The Paper Birds

Finished July 13

The Paper Birds by Jeannette Lynes

This historical novel follows Toronto high school graduate Gemma Sullivan from June 1943 through the end of World War II. Gemma was orphaned when her parents drowned in a swimming accident and she's had a fear of water ever since. She was raised by her Aunt Wren, a former milliner and now a seamstress. One of her teachers has recommended her for a job doing code breaking and with her signature on the Official Secrets Act, she can't tell her aunt, or anyone else what she actually does, so she just says office work.

Aunt Wren is still grieving the loss of her fiancé in World War I and her declining eyesight has led her to stop working in millinery and put them into precarious financial circumstances, so Gemma's income is very important for them. They also decide to take in a lodger, Rooney Delacroix, a young woman from Gravenhurst who has a job working at a tannery in the city. Rooney is a pleasant girl, but has her own secrets. 

Beatrice Fearing, Gemma's supervisor, worked as a math professor before working on code breaking and there are three other young women that work in the same small cottage near the lake. Cora-Lynn Ponder, a university math student had taken classes from Miss Fearing. Hester Hobbs is good with logical problems, and Ada Swift also works at another site where she secrets a variety of devices in objects. She's a good analyst. 

Wren is glad to use some of Gemma's pay to go to an eye doctor and get new glasses, and along with improved eyesight, she begins to look forward in her life with more optimism. 

One lunch hour, when Gemma takes a walk, she encounters a hungry cat and a young man behind a fence of a POW camp. She develops feelings for both, and must decide whether to trust her instincts. 

The war work is interesting and I enjoyed the personalities of the different women in the novel. Some of the coincidences in connections were a stretch, but it was still an enjoyable read. 

Her Big City Neighbor

Finished June 27

Her Big City Neighbor by Jackie Lau

This is the first book in the Cider Bar Sisters series, a series set in Toronto around a group of female friends. Amy Sharpe has inherited a house in Toronto from her great aunt. She takes the opportunity to leave her small Ontario town and go back to university for her masters degree in engineering. Her family has depended on her for a lot of things and they have trouble adjusting to her not being near them. 

In Toronto, she decides to take on a roommate to share her house, and finds one that shares the same name as her favourite fictional character. The roommate introduces her to her friends group and Amy fits in well with the diverse group. 

Amy really explores the city, visiting different areas of it and, since Amy is a foodie, she also explores the wide variety of food and drink available in the city. This is prominent in the novel, with mentions of restaurants, cafés, and bars along with descriptions of the food experiences. 

Amy also notices her next-door neighbour, Victor Lau, only a few years older than her and with a habit of sitting in his yard, and mowing his lawn shirtless. She makes friendly advances and the chemistry between them moves things along. Victor is quiet and keeps to himself, partly because he is still grieving the loss of a sibling. He is close to his sisters and mom who all still live in his hometown of Edmonton. 

There is a theme her of strong female characters, from Amy's grandmother and great aunt to her own generation. Amy works hard to ensure she doesn't fall into traps from the past where she was taken for granted in her relationships. 

A very enjoyable read, and my copy has a teaser from the next book in the series.  

6:40 to Montreal

Finished November 9

6:40 to Montreal by Eva Jurczyk

This locked room mystery is quite the page-turner. The narrator is Agatha, a woman who wrote a mystery book featuring a yoga instructor that became a best seller. Now, she's trying to work on a second book, but is coming up short on ideas. She's also been undergoing cancer treatment and as a result has been stuck in a depression. Her husband Teddy has given her a gift of a business-class, round-trip ticket from Toronto to Montreal by train, thinking that she can use the uninterrupted, mostly internet-free journey there and back to write. She's a little disappointed in the gift, which doesn't even include a night in Montreal before returning, and she has planned something on her own that he isn't aware of.

It a day of a winter storm, and by the time Agatha gets down to Union Station the snow is coming down quite intensely. The attendant, Dorcas, seems professional and friendly and then gets distracted by the task of teaching an intern the basics of the job. Agatha is one of the first people on the car, and notices a mother and young adult son, Vivien and Rupinder get on because they are seated in the emergency exit row, and Dorcas explains the emergency procedure to them. 

The car isn't full, yet an older man, Finch Weatherby, sits beside her and tries to get her to give up her seat to him. She takes an immediate dislike to him, and that only increases as he makes some loud phone calls that are abusive and demeaning to the person on the other end. A couple other people get on, but Agatha has been distracted by Finch and doesn't really notice them.

She still has trouble focusing on writing and finds her mind going in other directions. When the train suddenly stops and all but emergency power goes off, the passengers begin to ask questions and worry about how long they will be stopped. When they discover that one of the passengers is dead, they begin to suspect each other. As the passengers begin to get more anxious and the tension increases, they find even more to worry about and tensions continue to build. The doors on their car have been locked in the emergency and they can't move away from each other. 

Fast-moving and dark, this novel offers lots of twisty elements. 

Did one of them kill the passenger, and if so, why? 

Only Because It's You

Finished August 4

Only Because It's You by Rebecca Fisseha

This novel has an Ethiopian Canadian woman Miz as the main character. She came to Canada for medical reasons when she was a young child, brought there by her mother, and they stayed. Her father remained in Ethiopia. When she was fourteen, her mother sent her back to Ethiopia to stay with her father for the summer. She learned then that her parents were still married and that surprised her. She also hung out with some kids her age while she was there, and became friends with Kal. Years later Kal came to Canada as a visitor, but managed to get a work visa as an actor. He had a mentor, Oliver, who gave him advice and help, and who was working to get a theatre company to do sponsorship for him. 

Miz has always said that she would never marry, citing her parents' relationship as the reason. She's had a few casual relationships, more based on physical attraction than emotional connection.

When Kal's sponsorship falls through and his work visa is getting close to the end, Miz starts trying to find other ways for him to stay, including finding a woman for him to marry. Eventually they settle on her being his spousal sponsor and they have a civil ceremony at Toronto City Hall. But because they already have an emotional relationship, and they know each other's family members, it gets weird for Miz. A planned visit to Ethiopia brings up more issues, some from the past and some from the current situation. 

The plot was interesting, and I liked Kal, but Miz really began to annoy me. It seems that she needed therapy to deal with a lot of unresolved issues around her feelings toward her parents and her feelings about relationships. So I didn't really connect to her as a character as much as I usually do in novels. 

I enjoyed learning about some of the Ethiopian culture included. 

Meet Me at the Lake

Finished June 26

Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune

This light-hearted romance novel mixes intense experiences with a real attention to setting. As it begins, Fern Brookbanks has graduated university in Toronto and plans to spend the next few days seeing some things in the city that she hasn't visited yet. She's just wrapped a visit from her best friend that didn't go as well as she hoped. The coffee shop she works at going through a refresh and her job for the day is to supervise the artist who is painting a mural on one of the walls. Will Baxter is the artist and he is leaving the following day to return to his home in Vancouver. When he finished his work, he proposes taking her to some of his favourite places in the city, and it turns into a nearly day-long adventure. There was a connection between them that they both recognized, but they both have a boyfriend or girlfriend waiting for them, and plans to leave the city soon. Fern has also shared some of her inner turmoils with Will, things that she hasn't shared with her friends or family. They agree to meet a year later at the dock at the resort that Fern's mom runs near Huntsville. 

Fern went on to do some things that she felt driven to do, and that Will had encouraged her to follow, but she makes sure she is at Brookbanks Resort a year later, but Will never showed up. 

Then the novel jumps ten years into the future, where Fern finds herself back at the resort, running it, with her old boyfriend working as manager and her best friend nearby expecting her first child. When Will appears, she is definitely surprised and confused, but after some thought agrees to take the assistance that he offers regarding the future direction of the resort and how to deal with the tough financial situation she has found it in. Will is very different that she has imagined him in some ways, and so familiar in others. 

This is a story that really evokes the places that the story takes place in, both Toronto, and the cottage country lakeside resort. It's also about the characters. Fern is struggling with grief, guilt, and love as she takes on a challenge she isn't sure she wants. Will is intense, but also thoughtful and talented. The supporting characters, from Fern's friends to resort regulars are warm and pleasant people who also have interesting quirks and backstories. I really enjoyed this book, and understand why it is such a popular summer read. 

Detective Aunty

Finished March 11

Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin

This cosy mystery follows Kauser Khan as she faces a family crisis. Kauser and her husband moved from Scarborough to North Bay after the death of their younger son. Kauser took it very hard, and wasn't able to handle life in the same surroundings. That was years ago, and with Kauser's husband dying a little less than a year ago, she's been adjusting to a new solo life, while still keeping in contact with her daughter in Scarborough and her son in England. 

When her daughter, Sana, phones her to see that she needs her, and that Sana is suspected of murder, Kauser overcomes her fears and books the next flight to Toronto. Her best friend May drives her to the airport and we hear from her how Kauser is one of those people who notices things. Small things that others don't, but that tell one things about situations and people. She encourages Kauser to get to the bottom of things, but Kauser's first consideration is Sana and her family, particularly her two young daughters. 

After her children were both in school, Sana started a clothing boutique in a small strip mall near her home. Her husband was supportive, and Sana has been doing well. When she went into the store early one day, she finds her landlord in her store and very dead. When the murder weapon is found to be from the store as well, Sana finds herself the prime suspect. 

Kauser arrives at Sana's and lets herself in, but with no one home, she gives in to curiosity and walk over to the mall, checking out the investigation, and observing things closely. Back home, she finds that Sana has been released and both girls are home from school. 

Kauser notices some issues with Sana's relationship with her husband, and a tension within the family. As she digs deeper into the family dynamics, she also reaches out to old friends, both those of her and her husband, and those of her children. Using these connections, she arranges for a lawyer for Sana, and follows her instincts as she asks for other favours to answer the questions that come to her. 

The book also leaves a hint for a future sequel, one I would definitely be interested in. 

I liked the main character, and her skills with relationships. There's a lot going on, but she is able to use her skills, and the way that some underestimate her due to her age, gender, and religion, to gather the information that she needs. 

Enough

Finished September 16

Enough by Kimia Eslah

This novel looks at three Iranian-Canadian women from different generations and shows us how they experience workplace racism and sexism, giving particularly emphasis to microaggressions. 

Sameera Jahani is a millennial and has just been hired as the manager of the Web and Digital Communications team at the City of Toronto. She lives with her partner Shannon in the queer village neighbourhood. 

Faiza Hosseini is the director of Program Support at the city, a position she's reached over many years at the city. She lives with her husband Robert, an executive who works less onerous hours, her mother Bibi, and her daughters Mina, sixteen, and Pari, seven. Mina is her daughter with Ali, her first husband, the one she emigrated from Iran with. 

Goldie Sheer has just been hired for her first job since graduating university, a three-month contract as a database administrator with the city. She lives at home with her parents, her younger brother Hussain, and her older brother Dariush. Dariush has recently moved back home after a relationship breakup and has had trouble adjusting to life in Canada, while the two younger children were born in Canada.

The three work in different departments, but their paths cross, and they come together over similar social issues. 

Faiza reports to the city manager, Howard Crawley, a man who seems much more forward-thinking than he is, partly because he has the tendency to farm his work out to those willing to do it as part of advancing their careers. Faiza is the latest one to do this, and she has been working as his assistant in all but name recently. She has just finished putting together a presentation on EDI initiatives, and applies formally for a recently posted position as Howard's assistant. 

Faiza has a great management style, focused on teamwork and respect, and she has built allies across departments. One of these is Voula Stavros, the director of Customer Service, who plays a key role in the novel. Bibi has a different expectation of what being a mother means than Faiza does, and this brings in a fourth generation in social expectations. 

Goldie is bright and looks for opportunities, and this both helps and hinders her in her new position. We also see her with her best friend Issa, who is black and experiences more blatant racism than Goldie does. 

Sameera is shown both in situations where she speaks up and situations where she doesn't, and this is something that she must think about in terms of her future. 

Throughout the novel, Farsi dialogue is mixed into the conversations and shown in italics, with English following where necessary for understanding. This is done in such a natural and seamless way and I really found this so helpful in giving a sense of culture, and showing how similar we are. 

I really enjoyed this book and also found it touched on issues that need to be discussed. This would be a really interesting choice for a book club. 

Prime Time Romance

Finished June 13

Prime Time Romance by Kate Robb

The second novel from this author is just as engrossing as her first. Brynn is finally getting over the sudden end of her marriage, one she didn't see coming. She is managing the mortgage on her Toronto condo by getting a roommate. Josh works as a bartender at a popular bar and is dealing with his own grief at his failure to keep his dad's bar going after his death a few years ago. With their different work schedules, Josh and Brynn don't actually see each other that often. Brynn's been bingeing on her favourite television series from her teenager years, Carson's Cove, which centered on a group of teenagers on a small New England island town of the same name. One theme of the show was the love of two of the teens, who never expressed their feelings for each other, although several seasons ended in cliffhanger moments. When the series was suddenly cancelled after one of these scenes as Spencer goes off to college and Sloan travels to Paris, fans were left hanging. Brynn just wants a happy ending, for the characters as well as herself. 

The book opens as Brynn is out with some friends, more acquaintances really, she uses her familiarity with the bar Josh works at to get the group in, but soon finds herself wishing she was back home in front of the television. When Josh sees her in need of a way home, he ends his shift early and accompanies her home and watches a couple episodes of the show with her. Just as they are both about to call it a day, a delivery person arrives with a birthday cake, which they both have a piece of. 

When they awake, they find themselves in the fictional Carson's Cove, with Brynn living as an older Sloan, back in town for a while. Josh finds himself cast as Fletcher, a guy who lives above his aunt's bar, and has a reputation for unreliability and a bad boy. 

With Spencer back in town as well, things seem to be set up for the happy ending Brynn has been dreaming of, but is that really the best outcome for the characters. 

I liked how Robb teased a bit with the predictable happy ending, but gave the characters more depth, and introduced a new viewpoint into the nature the main as well as the secondary characters, both friends and rivals. 

This had me thinking about the new takes on some shows and movies from the past that reveal some problematic situations and personalities as we look back on them from our, hopefully, more enlightened present. 

I also liked the inclusion of real Canadian places, like Orillia into the plotline. 

Definitely a page turner for me. 

Executor

Finished May 24

Executor by Louise Carson

This novel is a mystery novel with a literary and social justice slant. Peter Forrest, a York University professor and poet, finds that one of his mentors, the poet Eleanor Brandon, has died, and named him her literary executor. Peter and Eleanor had a personal relationship at one point, after his failed first marriage, but it didn't last, and Peter is now happily married and plans to travel to China in the coming days to finalize the adoption of their third child from that country. 

Eleanor's death, despite her illness, was not a natural one, and there is some question about whether it is suicide or murder, and Peter is on the suspect list. 

As Peter goes through her papers, he finds that many of her more recent poems reflect her social activism on behalf of Chinese dissidents. On his trip to China to pick up young Annie, he finds several things suspicious. First, young Annie doesn't look like the photo they received of her. Then, he finds his visit to her orphanage raising questions about the staff there. On an outing with her, he is approached by a Chinese man who passes him some information. 

As he maneuvers the security of both Chinese and Canadian government workers, he keeps his eyes and ears open for more things that seem suspicious. 

Despite Peter's intention to stick to only the literary side of Eleanor's legacy, he finds it entangled with her social activism and impossible to separate from it. 

Now, his worry is who might be behind her death and whether he and his family are in danger. 

This was a book that drew in aspects of international diplomacy and several issues that have been raised around China with a more personal story. 

A quick and interesting read. 

The Stand-In

Finished May 19

The Stand-In by Lily Chu

This delightful novel has a lot going on, and I stayed up too late a few nights because I had trouble putting it down. The central character, Gracie Reed, is an only child struggling to pay for her mother's nursing home. She knows her mother's progression into dementia means that she will need more care and a better atmosphere, but she can't afford the home she is waitlisted on. 

Aside from that, she is also dealing with a toxic work atmosphere, where her pleasant and agreeable manner have her fending off increasingly forward advances from her boss Todd. It has got to the point where she has called in sick to work to meet with a lawyer about it. After the meeting with the lawyer, she stopped at one of her favourite coffee shops for a pick-me-up before heading home. At the coffee shop, she is photographed by an aggressive man who the store manager kicked out afterwards. 

She finds that her picture has been put online as that of Wei Fangli, a Chinese movie star. When Fangli approaches her with an interesting proposition, she is taken aback. Fangli wants her to be seen as Fangli for the next couple of months, while Fangli and her co-star Sam Yao star in a live theatre production in the city. Gracie would do all the non-theatre events and outings to let Fangli focus only on her work. She asks for some time to think about it, but the money is tempting. 

The next day she finds her mind is made up for her as Todd has seen the photograph and accuses her of calling in sick fraudulently and fires her. Gracie's best friend Anjali is upset that Gracie hadn't told her how bad Todd was, and understands that she needs a job, but thinks the deal with Fangli is a bad one. 

As Gracie begins her role as Fangli, she must deal with learning details about the star and her work, practicing mimicking the way she moves, and coming up with responses to expected media questions. On the plus side, she now has access to an incredible wardrobe, high-end cosmetics and skin-care, and is staying in a really nice hotel suite. She also deals with Fangli's assistant Mei, who does most of the training required.

Dealing with Sam Yao, who will be accompanying her on almost all her outings is more complex. They get off to a bad start, but gradually work out some ground rules that determine how they can get along. 

I liked the Toronto setting, with some of the details of the city coming into the story. I also really liked Gracie and could relate to her personality and her people-pleasing nature. It was also really fun to see the clothes and other luxurious things that entered her life from her viewpoint of awe and pleasure. I also liked the serious side of dealing with dementia. 

The other plotline was Gracie's love for list making, especially to-do lists. She has tried a few apps, and paper tools, but hasn't had any that really clicked for her. She decides to take the time she has to work on designing her own app, and some of the hints along the way looked really interesting. I also like lists, and haven't found an app that clicked, so enjoyed seeing this plot develop. 

The romance was nicely done, with a touch of enemies to friends to lovers, and a slow burn. A very enjoyable read. 

Bay Street

Finished November 15

Bay Street by Philip Slayton

The action in this novel takes place around a Bay Street law firm. Piper Fantouche is a junior partner in the law firm, but feels like she's not able to get enough billable hours to advance herself there. one of the senior partners asks her to join a team that is handling a takeover bid in the financial services industry, but he may have ulterior motives. Other women in the firm or previously in the firm have been the subject of his attention in the past. 

There are issues of competition within the law firm, issues with the takeover bid itself and the bank initiating it, and issues around women in the book. 

The narration shows us the thoughts and viewpoints of a number of characters throughout the course of the novel, but it still feels oddly formal, and I always felt like I was watching things from a distance rather than getting pulled into the book. 

The plot is interesting in some ways, especially since I once worked in downtown Toronto in the financial industry, but it wasn't compelling. 

Things We Do in the Dark

Finished December 18

Things We Do in the Dark by Jennifer Hillier

This novel has a touch of suspense and a lot of delving into the past. In Seattle, Paris Peralta comes home early from a yoga conference. Paris has been married only a few years to the much older Jimmy Peralta, a comedian and actor. Their unlikely relationship is based on real liking for each other and respect. So when she comes in to find him dead in the bathtub, she is shocked, dismayed, and in disbelief. As she tries to save him, even though she knows he is beyond saving, she knocks herself out and thus finds herself waking to screams, police, and an accusation of murder.

In Toronto, Drew Malcolm is upset to learn that convicted murderer Ruby Reyes is being released on parole. It isn't the murder that bothers him as much as the way she is being depicted as a MeToo victim when he knows better. Years before, he was fascinated by the story and it is part of what led him to a career in journalism. He knows does a podcast on criminal cases. He also got to know Ruby's daughter Joelle, and was her roommate for a while, and knows that Ruby was also convicted of child abuse in her treatment of Joelle. That is something that he can't forgive her for and thus why he has a personal stake in the case. When Joelle died in a house fire shortly after Drew confronted her about her life choices, it created both a feeling of guilt in him and one of unresolved issues between them that can never to dealt with. He resolves to make it his mission to paint a picture of Ruby for the public that shows her true colours. 

As these two stories gradually come together, we get a clearer picture of Paris, of Ruby and her daughter Joelle, and of the way that the press influences news stories. We also see more deeply into the foster care system, into the lives of those struggling to afford a place to live and a better future, and into those who can't let go of past relationships. 

A fascinating read with characters that truly come alive to the reader. 

We gradually learn that Paris has a hidden past, one that she definitely doesn't want to come out. The novel jumps back in time to one years before. 

Leave Me By Dying

Finished April 8

Leave Me By Dying by Rosemary Aubert

This is the fourth book in the series featuring Ellis Portal, a man who was once a revered judge in the Ontario courts, and then became homeless. This book is a jump back in time, told as memories of Ellis as he considers whether to return to being a lawyer. The story here returns Ellis to the 1960s, where he is in law school. This book tells of an event that became a pivotal point in his life. 

One of Ellis' friends, Gleason Adams, is a young man from a wealthy family, and the story begins as he asks Ellis to join him at the morgue for a meeting in the middle of the night. 

Ellis joins him there, and after waiting for a considerable time, the two are admitted to the morgue where they witness the start of an autopsy that is unexpectedly halted. 

But the image of the dead person there stays in Ellis' head and he keeps wanting to know what the story is behind it. He asks questions, writes letters, and does research and keeps digging for answers. Gleason hasn't been showing up for class and seems distracted when Ellis tries to meet with him.

On a couple occasions they go to strange places and have encounters that Ellis doesn't fully understand. 

Meanwhile, at home, Ellis' brother Michele is heavily involved in social change, watching the actions going on in Selma, in the southern United States, and asking for Ellis' help with an indigenous man who is being drafted to fight in Vietnam. 

As Ellis tries to use the draft dodger case to further his legal goals, he is also slowly discovering the truth about Gleason and what he's been up to. 

This book is a revealing look at one of the significant events in Ellis' past that made him who he is now. 

Letters Across the Sea

Finished December 24 

Letters Across the Sea by Genevieve Graham

This historical fiction novel takes place from the early 1930s until after World War II and revolves around two characters. Molly Ryan is the daughter of a police officer in Toronto, and her best friend is a Jewish girl the same age, Hannah Dreyfus. Both have older brothers who play league baseball. As the 1930s brought increasing prejudice against Jews, Molly is dismayed to see this appear in her own neighbourhood and among people she knows. 

Molly has been working in a local grocery store to help her family, but as the Depression worsens, she loses that job, and struggles to find another. She also grows more determined to follow her heart by taking journalism classes with the aim of becoming a reporter someday. 

Hannah is involved with a young man, and as the racial prejudice grows the girls drift apart. Her brother Max also has a goal, to become a doctor. Quotas for Jews in the program mean that he doesn't get into the University of Toronto, but he does get into a medical school and, just as he is finishing the war starts, and he enlists as a medic. 

At first, he is stationed in North America, but as things escalate in Europe and the British want a presence in Hong Kong, some Canadian soldiers are sent there. They have little combat training and don't know the small group of islands well, and are sitting ducks when the Japanese attack with more force than predicted shortly after Pearl Harbor. 

As Max tries to protect his fellow soldiers, and struggles to survive himself, Molly tries to follow what is happening in the Far East, and bring attention to it in her role as a reporter. 

This is a story that highlights a lesser known part of WWII, and the Canadians that served there. It also brings to light the racial prejudice of the time, and how media influences what people think.

A very interesting read. 

Last Impressions

Finished September 5

Last Impressions by Joseph Kertes

Ben is the middle son of Zoltan Beck, a Holocaust survivor and Canadian immigrant. Zoltan (Zoli) grew up in an upper-class family in Hungary, the younger son in the family. He venerated his older brother Bela, who was a gifted musician and despite his young age a teacher at the Franz Liszt Academy. 

The book begins with Ben visiting his father in the hospital, Zoltan is nearing the end of his life and Ben is still trying to understand him. We see the interaction between the two men, and can sense the strong connection, and Ben's deep emotion. 

The story then jumps back a few months to when Ben is picking his father up to take him into the hospital for a colonoscopy. Ben's younger brother, an eye surgeon, has finally convinced Zoli to get the procedure done, but the visit is a comedy of errors, as is Zoli's driving test shortly after. We get a sense of the zaniness of the older man and the way his mind works.

Zoli has never gone back to Hungary, his country of birth since he emigrated in the 1950s when Ben was a young child. It is something both he and his wife talked of from time to time, but never followed through on. The family decides that he must go while he still can and so it is arranged that Ben takes him back to his homeland.

The book then jumps back and forth between Zoli's experiences as a Jew in Hungary near the end of the Second World War, and things he has never talked about with his family before. As the two storylines come together we learn some of what has made Zoli the man he is, and why he has suppressed so much of this until now. 

I loved the relationship between the father and son, and Zoli's relationship with his daughter-in-law Lucy as well. Zoli is a character, full of quirks that make him both exasperating and lovable. As the story unfolds and Zoli finds that there are things he didn't know about the past as well, there is a sense of inevitability in the way things come together. A fantastic read that I could barely put down.

Midnight Cab

Finished February 18

Midnight Cab by James W. Nichol

This gripping mystery suspense novel has at its center a young man looking for his roots. Walker Devereux was found when he was three years old. He was holding on to a wire fence at the side of a country road in French River. His mother had told me to wait there for her, but she never returned.

Walker was adopted into a welcoming family and grew up loved. He's not looking for a new family, but he does wonder about his past. Now, in 1995, he is nineteen and he figures he can begin to look into any clues he has. At the agency who handled his adoption, he is given a photograph and a letter that were found in his pocket back then. They provide a couple of clues and he decided to go to Toronto to track them down.

In Toronto, he finds a small apartment to rent, and a job driving a taxi. He also finds himself attracted to the night dispatcher at the taxi company, Krista Papadopoulos, a woman a few years older than him, who uses either crutches or a wheelchair to get around. She begins to help him with his research.

Interspersed with Walker's story are short sections about a boy named Bobby. Bobby is bad news. He isn't right in the head, and he uses violence when his words fail him. He also has some kind of sexual issue that is never really clear, but that becomes part of a pattern for him. 

We know that Bobby's story will link up in some way with Walker's, but we don't know how. As the two plotlines slowly come together, the plot takes us from Toronto to Fort Erie, to French River, and to Jamaica. Walker is a smart guy and he trusts his instinct, but sometimes it gets him into trouble. There is menace here, following him and showing itself through acts of violence and destruction. 

I found the story gripping, wanting to know what Walker wanted to know, and wanting Bobby to get caught and stopped. 

The Rogue Wave

Finished December 12

The Rogue Wave by Paul Nicholas Mason

This short novel mixes mystery and the paranormal in a battle of good and evil. The main character here is Matthew Harding runs a detective agency in Toronto where he handles cases with a metaphysical dimension. A young man, Andrew, comes to him regarding the recent disappearance of his fiancee Hannah. The two were on a tour boat in Nova Scotia when a sudden and huge wave swamped the boat, taking several people, including Hannah overboard. Some people were rescued, some bodies were found, and Hannah remained missing. An acquaintance of Andrew's has recently sent him a picture taken at a wedding in Mexico where a woman who looks very like Hannah is sitting with a man that she looks to be scared of. Andrew is sure that something else is going on, and Matthew takes the case. 

This is when the paranormal starts raising his head. Matthew has a near miss with a vehicle hit and run accident on the street near his office and receives a disturbing text message following that. Throughout the case a combination of threats, accidents and disturbing messages continues to follow him. When he goes in person to Nova Scotia, he finds that there were other weird happenings around the boat incident, and he goes on to Mexico to follow the lead of the photograph. 

Besides the disturbing incidents and the threatening messages, Matthew also encounters some other more benevolent people, who offer help and advice. 

I liked the paranormal or metaphysical side in this struggle between good and evil. and would have liked this book to be longer, going into more detail around some of the characters, like Hannah, and their feelings during this time, and Andrew and his paintings. I'd also like to know more about what happened to some of the people he encountered, like the translator in Mexico. 

This is definitely a unique type of mystery read that may appeal to a different audience than just mystery readers. 

Bomb Girls

Finished December 8

Bomb Girls: Trading Aprons for Ammo by Barbara Dickson

I bought this book after listening to a presentation by the author. She's done through research into the facility's history and even had a couple of historical artifacts to pass around during the presentation. 

This is a close look at the GECO facility in Scarborough which produced a variety of ordinance during World War II and became well known for the quality of its output. The facility also had an extremely good safety record, with no fatalities due to the work itself. The only fatality was from a bus accident ferrying workers between the city and plant that happened in the parking lot of the site. 

Besides describing the site, including plans showing the layout, this book looks at the variety of work that happened there, including administrative and support work, and the planning that took place to design the transition from dirty side to clean side and back again, the design of the uniforms that staff wore, the work that was done to help morale and accommodate the other responsibilities of the primarily female workforce, and the history of the two brothers who built and ran the plant.

There are also numerous profiles of workers from both the factory side and the administrative side, which include portions of interviews with them and their families. 

I really enjoyed looking more deeply into this slice of history that Canada can certainly be proud of. Building a complex factory that was producing dangerous goods in record time, and maintaining a largely happy workforce in a safe manner is an accomplishment to be very proud of. 

Spinster Kang

Finished February 29
Spinster Kang by Zöe Roy

Kang is a Chinese immigrant woman living in Toronto. She works at Tim Horton's while she waits for her classes to start. Kang came to Canada for a new start. When she was much younger, back in China, her older sister was raped, and Kang has found herself unable to trust men. She has resigned herself to not having a relationship, but the stigma of such a thing in China is big, and reflects on her family as well.
Kang is planning to be a teacher. She finds a place to live as a housekeeper for an older woman Tania, and begins to make friends. As she adjusts to a new culture, learns about the people that she gets closer to, and about her own family's past.
This is a novel of personal discovery, of growth and of hope.
I liked Kang and how she found a way even when barriers appeared in her life. I also liked how her story and Tania's story intersected in interesting ways.
Written by a Chinese immigrant to Canada, this book reads realistically and the plot pulls you along.
I enjoyed it.

See What Flowers

Finished November 19
See What Flowers by Shannon Mullen

This novel is told in four parts. It begins with a couple, Emma in Toronto, Adam in Vancouver, dealing with the aftermath of something they don't understand. They live together in Toronto, but Adam disappeared suddenly ten days ago and Emma hasn't been able to figure out why or where he is. Adam finds himself in jail in Vancouver, unable to remember how he got there. He is a mess, and feels ashamed and confused. As the two reconnect and try to make sense of what has happened, they react in different ways. Emma is a doctor working in emergency care, and Adam is part owner of a gym that is doing well. But he can't seem to move forward, and Emma finds it difficult to deal with this new version of the man she loves.
Part two moves back to before the incident that changed everything, and looks at their lives, their successes, and their happiness. We see how much they care about each other, but also the insecurity that couple often have about their relationship.
Part three deals with Adam's actions that led him to where he ended up as the book began, and we gradually understand that this is a more complex issue, and one that isn't easy for anyone involved.
Part four takes us a few months forward as each of them, in a new environment looks for a way to a future they can manage.
This is a fascinating first novel by a very promising writer. She deals with the realities of mental illness and its effects on both the person living with the illness and the people close to them. The story is told in vignettes with headers of the speaker, the date, and the time. She uses fonts to indicate what people are saying and what they are thinking. She uses pop culture references to bring a sense of normalcy to situations. I really like her style and how she her writing really made the characters real and relatable.
This is a book I'd recommend to anyone interested in people and what makes them tick.