A Man To Marry A Man To Bury

Susan Musgrave. A Man To Marry A Man To Bury. McClelland and Stewart, 1979.

Great poetry.

Rather Be the Devil

Ian Rankin. Rather Be the Devil. Orion, 2016.

Rebus and Big Ger - they've still got it.

Okanagan Odyssey

Don Gayton. Okanagan Odyssey: Journeys through Terrain, Terroir & Culture. Rocky Mountain Books, 2010.

I had heard of this book before, possibly from when I reviewed another Gayton title, Man Facing West. Have looked forward to reading this ever since and finally there it was in my favourite book store in Hope. Love the image and the sensuous French-fold cover. Love the braiding of wine terroir and tripling with nature walks and with traversing the geography (ie, the organization which follows the map). I'm going to suggest a couple of hesitations, but only because I like the book and its concept so much. I felt that transitions between chapters were missing. And I felt that the grasp of local and BC history was minimal, but then again, isn't that why we write books? To learn what we want to learn about the places we inhabit. 

Bad Luck and Trouble

Lee Child. Bad Luck and Trouble. Delacorte, 2007.

Fraud in a defense contract puts the nation at risk. Reacher and three former colleagues meet in LA to try to rescue four others. Helicopters and a side trip to Vegas are involved. 

At A Loss For Words

Diane Schoemperlen. At A Loss For Words: A Post-Romantic Novel. Harper Collins, 2008.

A depressing story. Depressingly familiar. Impressively written. A writer obsesses about an old flame, blaming him for her writer's block. 

A Great Reckoning

July 13, 2017

Louise Penny. A Great Reckoning. Minotaur, 2016.

#12 in the Inspector Gamache series. Commander Gamache comes out of stress leave and attempts to clean up the rot in the police academy. Another great Three Pines mystery.

Missed Her

July 8, 2017
Ivan Coyote. Misses Her. Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, 2010.

I have loved this writer's work for years. Even attended a reading once in FVRL Delta. And hear her interviewed often on the radio. She seems to prefer to identify herself as a "storyteller." Whatever label we use, she has that knack of finding the centre of each incident and giving us a flash of its beating heart.

Embers: One Ojibway's Meditations

Richard Wagamese. Embers: One Ojibway's Meditations. Douglas & McIntyre, 2016.

I followed Richard Wagamese's Facebook posts and it is so good to re-read them in this attractive collection which feels so good to touch. So sad to think that we will not hear his voice again.