My Book Selection for 2023!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

I'll reiterate what Josh and other Minds have said -- book-giving is a wonderful thing, no matter the time of year. I've done lots of reading since last holiday season and have a few recommendations, although on my own book-giving list, I attempt to match reader to their own preferences. Not everyone loves crime fiction as much as we do!

The book that made the most impact on me is Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. A family comes together on the family cherry farm to weather the pandemic. The mother tells her three grown daughters stories from her time working summer stock, including a love affair with another actor before meeting their dad. The book is beautifully written and the story unfolds seamlessly. I loved everything about it from the characters to the setting.

In the lighter crime fiction category, I have three recommendations. First is Scot Mist by Catriona McPherson. This is the first in Catriona's series that I've read, and the situation - a group camping out in a motel during the pandemic with the motel owner being a germaphobe - is a setting ripe for humour. The protagonist, Lexy, is a therapist living on a boat near the motel, and she's part of the gang in isolation, one of whom turns up dead.

Next up is You Light Up My Death by Mary Jane Maffini. The book brings back Camilla McPhee, one of Mary Jane's funniest protagonists (in my humble opinion), and involves a romp through Cape Breton. Camilla and her police boyfriend Ray drive there to elope, but he gets drawn into a murder investigation involving old police colleagues and disappears. Camilla, believing herself jilted, sets out to track him down. Hilarity ensues.

I also enjoyed Going to Beautiful by Anthony Bilduka. This book won Crime Writers of Canada best novel for 2022! Jake Hardy's husband falls off their balcony and dies while Jake sick in bed with the flu. Heartbroken, he goes to the town of Beautiful, Saskatchewan to uncover more of his husband's past. The prairie setting in winter is gorgeously drawn. Humour, pathos and sympathetic characters make this a terrific read.

In the harder-hitting crime fiction category, I recommend Adrian McKinty's latest Sean Duffy novel The Detective Up Late, although I must confess that I am only a third of the way through. Big changes are happening in Sean's life as he attempts to solve one last murder case. Just a great series if you haven't happened upon it yet.

I also found Open Grave by Kjell Eriksson (Swedish translation) to be an interesting, well-written read. Told from a number of perspectives, the story centres around an elderly professor who wins a Nobel Prize for his work in the lab, even though he is heartily disliked by nearly everyone around him. Dark secrets eventually lead to murder.

In the thriller genre, Amy Stuart's Death at the Party is a good choice. The story is told in first person by Nadine, who is throwing a 60th birthday party for her mother, a famous author. Nadine's aunt was murdered thirty years earlier when Nadine was fifteen and has remained unsolved ... until the killer's identity comes to light. 

Finally, in the non-fiction category, I recommend Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. Meticulously researched, the book tells the story of the Osage people in the 1920s. They became ridiculously wealthy when oil was found on their land; unfortunately, white 'guardians' were appointed to control their money. Larceny and murder ensued in a horrific, monstrous network of evil. An important book to read as we come to terms with past wrongs done to Indigenous peoples.

These are some of the books that made my favourite list this year, but there are many, many more deserving books that would make great gifts. 

Thank you to each of you for continuing to support us authors and for telling others about our books. The love of reading is a gift that keeps on giving not only this year but throughout our lives.

I wish you peace and moments of joy this holiday season in addition to pockets of time to curl up with a good book :-) 

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