– by Sharon Hope –
An Irish Doctor in Love and At Sea, Patrick Taylor (Tom Doherty Associates)
When Dr. Fingal O’Reilly of Ballybucklebo attends his class reunion, a chance meeting with friends causes Fingal to remember when he was a Surgeon-Lieutenant in the Navy during World War II and devoted to his fiancé. After his marriage to Deirdre, he is posted overseas, returning unharmed, but then life takes a darker turn.
The Reason You Walk, Wab Kinew (Penguin Canada)
Wab traces his father Tobasonakwut’s life in residential school, his angry struggles with racism and how these events impacted Wab’s childhood. As he follows his father’s journey toward forgiveness and peace, Wab spends more time with his father and other First Nations elders, which leads him to greater insight into his own difficult pathway.
The Nature of the Beast, Louise Penny (St. Martin’s Press)
No one believes nine year-old Laurent’s tall tale about a giant gun until Laurent’s murdered body is found. It has been moved. As retired Armand Gamache joins other Three Pines residents and recently appointed Chief Inspector Isabelle Lacoste to solve the boy’s murder, another murder occurs. It seems unrelated but is it?
Road Trip Rwanda, Will Ferguson (Penguin Canada)
After becoming friends with Jean–Claude Munyezamu, who escaped from Rwanda just before the massacres occurred, Will and Jean-Claude return 20 years later. While describing Rwanda’s history and Jean–Claude’s own story, Will depicts urban and rural landscapes as well as wildlife. However, it is how people have moved on that perhaps interests him most.
The Illegal, Lawrence Hill (HarperCollins)
Keita, a marathoner, leaves his country of birth after his father is killed and enters Freedom State where illegals are treated harshly. His sister is jailed and Keita is forced to win races for cash prizes in order to obtain her release. Slowly he gathers friends who help him gain protection and his sister’s freedom.
The Wild in You, Lorna Crozier & Ian McAllister (Greystone Books Ltd.)
Lorna creates unique insights to accompany McAllister’s magnificent photographs. The poems are environmental magic. Each glimpse of nature evokes something different as Lorna probes both the comic and the mysterious. She describes nonhuman and often curious watchers. The book covers dark rains, watery meadows, rainforest genesis and winter’s sleep.
The Evening Chorus, Helen Humphreys (HarperCollins)
It is World War II. British pilot James Hunter, a German POW, begins birdwatching, while his sister Enid loses everything in a London bombing and James’ wife Rose finds she loves another man. After the war, their lives change again and the three respond according to how time has shifted their perspectives.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web, David Lagercrantz (Penguin Canada)
When computer genius Frans Balder is killed, Mikael Blomkvist involves Lisbeth Salander in the investigation which exposes a criminal group called The Spider Society. The Society is jeopardizing American national security; Mikael and Lisbeth strive to expose its leader. Balder’s autistic son August holds critical information that will allow access to certain security files.
