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Yes, it’s Friday
Yes, I’m back from an imposed hiatus involving stitches, Advil and plenty of rest. Nothing too serious, but annoying and damned inconvenient. It is said that truth is stranger than fiction and Toronto author Robert Rotenberg turned that out with his fourth novel Stranglehold released in May of this year. The story line features Hap…
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Old City Hall
At 5:28 each morning Gurdial Singh, a retired chief engineer for Indian Railways, drops off a newspaper at the door of Toronto broadcaster Kevin Brace – the host of a nationally syndicated morning show. This day however will not be like the others. ‘Mr Kevin’s’ condo door is half-way open as usual however Mr Kevin…
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Lest we forget…
It is a Day of Remembrance and a chance to view the crime fiction world through different eyes. Here is a glimpse into how some authors have dealt with the wars and war veterans. George Pelecanos introduced us to Spero Lucas with the first novel The Cut released in 2011 followed by…
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Come home to Giles Blunt
Extraordinary Years ago like many, I read mainly U.S. crime fiction authors because they got all the press. It was while wandering through a bookstore one afternoon that I found Giles Blunt and in many ways, I came home. The Detective John Cardinal series brings you into the world of ‘Algonquin Bay’ (a stand-in…
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Halloween weekend in Derry, IE
I wish I was going to Derry. Yes, it’s a plaintive call for a trip to Ireland to attend the Killer Books Crime Festival being held November 1-3. The Halloween weekend event takes place at the Verbal Arts Centre and sounds like damned good fun. There will be authors from around the UK: Gerard Brennan,…
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Halloween reads
Fall is my favourite time of year and Halloween is a fun part of the season. Who can forget and all those wonderful 50s films by the UK Hammer Company starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing? Somehow English accents made Dracula and Frankenstein all the more creepy. From the kitsch of Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi,…
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Dead trilogy
When I told my husband I was in love with a 19-year old Irish gunman named Michael Forsythe he barely blinked. On that day I had been immersed in Dead I Well May Be since the morning. It’s one of those fabulous books that catches you deeply to the exclusion of much else. Happily, the…
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The weeks end
Another five weekdays has passed and here are a few things from around the Web: Rap Sheet: NZ Eleanor Catton youngest winner of Man Booker Prize Scoop Culture Finalists announced for Ngaio Marsh Crime Awards Crime Writers’ Association will announce on November 5 the results of results of their Best Ever Poll. Just to tweak…