In 2023 Rory Ann Miller and her best friend are on the run because they’ve been accused of planting a bomb at their posh California high school’s Virtue Ball. Within this 48 hour period fourteen year old Rory introduces us to the ultra right wing community from which she hails in wise, insightful and witty observations. I found myself rooting for her from the first page. I loved this book.

Jackson Brodie is back on the scene. He’s in a little town tracking unfaithful husbands and dealing with his recalcitrant teenage son and aging dog. But there is much more happening in this town than even he realizes. Brodie continues to be a wise, witty, pessimistic character. The book moves along quickly and the story keeps you hooked but I have to say I was a little disappointed with the ending. Doesn’t matter though, if you’re a Kate Atkinson fan!

Juliet Armstrong is reluctantly recruited to work for M15 during the second world war. She’s sent to an obscured apartment and is tasked with monitoring the activities of a small group of Nazi sympathizers. The work is boring and terrifying at the same time. Ten years later, while working for the BBC, Juliet is confronted with people from that time and is once again in a situation not of her choosing. Another Atkinson winner!

Amy Whey loves her simple life. Caring for her step-daughter, beloved husband and brand new daughter, Charlotte. When Angelica Roux comes to town it becomes clear that she is not who she seems. It becomes even clearer to Amy that her well guarded secrets are in the hands of Roux and, if revealed, threaten her carefully constructed life. In typical Jackson style, the story is fast paced, funny, disturbing, wise with a couple of twists and turns that make for a great read.

A young Sri Lanka father risks everything to escape the civil war and bring his six year old son to Canada, to safety. The book tells the story of what he had to do to survive the terrorists before he fled and the story of the people who must listen to his story and determine whether or not it is safe to let him into the country. The beauty of the book is that it shows the complexities faced by all parties as they strive to understand each other. A beautiful and timely novel.

The synopsis on the Ottawa Public Library put it far better than i can – but read this book – it’s beautiful!!!

Shahryar, a recent Ph.D. graduate and father of nine-year-old Anna, must leave the U.S. when his visa expires. As father and daughter spend their last remaining weeks together, Shahryar tells Anna the history of his country, beginning in a village on the Bay of Bengal, where a poor fisherman and his Hindu wife, who converted to Islam out of love for him, are preparing to face a storm of historic proportions. Their story intersects with those of a Japanese fighter pilot, a British female doctor stationed in Burma during World War II, a Buddhist monk originally from Austria, and a privileged couple in Calcutta who leave everything behind to move to East Pakistan following the Partition of India. The structure of this riveting novel mimics the storm itself — building to a series of revelatory and moving climaxes as it explores the many ways in which families love, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another.

Ned Vatcher is 14 when he comes home from school to find that his parents have disappeared. Years pass and Ned, who lives with his grandparents, Nan and Reg, and is in more contact than he’d like with his conniving Uncle Cyril, continues to dwell on the mystery of his parents’ disappearance. Father Duggan, a kind hearted Jesuit, remains steadfast throughout as does Sheilagh Fielding, the hard living journalist who is a recurring character in Johnston’s novels. Slowly, Ned moves towards the truth of the shocking events that led up to his parent’s disappearance. I loved this novel by Wayne Johnston – but then again I’ve loved all the books he’s written!

A wealthy woman is found dead six hours after planning her own funeral. A private detective hires a novelist (I wonder who?) to write the story of how he solves the crime. This is another story within a story by Horowitz – it’s funny and clever as was The Magpie Murders.

Susan Ryeland is a publisher who must continue to put up with the unsettling behaviour of her star crime novelist, Alan Conway, if she wants to keep her job. Conway’s latest tale has Atticus Pund investigating a murder at Pye Hall, a local manor house. Yes, there are dead bodies and a host of intriguing suspects, but the more Susan reads, the more she’s convinced that there is another story hidden in the pages of the manuscript: one of real-life jealousy, greed, ruthless ambition, and murder.

This is a murder story within a murder story and so entertaining you’ll find it hard to put down – well, I did!

This series takes place in a remote town where ex-detective Thumps DreadfulWater has found refuge after a terrible enduring a tragedy. Amid a cast of eccentric, lovable characters Thumps is attempting to rebuild his life as a photographer. Of course, fate keeps intervening by laying bodies at the town’s doorstep forcing Thumps back into the detective role he so desperately wants to shed. This series is Thomas King at his best – funny, wise, sardonic and entertaining (oh, and they’re good mysteries too!)