker who is missing.  And there is a serial killer preying on young women. Overall a gritty relationship story: there are no completely good guys. Mickey in particular is deeply flawed and makes bad decisions. The plot is seductively delicious with a lot of misdirection. Thanks Amy, for this recommendation.

We Ride Upon Sticks – Quan Barry

It is 1989, and a high school field hockey team (10 females, 1 male) in Danvers Massachusetts is driven to win the state championship. Can witchcraft help in this quest, particularly since Danvers is near to Salem, the site of the witch trials and burnings in 1692? This is a brilliant depiction of friendship in the context of high school and team sports. Teenage culture in 1989 is presented perfectly; music, hormones – sex drugs and rock-n-roll. Great fun.