Where I'm At
12 Reviews of Books You Don't Want to Miss – and my writerly year so far.
It’s hard to believe it’s the middle of February. What a year so far!
I hope, dear friends, that all is as good with you as it can possibly be.
I’ve been reading and writing up a storm and while I’m super happy with my progress, I’m always “well, that’s nice, but what’s next?”
I completely redesigned my website, lisawriter.com and if you haven’t seen it, I hope you’ll stop by for a visit. My goal was to revitalize it and update it but when I looked at it objectively, it was more like a catalogue than an actual site. So a complete redesign was needed. I also designed a little leave-behind (above) which was fun.
Next up, I got my developmental edits back from Level Best Books for That Time I Killed You and I dove into my final line edits with unparalleled passion. Well, perhaps not unparalleled, because I always throw myself in hook, line and sinker, foregoing sleep, foregoing leaving my desk and foregoing anything pertaining to a regular existence.
It’s the only way I can do it. To become one with the book and the characters and read it out loud and fix it, fix it, fix it! I’m a constant fixer and self-editor. Even when I’m prepping for a reading, I rewrite my published works. I’m not alone in this. These days “perfectionism” is considered to be a dirty word, and the urgings are to treat oneself with more kindness and compassion.
Yep. No. That’s not how I want to approach life. If I can’t be passionate me and if lukewarm is the ask, then thanks but no. If the good night is a life of quiet compromise and passivity, then I will not go gentle into that good night, because good it is not. I want to live with passion and fervour until the very moment I cannot, no matter what the cost.
My short stories also got off to a flying start this year, and I’m super happy with my submission to The Power of 13, the forthcoming Mesdames of Mayhem anthology in 2026. My story, The 13th Bird, has great potential to be a novel and I’ve fleshed out an outline for it, although my outlines never make it to the finish line in the way they started out! A futuristic, speculative fiction piece, I wonder where that novel will take me.
But before that, having finished this batch of reviews which I promised to do, and therefore must deliver, I need to scour through The Bag Lady of Borrowed Luck. I figure that will take me until the end of April and then I’ll come up for air and see what’s next. It might be The 13th Bird or perhaps my brain will need a vacation. That said, my brain is happiest when it’s lost in a fictional world of chaos and redemption, when my map flies out the window and all kinds of weird and wonderful things happen.
So that’s where this year finds me, and what has brought me to this point. And reading, reading, reading!
The goal of my review site (which I’ve had since 2017), has always been to highlight books you may have missed, books that might not have been featured on more mainstream review sites. My goal is to shine a spotlight on the unsung writing heroes in our literary community and all of these books do exactly that. Please find12 books below, in no particular order, and just to say that I really enjoyed them all and I hope you will too.
A small note on the art and act of reviewing — and while this is in no way a rant — I’m not entirely sure I want to continue with this venture. I was called to task recently for writing reviews which were more “blurby than literary,” and it made me question my efforts.
In any case, we shall see, because I truly do love shining a spotlight on books that I love. Authors won’t ever know you love a book unless you find a way to tell them. And perhaps that’s giving a starred rating on Goodreads, or writing a quick review, or simply posting a picture of your cat with the author’s book. There are so many ways to support authors and I urge you, as artists, as authors, to be the change you wish to see in the world (Gandhi), which in this case, is the world of arts and writing.
I am excited to read Hollay Ghadery’s The Unravelling of Ou (Palimpsest Press) and Melodie Campbell’s The Pharaoh’s Curse Murders (Cormorant Press), so there will be reviews of those, but as for other books, I’m honestly not sure.
In the meantime, please check out and enjoy these gems and my best wishes to you in all your endeavours!
-.-
Doubles by Nora Gold (Guernica Editions)
Doubles takes place in 1968 in an institution for troubled youth, and is told from the perspective of a brilliant, spunky, 12-year-old girl who is obsessed with math. Engagingly written and often funny, this novella explores how a sensitive young teenager changes over a six-month period from a polite, quiet “good girl” into a delinquent. Although set in the past, Doubles has direct relevance to today, with our recently heightened awareness of the harsh reality in some of our residential institutions during that era (including for Indigenous children, but not only).
This book is available for pre-order.
About the author
Dr. Nora Gold is the prize-winning author of five books and the recipient of multiple awards, including a Canadian Jewish Literary Award, a Vine Canadian Jewish Book Award, and a Canada Council translation grant. Her writing has been praised by Cynthia Ozick, Alice Munro, and Publishers Weekly, and has received international acclaim, including from the New York Times Wirecutter, Los Angeles Review of Books, and Hadassah Magazine. A former professor, Gold is also the founder and editor of the prestigious literary journal Jewish Fiction (www.jewishfiction.com), which has published 650 stories originally written in 23 languages. She’s appeared on podcasts in Canada, USA, Spain, India, and Australia, and has over 100,000 followers on LinkedIn. noragold.com
My Review:
Doubles drew me in and broke my heart. Written with deft subtlety and brilliant prose, the plight of the unnamed 12-year-old protagonist is more relevant today than ever.
“Double means x2 and 2 is a powerful number. Every second number in the world can be divided by 2. They are called even numbers; the other ones are called odd. I am odd. And always have been, according to Grandma. She didn’t say that to be mean; she only meant I’ve always been different from the other kids, which is true. Anyway, I don’t mind being an odd number; it’s just how I am.”
Gold’s writing is pitch-perfect in this diary-styled novella. We dive into the first person narrative which slowly evolves into the third person perspective as the story progresses. As we are pulled away from the protagonist, we fear for her future. And, like her, we wait, to see what happens next.
-.-
The Boulevard by Jerrod Edson (Galleon Books)
The Boulevard, an ambitious novel featuring Ernest Hemingway, Vincent van Gogh, Satan, and a train ride through Hell.
For the first time since Satan’s banishment, God plans a visit to the lower world, and Satan is in a bind. In defiance, he has built Hell in the image of Heaven, but now he must destroy its beauty or face God’s wrath. Singed with dark humour, packed with historical detail and written in Edson’s straightforward style, with themes that include the search for happiness and the importance of staying true to oneself, The Boulevard is first and foremost a testament to the undeniable power of art.
About the author
Jerrod Edson was born in Saint John, NB, in 1974. He lives in Mississauga, ON, with his wife Leigh and daughters Hadley and Harper. The Boulevard is his sixth novel.
My Review:
This book is hilarious and brilliant, moving and original; the highest praise I can offer. The novel opens with a discourse between Hemingway and Satan, marked by a delightful premise and laugh-out-loud dialogue. A few chapters into the book, my impression of Satan was that of a benign fallen angel (and I must give a shoutout to the scene where Lucifer’s wings are transformed into horns) but as the novel progresses and Satan plagues van Gogh, the true nature of evil becomes frighteningly apparent. Historically accurate, this novel invites the reader to ‘be’ van Gogh, a harrowing, illuminating, saddening and insightful POV.
This is a novel about the bravery of being an artist, of being a writer:
“You can never undo bravery,” Hemingway said. “Once you face the biggest bull, they expect it of you every time you step into the ring.”
And:
“You live or die by your audience,” Hemingway said. “But piss on it. Piss on it all. The only obligation an artist has is to make people think. It’s not to make them happy or sad or satisfied. And the worst sin an artist can commit, besides trying to please his audience, is not making them think at all. That’s what the critics don’t get. Besides, what’s the point of getting into the ring if you can’t take a punch?”
Satan grinned.
“But Ernest, you despised your critics.”
“I said take a punch,” Hemingway said. “You don’t have to like it. Nobody likes it. It’s about taking it and staying on your feet.”
The novel draws you in for the story and carries you along and the deeper meaning will forever touch your heart. The torment and torture of being an artist and a writer, as well as the difficulty of living with oneself as such, not as ordinary people, but as passion-ridden beings, driven by a passion-driven existence in which the heaviest burden becomes one’s own self.
“You are nobody’s burden but your own, Vincent. And only once you can live with yourself, and love yourself, will you truly happy.”
Can artists ever truly be happy? Living outside the comfortable norm, with no choice but to do so, it is perhaps a doomed existence.
Kudos to Edson’s wonderful writing. The reader gets swept up in this world of ambition, paint, turpentine, cigarette smoke and the never-ending quest for the salvation by way of art.
“Set your course and see it through,” Hemingway said. “Let the storm come—it comes no matter what, and there’s nothing you can do about it now.”
And, words to live by;
“Just keep yourself together, eh?” Hemingway says as he leaves Satan to face the wrath of God. Can Satan destroy his own artistic creation and survive, or must he die by sword of illegal beauty he has created? I urge you to read the book to find out.
-.-
The Blades of Grass are Dreaming by Hollay Ghadery (Anstruther Press)
About the book:
Hollay Ghadery’s new chapbook “the blades of grass are dreaming” is summed up in five words! Love, mental health, mothering, occasional verse, and sacred!
About the author
Hollay Ghadery is an award-winning Iranian-Canadian multi-genre writer living in rural Ontario on Anishinaabe land. Fuse, her acclaimed memoir of mixed-race identity and mental illness, was published by Guernica Editions’ MiroLand imprint in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her debut collection of poetry, Rebellion Box, was released with Radiant Press in April 2023. Hollay’s short-fiction collection, Widow Fantasies, was released by Gordon Hill Press in 2024. Her chapbook, the leaves of grass are dreaming, was released in November 2025 with Anstruther Press. In February 2026, her debut novel, The Unravelling of Ou, will be published by Palimpsest Press. Hollay is a board member of the League of Canadian Poets, the co-chair of the League’s BIPOC committee, as well as the Poet Laureate of the region in which she lives, and a host on The New Books Network. Hollay is also a host of HOWL—the literary arts show—on 89.5 CIUT FM, a member of The Writers Union of Canada, the Creative Nonfiction Collective, and the National Book Critics Circle.
My Review:
I’m always in awe of Ghadery’s powerful observations and insights, and the beauty of her words. Scalpel-sharp, incisive and stripping away at the plastic veneer of unthinking existence, these poems cut to loss and longing, war, motherhood, friendship and family;
“a marker of time every first
a last a page curling at the edges”
-.-
Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive by Alison Gadsby (Guernica Press)
About the book:
Breathing Is How Some People Stay Alive blurs the lines between horror, catastrophic speculative fiction, and psychological realism in a collection that might best be described as weird fiction. These connected stories offer dark reconstructions of lives brimming with desperate loneliness. They allow us to bear witness to the life-altering love of sisters, brothers, mothers… the life-altering love that buoys them as they struggle to stay afloat in the wake of childhoods they merely survived.
This book is available for pre-order.
About the author:
Alison Gadsby writes in Tkaronto/Toronto where she lives in a multigenerational home that includes several dogs. Her writing has appeared in various literary journals, including Blank Spaces, The Temz Review, The Ex-Puritan, Blue Lake Review and more. She is the founder/host of Junction Reads, a prose reading series.
My Review:
While it’s early in the year, Breathing is How Some People Stay Alive will definitely be one of my best books for 2026. I was so excited to read this collection and it surpassed any and all expectations. I simply adore the workings of Gadsby’s brain, and these stories showcase the breadth and depth of her range.
I loved the interconnectivity of the stories, and how they followed the characters through the various stages of their lives. I loved the unadulterated, flawed funniness; the vulnerability, foibles, desires, triumphs, losses, addictions, family relationships—and swimming. I loved the different structures of the stories; from a traditional structure, to a transcript of an interview, to the speculative fiction Irreplaceable which was grippingly realistic and would make a a great Black Mirror episode.
In short, I was thrilled by these stories, all of which merit several rereadings and a deep dive into ‘how did she do that?’ which is a thrill in itself; to read a writer who makes you think “I want to write like that.”
Kudos, Alison Gadsby, and I can’t wait to read what’s next.
-.-
Count on Me, by Ann Cavlovic (Guernica Press)
Count on Me exposes how a family can fracture when aging parents grow frail and debts from the past resurface. Tia is raising a baby when her older brother Tristan gradually takes over their ailing parents’ bank account, house, and medical decisions. Through a web of complex family dynamics, Tia uncovers the disaster left by Tristan’s meddling in their parents’ lives. As Tia tries to set things straight, she confronts how money and love were entangled in her family, and whether her own mothering now goes to opposite extremes. Told in an intelligent and hopeful voice, this is a story about sibling rivalry, elder abuse, how life can become transactional, and how we come to feel entitled to someone else’s money.
About the author:
Ann Cavlovic lives in Western Quebec where she writes fiction and essays. Her work has appeared in Canadian Architect, CBC First Person, Event, The Fiddlehead, The Globe and Mail, Grain, PRISM international, Room, SubTerrain, the anthology This Place a Stranger (Caitlin Press), Today’s Parent, and elsewhere. Her writing has been listed for various literary prizes and awards, including winning the 2017 Little Bird Writing Contest. Her stage play Emissions: A Climate Comedy won “Best in Fest” at the 2013 Ottawa Fringe festival.
My review:
A much-needed, critically important book at a crucial time. I was filled with admiration at Cavlovic’s deft and sensitive handling of this extremely tricky terrain; aging parents, a rapacious brother and his manipulative girlfriend, the pitfalls of long term care homes, the harrowing navigation of the often opaque and complex legal issues around care, wills, property and what comes next, when the realities of aging can no longer be avoided.
Adding to this, protagonist Tia is a single mother with a young toddler and a high-level job auditing charities. It was fascinating to read how politics makes those waters as murky as those of long term care as well as a family fractured by past mistakes and trauma.
This book should not need to exist, because we live in a nation in which we profess to protect the older vulnerable population but in this, we fail. We have failed and we still fail. So, in order to facilitate and urge change, we are left to write. There are systemic flaws in how the older generations are treated and the brutal truth needs to be uncovered as it is in Count on Me. Despite the reigning political propaganda, the prognosis for how we take care of our loved ones is not positive, nor are there sufficient safe guards against elder abuse. My hope is that this book will become a banner bearer of real change.
-.-
Anarchist’s in Love by Robert Hough (Douglas & McIntyre)
About the book:
In this compelling novel, acclaimed author Robert Hough recreates the political violence and revolutionary idealism that flowed through New York City during the Gilded Age of the 1890s. At its centre are real-life revolutionists Emma Goldman and Alexander “Sasha” Berkman, whose passionate love affair fuels their commitment to creating a better world.
Following their chance meeting at a New York café in 1890—Emma is fleeing a loveless marriage, while Sasha is becoming convinced that only a new system of thought called anarchism will liberate working people from poverty—two poor, young immigrants join New York’s political underground to overthrow all forms of government. Swept up by her new egalitarian beliefs, Emma gains a reputation as a rousing public speaker, extolling the radical virtues of workers’ rights, free love and women’s liberation. At the same time, Sasha’s own ambitions become mired in jealousy and inhibition. But when shocking news arrives that industrialist Henry C. Frick has ordered the fatal shootings of striking steel-plant workers in Pennsylvania, Sasha and Emma plot a violent act that, they hope, will ignite a worldwide anarchist revolution.
As the first work of fiction to recount this captivating story, Anarchists in Love casts light not only on a politically charged chapter of history, but also on forces of desperation and insurgence that are still in effect today.
About the author:
Robert Hough has been published to rave reviews around the world. He is the author of The Final Confession of Mabel Stark (Vintage Canada, 2002), shortlisted for both the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for best first book and the Trillium Book Award; The Stowaway (Vintage Canada, 2004), one of the Boston Globe’s top ten fiction titles of 2004; The Culprits (Vintage Canada, 2008); Dr. Brinkley’s Tower (House of Anansi, 2012), shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award for fiction and longlisted for the Giller Prize; The Man Who Saved Henry Morgan (House of Anansi, 2015), a finalist for the Trillium Book Award; Diego’s Crossing (Annick Press, 2015), shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award; and his recent novel, The Marriage of Rose Camilleri (2021). Hough lives in Toronto, ON.
My review:
“She (Emma Goldman) raged against the privileges of the rich, the tyranny of the family, the suffocating institution that was marriage, the pipe dream that was capitalism, the backroom racket that was socialism, the parlour trick that was the judicial system, the brutal tool of repression that was the police, the three-card monte that was organized religion.” … “her solution was freedom, her solution was a collective consciousness, her solution was a genuine respect for others. “My solution,” she said at the end of her address, “is love, in all it’s pure and anarchic forms.”
Emma Goldman lived in a time of upheaval and questioning, a time of desperate survival, poverty, joblessness and life at the mercy of rich and powerful industrialists; a time not unlike today;
“You know what? I think it’s impossible to create true art in the middle of a revolution. Everything’s too infected with politics, with it’s-got-to-be-this-way-or-nothing. When everyone’s mad, all art becomes dogma.”—Sofia, poet, Sasha’s lover.
Are we not in the midst of a revolution right now? It’s true that every generation feels theirs is the best of times, the worst of times, but there’s no denying that insurrection and disruption are the underlying ethos of many current world leaders. Yes, we like to say that Canada is a good place to be, and it’s true, but with food banks seeing higher numbers than ever, the unhoused population on the rise while the almost militant and relentless march of the grocery chains to suck dry the wallets of the average person, one cannot help but wish that we had an Emma Goldman today.
The trouble is, even if she did exist, she’d be vilified by social media, suffocated by ignorant comments posted anonymously with avowals of hate and destruction.
Perhaps Anarchist’s in Love is a cry for all of us to become anarchists in our lives; to question, to stand up for the rights of others, to love fiercely with flawed humanity, to not value above all the perfectly-phrased discourse wrapped in therapy-speak, which pays lip service to support and soft landings while keeping a beady eye for any unwitting transgressions followed by the inevitable digital beheadings and ghostings.
“As we all know,” Sasha started, “anarchism is a peaceful belief system, one that does not believe in wars, or conflict, or oppression. In fact, the very goal of anarchism is peace. And yet, we also know that the true anarchist, when called upon, has a duty to combat force with force. Naturally, I am talking of the attentat, which should never be confused with violence. To me, they are opposite terms. To remove a tyrant is an act of liberation, the giving of life to the oppressed.”
Brilliantly written, Anarchist’s in Love is a transportive novel, taking the reader to an alternative place of philosophical and political being—and it was a read that I truly enjoyed and highly recommend.
-.-
RuFF by Rod Carley, Latitude 46
About the book:
Rod Carley is back with another theatrical odyssey packed with an unforgettable cast of Elizabethan eccentrics. It’s a madcap world more modern than tomorrow where gender is what a person makes of it (no matter the story beneath their petticoats or tights). Will Shakespeare is having a very bad year. Suffering from a mid-life crisis, a plague outbreak, and the death of the ancient Queen, Will’s mettle is put to the test when the new King puts his witch-burning hobby aside to announce a national play competition that will determine which theatre company will secure his favour and remain in business. As he struggles to write a Scottish supernatural thriller, Will faces one ruff and puffy obstacle after another including a young rival punk poet and his activist-wife fighting for equality and a woman’s right to tread the boards. Will and his band of misfits must ensure not only their own survival, but that of England as well. The stage is set for an outrageous and compelling tale of ghosts, ghostwriting, writer’s block, and the chopping block. Ruffly based on a true story.
About the author:
Rod is the award-winning author of three previous works of literary fiction: GRIN REAPING (long listed for the 2023 Leacock Medal for Humour, 2022 Bronze Winner for Humour from Foreword Review INDIES, a Finalist for the 2023 Next Generation Indie Book Award for Humor/Comedy, and long listed for the ReLit Group Awards for Best Short Fiction of 2023); KINMOUNT (long listed for the 2021 Leacock Medal for Humour and Winner of the 2021 Silver Medal for Best Regional Fiction from the Independent Publishers Book Awards); A Matter of Will (Finalist for the 2018 Northern Lit Award for Fiction). His short stories and creative non-fiction have appeared in a variety of Canadian literary magazines including Broadview (winner of the 2022 Award of Excellence for Best Seasonal Article from the Associated Church Press), Cloud Lake Literary, Blank Spaces, Exile, HighGrader, and the anthology 150 Years Up North and More. He was a finalist for the 2021 Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Prize. Rod was the 2009 winner of TVO’s Big Ideas/Best Lecturer Competition for his lecture entitled “Adapting Shakespeare within a Modern Canadian Context. He is a proud alumnus of the Humber School for Writers and is represented by Carolyn Forde, Senior Literary Agent with The Transatlantic Agency. www.rodcarley.ca.
My review:
It seems I’m drawn of late to novels about artists and writers and the perils and pitfalls of traversing this rocky and fickle road of living by artistic endeavour. And there’s no better fodder for this fare than William Shakespeare, reimagined and explored in a funny, bright, sharp, witty novel that that is RuFF.
Carley cleverly probes at, pokes fun at, and delights his readers with pithy sociological insights and banter that will have you laughing out loud.
Familial unrest, the stress of an uneven political landscape, the plague and fearsome witch hunts abound, but for Will, his focus remains clear even if his exact journey forward at that moment remains dim.
“Will was in the business of reaching thousands of people. Though his imagination soared to faraway places, the fantasies that excited him had their roots in the actual circumstances of his life, in the expectations and longings and frustrations generated by those circumstances right there in Stratford.”
I loved how Carley threaded Will’s world with modern-day dilemmas, mirror-imaging then and now, in a highly relatable, and at the same time, informative and insightful novel.
Fascinating, funny, and meticulously researched, RuFF is a five-star must-read.
-.-
Dangerous Assumptions by Desmond P. Ryan, Level Best Books
About the book:
Detective Mike O’Shea is spiralling—consumed by painkiller addiction, alcohol, and the crushing weight of unresolved grief. As his personal demons threaten to take control, he’s pulled into a chilling case: a woman is found dead, her son rotting beside her, discovered only when neighbors are alerted by the unbearable stench of decay.
Meanwhile, O’Shea’s obsession with the killer of his former partner, Sal, continues to haunt him. The elusive murderer has evaded justice for years, but O’Shea has always suspected something more—an untold truth buried beneath the surface. As he digs further, he uncovers a terrifying reality: the killer’s freedom isn’t just a coincidence—it’s the result of high-level corruption that runs far deeper than he ever imagined.
As the conspiracy begins to unravel, the threat intensifies, drawing in those closest to O’Shea. Detective Sergeant Amanda Black, one of the few who knows the whole story, becomes the target of an assassination attempt. With her pending promotion and O’Shea’s growing addiction-fuelled paranoia, he starts to wonder if he can still trust her—especially if she’s crossing over.
Haunted by years of policing that have left him physically and emotionally scarred, O’Shea is worn down by the weight of it all. Torn between his duty and an overwhelming sense of exhaustion, he struggles to hold on as the stakes rise and the lines between right and wrong blur. He must decide whether to keep fighting—or walk away, knowing the cop killer who took Sal’s life still roams free.
About the author:
Desmond P. Ryan’s transition from a Toronto Police detective to a crime fiction author is clearly reflected in the rich authenticity of his novels. In The Mike O’Shea Series, he channels the gritty realism reminiscent of Joseph Wambaugh, immersing readers in the harsh realities of law enforcement. Through vivid descriptions and compelling characters, Desmond captures the raw essence of the streets and the daunting challenges faced by those who patrol them, drawing from his own experiences to lend credibility to his narratives.
Similarly, in his A Pint of Trouble books, Desmond channels the humor and wit akin to Richard Osmon’s Thursday Murder Club series, introducing readers to a mildly Machiavellian protagonist and her unlikely sidekick both navigating the world of amateur sleuthing with charm and ingenuity. His background in law enforcement allows him to infuse the stories with authentic details and a deep understanding of human nature, enhancing the believability of his characters and their interactions.
Having spent years patrolling the diverse neighborhoods of Toronto, Desmond’s writing is imbued with firsthand knowledge and experiences, lending an unparalleled level of credibility to his portrayals of crime and justice. Living in Cabbagetown, a Toronto neighborhood with its own character and history, adds another layer of authenticity to Desmond’s writing. His intimate knowledge of people and the places they inhabit enriches his storytelling, providing readers with a vivid backdrop against which his characters come to life.
My Review:
Desmond P. Ryan is Canada’s own Mark Billingham. And if you’re a fan of Billingham’s (as I am), then you’ll know what makes his novels such top-notch cop thrillers. The daily grind, the camaraderie, the hustle of petty criminals, the toll of the job, the banter—and the Sunday night dinners with Mary Margaret.
As much of a mess as as Mike O’Shea is in Dangerous Assumptions, he’s still got the chops, and while, as a reader, you’re wondering (and worrying) how he’ll hold it all together, you love every minute spent with Mike, Amanda and Ron (who’s one of my favourite characters).
Gritty, real, and a compelling read from start to finish, Dangerous Assumptions, is great and, like all great detective novels, the minute you finish it, you’ll be jonesing for the next book. Book 6 is predicted to be the final instalment in the Mike O’ Shea books but hopefully Ryan will be back with more Mike O’Shea. And in the meantime, Mr. Ryan, your fans also eagerly wait the next installment in A Pint of Trouble!
Readers, here are the books in order: 10-33 Assist PC, Death Before Coffee, Man at the Door, Blind Spot and Dangerous Assumptions. I recently reread them all in a leadup to reading Dangerous Assumptions and they were fabulous.
-.-
Darling Nudes: Creative Direction by The Darling Mansion owner/founder Tanya Grossi, art by Adrian Holmes.
About the book:
“This collection honours the timeless elegance of the human form, portrayed with artistic intention and reverence, in the tradition of fine art photography.
A series of nudes, all shot at The Darling Mansion, a private residence and location rental in Toronto, over the course of 10 years by Adrian Holmes.
Featuring 15 models, this collection captures Adrian’s artistic eye through the lens. The Darling Mansion’s sinfully indulgent, surreal sense of design provides the perfect backdrop for this epic collaboration.
Cinematic, powerful, erotic, and beautiful — a must-have for any artist, creative, interior designer, rockstar, or collector of fine art nude books.”
Tanya Grossi, Curator of The Darling Mansion.
About the photographer:
Adrian Holmes is a Canadian fine art photographer with a career spanning over 30 years. Since 1992, he has used his camera not just as a tool but as a meansto explore beauty, imtimacy, and the nuanced narratives of the human form. He draws inspiration from classical portraiture, architechtural composition, the raw elegance of nature and the stylized sensuality of 1970’s photography, and the emotive depth of painting music.
My Review:
It goes without saying that we live in strange times. Strange in that song lyrics can be as vile, vulgar and violent as they desire but a nipple on Facebook sends the world into a tizzy and there you go, banished from the site. There’s a strange puritanical overlay to the careful political correctness of being urged to be your own true self, express yourself and act with kindness towards yourself and others but, for the love of God, keep your nudes out of sight and behind closed doors.
So it’s with great delight that I’d like to showcase Darling Nudes, a “celebration of freedom, femininity, and the kind of collaboration that says yes to glam, seduction, and Froot Loops in the bathtub.”
The cover features Tanya Grossi in her grenadine Jacuzzi tub filled with Foot Loops; “part pop-art performance, part lacquered surrealism, the image blurs the lines between glamour and satire, indulgence and irreverence—rightfully titled ‘Breakfast of Champions’.”
I met Tanya Grossi many years ago when documentarian Cat Mills gathered the Mesdames of Mayhem at the Darling Mansion to shoot stills for our documentary Meet the Women who Love Murder: The Mesdames of Mayhem.
We shot our iconic portrait at the Darling Mansion that day and it was wonderful, filled with feather boas and creativity as we roamed and explored and played in the fantastic venue.
And Tanya Grossi. Stunning in her own right, curating her life with cutting edge creativity and living the dream—and translating it into this beautiful book.
Each page of this book is a treat, a delicious, inspiring, life-affirming, joyful treat. Figs to Facebook and its nipple-phobia, figs to quiet, careful tip-toeing through life. Let’s fling our hats to the stars, and be daring and wild and free, beautiful in every shape and form and immortal, even if only for a moment.
-.-
How do you Earn by Cinders McLeod, Penguin Random House
Discover a fun way a little bunny earns some extra carrots, and learn about addition and subtraction too!
Carrots are money in Bunnyland, and Toonie really wants to earn some—but how? Well, he loves to paint—and everyone needs some nice artwork. So he takes out his easel, collects his supplies, and gets to work. Hippity hop, paint and don’t stop! Soon he has enough paintings to fill a whole gallery, and now all he needs are some customers. Good thing he has a big family and lots of friends! Little bunnies will get a kick out of watching this little go-getter rake in the carrots while doing something he loves!
About the author:
Cinders McLeod wrote and illustrated the Moneybunny Books Give It!, Save It!, Spend It!, and Earn It! and is the creator of the book and comic strip Broomie Law. Her illustrations have appeared in The Guardian, The Express, The Observer, The Independent, Herald Scotland, The Scotsman, The Globe and Mail, and Macleans, and on CBC television. Her work has been recognized by the Society for News Design, the National Magazine Awards, the National Newspaper Awards, and The Guinness Book of Records. Cinders is also a recorded singer-songwriter-double bassist, a Gaelic language student, and a mother of two. She lives in Toronto, Canada.
My Review:
I’m a great fan of children’s books. Come for the artwork, stay for the wise message, carry the joy. I love the cut-to-the-chase directness of the content and I think all adults would benefit from picking up a beautifully illustrated work that, while harkening one back to a time of uncomplicated world-magicness, contextualizes our modern day world. And the artwork, particularly the illustrations in the Moneybunny Books, will bring a smile of delight to your heart. It’s simply impossible to not feel happy when you look at Toonie! McLeod’s artistry is sublime.
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The Sulphur Spring Cure by Jeffrey Round, Cormorant Books
About the book:
In 1939, fourteen-year-old Violet and her parents arrive at the Sulphur Springs Hotel, drawn in along with other desperate guests by legends of the waters’ restorative properties. Here, curious young Violet strikes up an instant friendship with the hotelier’s worldly daughter, Julia. Together, they attempt to solve the mysteries behind the hotel’s luxury façade — including the cases of the brownie thief, the secretive hotel director, and the flirtatious gardener.
But when one of Violet’s investigations leads her to commit an act of treachery, she unwittingly aids a murderous plot. Seventy years later, the killer has yet to be caught.
In 2009, a widowed Violet returns to the hotel, now in ruins. Her intention is to solve this cold case. The scene of the crime reveals new clues and revives old memories, including that of her lost family and her own sexual awakening. Now, confronting her final years, Violet is desperate to make peace with her ghosts, even if she may be seventy years too late.
About the author:
Jeffrey Round is an award-winning author, playwright, and filmmaker. His books include the Dan Sharp Mysteries, the Bradford Fairfax Comic Mysteries, and Endgame, a punk rock reboot of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. He directed the Agatha Christie stage classic, The Mousetrap, for three of its 27 record-breaking years at Toronto Truck Theatre. The Sulphur Springs Cure, a Miss Marple–style historical whodunit from Cormorant Books, is his latest book.
My Review:
A delight of a book! Filled with dry humour, an atmospheric setting and an angst-wrought time period of history, this novel explores sexuality, coming-of-age sensuality and painfully earned wisdom, betrayal, secrets, lies and longing. And it’s all wrapped up in a book you simply can’t put down. It’s as good as any evening in front of a fire, with a glass of sherry in hand and a basset hound at your feet. You’ll love spending time with Violet and her niece Claire as they get to the bottom of a decades-old mystery. And while the clues were deftly laid, I didn’t figure out the who-dunnit which always means kudos to the author.
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And that’s all for for now, folks! Thank you for reading A Turn of Phrase!
Thank you so very much!!! ❤️
I'm amazed by your productivity. All this output, and a black belt too!