Book reviews by country: Canada

For my series this summer, I am providing selections of book reviews by country. Either the author is from the country named in the post, or the book is set there.

Next I turn to Canada, with five book reviews. One of them is Stef Penney's The Tenderness of Wolves, about which I wrote: "This phrase, "the sickness of long thinking", is the key to this wonderful book. The story turns into a book of journeys by most of the characters, and by these journeys we come to know their true natures. Several, but not all, of the mysteries, old and new, are eventually solved, and several of the characters come to know themselves and their families more deeply." 

Other authors whose books I cover include Fred Vargas, who is French of course, but who set Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand partly in Canada; Linwood Barclay, master of the irresistibly readable domestic thriller; and Kitty Sewell, whose Ice Trap qualifies for Wales as well as for Canada.

My Canada reviews.

Comments

[Simon Clarke]

Maxine,
One of the best crime/thrillers I have read in recent years
was Canadian---James W.Nichol --Midnight Cab (Canongate 2004).
According to Amazon--it looks to be out of print.But if anyone
can get hold of it -they are guaranteed a splendid read.

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I've read three of the Canada books and agreed with you on Barclay's, not his best work. I was a bit disappointed in that one but not in his three others. I read the Louise Penny and it's fine but I'm not a big devotee. I like the inspector but the village characters bored me after two books. I liked "The Tenderness of Wolves"; it was a slow read for me but I enjoyed it. I could use it now in the summer heat. There is a lot of substance to that book.

And I loved "Wash this Blood Clean from my Hand," by Fred Vargas, as I love all of her books. You bring up some good points but I forgive all because this book contained the funniest bathroom scene I've ever read which kept me laughing for a week. (I still laugh thinking of it but won't write a spoiler). This author has a brilliant and unique imagination. I'm willing to go everywhere with it.

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Sorry, I read four of the Canada books. I've also read two books by L.R. Wright which are hidden treasures. She wrote about a police inspector who lives in W. British Columbia and she was Canadian. Her books are hard to find but Felony & Mayhem Press has so far re-issued two of them, including "The Suspect," which beat out Ruth Rendell for a book award in the mid-1980s. It's a very good book. She wrote a series and then she passed away several years ago from breast cancer. Her books are worth tracking down.

[maxine]

Thanks very much for the tips, Simon and Kathy- I shall definitely be checking those out.