The Certainties, by Aislinn Hunter

Genre: Historical fiction

Publisher: Knopf Canada

What It's About

A vivid, moving novel reminiscent of Anthony Doerr and Michael Ondaatje, about the entwined fates of two very different refugees.

In 1940, as the shadow of war lengthens over Europe, three mysterious travellers enter a village in Spain. They have the appearance of Parisian intellectuals, but the trio of two men and a woman are starving and exhausted from crossing illegally through the Pyrenees. Their story, told over a period of 48 tense hours, is narrated by one of the men, who slowly accepts his unthinkable fate. In a voice despairing and elegant, he calmly considers what he should do, and weighs what any one life means. As he does so, his attention is caught by a five-year-old named Pia who wanders near his cafe table. To Pia he begins to address all that he thinks and feels in his final hours--envisioning a rich future life for her that both reflects and contrasts with his own.

Meanwhile, in the 1980s, a woman named Pia seeks solitude on a remote island in the Atlantic, where she works at an inn and reflects on her chaotic childhood. As Pia's story begins, a raging storm engulfs the island and a boat flounders offshore. Pia and her fellow islanders rush to help--and past and present calamities collide.

By turns elegiac and heart-pounding, a love letter in the guise of a song of despair, The Certainties is a moving and transformative blend of historical and speculative fiction--a novel that shows us what it means to bear witness, and to attend to those who seek refuge, past and present.

What People Say

"Aislinn Hunter’s latest outing is a study in despair—and in the exquisite, heartbreaking beauty of being alive. . . . The Certainties is a story of loss, both personal and political, shot through with the ordinary wonders of life: the sea, the fresh market olives, the everyday gestures of human kindness. The book is dedicated to Hunter’s late husband, who recently passed away. That grief no doubt contributes to the haunted feel of this story. And to its emotional core: love."—Toronto Star

"A complex, subtle, and utterly haunting meditation on memory, history, and mortality. This book is magnificent."—Emily St. John Mandel

**

The Taste of Longing, by Suzanne Evans

Genre: Biography

Publisher: Between the Lines

What It's About

Half a world away from her home in Manitoulin Island, Ethel Mulvany is starving in Singapore’s infamous Changi Prison, along with hundreds of other women jailed there as POWs during the Second World War. They beat back pangs of hunger by playing decadent games of make-believe and writing down recipes filled with cream, raisins, chocolate, butter, cinnamon, ripe fruit – the unattainable ingredients of peacetime, of home, of memory.

In this novelistic, immersive biography, Suzanne Evans presents a truly individual account of WWII through the eyes of Ethel – mercurial, enterprising, combative, stubborn, and wholly herself. The Taste of Longing follows Ethel through the fall of Singapore in 1942, the years of her internment, and beyond. As a prisoner, she devours dog biscuits and book spines, befriends spiders and smugglers, and endures torture and solitary confinement. As a free woman back in Canada, she fights to build a life for herself in the midst of trauma and burgeoning mental illness.

Woven with vintage recipes and transcribed tape recordings, the story of Ethel and her fantastical POW Cookbook is a testament to the often-overlooked strength of women in wartime. It’s a story of the unbreakable power of imagination, generosity, and pure heart.

What People Say

"This is a story about an unusual woman in an unbearable situation. Evans has delved deep and written with great sympathy about the long drama of picking up the pieces of a broken life."—Giller Prize-winning author Elizabeth Hay

"This is a story of hardship, cruelty, and disease—but also of endurance, indomitability, and friendship. Centred around a remarkable cookbook, Evans vividly recounts Ethel’s resilience and commemoration of the war that marked her for life."—Tim Cook, author of Vimy: The Battle and the Legend

**

Dark August, by Katie Tallo

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Publisher: HarperCollins

What It's About

An electrifying, page-turning debut about a young woman haunted by her tragic past, who returns to her hometown and discovers that there might be more to her police detective mother’s death—and last case—than she ever could have imagined.

Augusta (Gus) Monet is living an aimless existence with her grifter boyfriend when she learns that her great grandmother—her last living relative—has just died. Ditching her boyfriend, Gus returns to the home she left as a young girl. Her inheritance turns out to be a dilapidated house and an old dog named Levi. While combing through her great grandmother’s possessions, Gus stumbles across an old trunk filled with long-lost childhood belongings. But that’s not all the trunk contains. She also discovers cold case files that belonged to her mother, a disgraced police detective who died in a car accident when Gus was eight. Gus remembers her mother obsessing over these very same documents and photographs, especially a Polaroid of a young ballerina.

When Gus spots a front-page news story about the unearthing of a body linked to one of the cold case files from her childhood trunk, she can’t resist following her mother’s clues. As she digs deeper, determined to finish her mother’s investigation, her search leads her to a deserted ghost town, which was left abandoned when the residents fled after a horrific fire. As Gus’ obsession with the case grows, she inadvertently stirs up the evils of the past, putting her life in danger. But Gus is undeterred and is committed to uncovering long-buried secrets, including the secrets surrounding a missing geology student, the young ballerina in the Polaroid, a prominent family’s devastating legacy, and a toxic blast that blew an entire town off the map. 

But is Gus ready to learn the truths that culminated on one terrible August night, more than a decade earlier, when lives were taken, and secrets were presumed buried forever…?

What People Say

"Truly inspired piece of writing ... A mystery of epic proportions .... Highly recommended for mystery fans, as well as devotees of Margaret Atwood and Alice Munro."—Booklist (starred review)

"An engrossing mystery . . . . Distinctive characters and an intricate plot will keep readers turning the pages. Tallo is off to a promising start."—Publishers Weekly

**

Willem de Kooning's Paintbrush, by Kerry Lee Powell

Genre: Short stories

Publisher: HarperCollins

What It's About

An unflinching and masterful collection of award-winning stories, Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush is a career-making debut. Ranging from an island holiday gone wrong to a dive bar on the upswing to a yuppie mother in a pricey subdivision seeing her worst fears come true, these deftly written stories are populated by barkeeps, good men down on their luck, rebellious teens, lonely immigrants, dreamers and realists, fools and quiet heroes. In author Kerry Lee Powell’s skillful hands, each character, no matter what their choices, is deeply human in their search for connection. Powell holds us in her grasp, exploring with a black humour themes of belonging, the simmering potential for violence and the meaning of art no matter where it is found, and revealing with each story something essential about the way we see the world.

A selection of these stories have won significant awards including the Boston Review short story contest and The Malahat Review’s Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction.

What People Say

"Masterful . . . . In several stories, characters mired in difficult situations look to the mystical to help them escape, and Powell’s delicacy in these stories is wonderfully successful."—Winnipeg Free Press

"These are beautiful stories. They will make you think and they will make you feel and they will always, always, reward your attention."—Alexander MacLeod, author of the Scotiabank Giller Pize-shortlisted Light Lifting

**

Tarry This Night, by Kristyn Dunnian

Genre: Dystopian Fiction

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press

What It's About

A powerful dystopian novel set during a new American civil war, about a polygamist cult leader and his followers.

In this eerily relevant, cautionary novel, a civil war is brewing in America. Below ground, a cult led by the deluded and narcissistic Father Ernst is ensconced in an underground bunker, waiting out the conflict. When the "Family" runs out of food, Ruth, coming of age and terrified of serving as Ernst's next wife, must choose between obeying her faith and fighting for survival. Cousin Paul, sent topside to scavenge for food, may return with proof that it is safe for the Family to ascend again. But is it enough to invest all hope in Paul's unlikely return?

In this unsettling modern take on the Lilith tale, spirited women resist their violent, racist culture and, in so doing, become outlaws. Family members navigate a secretive and deadly arena where faith eschews autonomy and righteousness precludes mercy. With an unwavering eye, Tarry This Night dares to imagine the unthinkable that is present-day America, offering a place for resistance and hope for a new and better world.

What People Say

"Immediate and terrifying, Dunnion's fresh new narrative adds to the growing conversation about misogyny and freedom. A surefire hit for fans of Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale."—Booklist

"Like Dunnion's 2011 short story collection The Dirt Chronicles, this book champions outlaw culture without romanticizing it. If you're looking for a challenging but hopeful story to fill the bleak void after reading or binge-watching The Handmaid's Tale, this book is for you."—NOW Magazine

**

No Good Asking, by Fran Kimmel

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: ECW Press

What It's About

A profoundly moving exploration of our capacity to heal one another.

Ellie and Eric Nyland have moved their two sons back to Eric’s childhood farmhouse, hoping for a fresh start. But there’s no denying it, their family is falling apart, each one of them isolated by private sorrows, stresses, and missed signals. With every passing day, Ellie’s hopes are buried deeper in the harsh winter snows.

When Eric finds Hannah Finch, the girl across the road, wandering alone in the bitter cold, his rusty police instincts kick in, and he soon discovers there are bad things happening in the girl’s house. With nowhere else to send her, the Nylands reluctantly agree to let Hannah stay with them until she can find a new home after the Christmas holidays. But Hannah proves to be more balm than burden, and the Nylands discover that the only thing harder than taking Hannah in may be letting her go.

What People Say

"Nuanced characters and attention to detail make what could have been a saccharine story a deeply moving one instead. Highly recommended."—Booklist

"Moving … The seemingly mundane scenes—a family dinner, for example — are the most powerful in the story and demonstrate our capacity to heal one another through compassion and kindness." —Canadian Living

**

Up from Freedom, by Wayne Grady

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Doubleday Canada

What It's About

For readers of Colson Whitehead, James McBride, Yaa Gyasi and Lawrence Hill, Up From Freedom is a powerful and emotional novel about the dangers that arise when we stay silent in the face of prejudice or are complicit in its development.

As a young man, Virgil Moody vowed he would never be like his father, he would never own slaves. When he moves from his father's plantation in Savannah to New Orleans, he takes with him Annie, a tiny woman with sharp eyes and a sharper tongue, who he is sure would not survive life on the plantation. She'll be much safer with him, away from his father's cruelty. And when he discovers Annie's pregnancy, already a few months along, he is all the more certain that he made the right decision.

As the years pass, the divide between Moody's assumptions and Annie's reality widens ever further. Moody even comes to think of Annie as his wife and Lucas as their son. Of course, they are not. As Annie reminds him, in moments of anger, she and Moody will never be equal. She and her son are enslaved. When their "family" breaks apart in the most brutal and tragic way, and Lucas flees the only life he's ever known, Moody must ask himself whether he has become the man he never wanted to be--but is he willing to hear the answer?

Stretching from the war-torn banks of the Rio Brazos in Texas to the muddy waters of Freedom, Indiana, Moody travels through a country on the brink of civil war, relentlessly searching for Lucas and slowly reconciling his past sins with his hopes for the future. When he meets Tamsey, a former slave, and her family trying to escape the reach of the Fugitive Slave Act, Moody sees an opportunity for redemption. But the world is on the cusp of momentous change, and though some things may be forgotten, nothing is ever really forgiven.

What People Say

"This is a moving and eye-opening reminder of history's deep scars. In the best tradition of Toni Morrison and Colson Whitehead, Grady brings home the truth that there are no simplistic ways to combat and overcome deep-rooted hate and fear."—Booklist, starred review

"Harrowing . . . [and] meticulously researched. . . . What does it mean to 'own' somebody? How much harm and violence are caused by that notion? What is 'freedom'? What is 'redemption'? Deep dives into the unsettling and murky past of one family."—Margaret Atwood

**

Ties that Tether, by Jane Igharo

Genre: Romantic comedy

Publisher: Penguin Canada

What It's About

When a Nigerian woman falls for a man she knows will break her mother’s heart, she must choose between love and her family.
At twelve years old, Azere promised her dying father she would marry a Nigerian man and preserve her culture, even after immigrating to Canada. Her mother has been vigilant about helping—well forcing—her to stay within the Nigerian dating pool ever since. But when another match-made-by-mom goes wrong, Azere ends up at a bar, enjoying the company and later sharing the bed of Rafael Castellano, a man who is tall, handsome, and…white.

When their one-night stand unexpectedly evolves into something serious, Azere is caught between her feelings for Rafael and the compulsive need to please her mother. Soon, Azere can't help wondering if loving Rafael makes her any less of a Nigerian. Can she be with him without compromising her identity? The answer will either cause Azere to be audacious and fight for her happiness or continue as the compliant daughter.

"Igharo brings a great deal of heart to Azere’s internal conflict as she navigates two cultures. This emotional debut marks Igharo as a writer to watch."—Publishers Weekly

"Igharo’s debut beautifully depicts the tension between self-determination and the desire to live up to family expectations…Clever and heart-warming storytelling. Readers will be rooting for Azere from the very first page."—Library Journal (starred review)

**

Full Curl, by Dave Butler

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: Dundurn Press

What It's About

Winner of the 2018 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Crime Novel!

When her park is threatened, warden Jenny Willson takes it very personally.

Jenny Willson is a hard-edged, caustic-witted warden from Banff National Park who considers poachers and ladder-climbing bureaucrats equally repulsive and worthy of the same painful fate. Does keeping her promise to protect her park from them mean crossing lines and putting her career at risk?

When Willson discovers animals disappearing from Canada’s mountain parks, she begins a complex investigation that follows a trail of deceit, distraction, and murder. With a growing list of victims, both animal and human, Willson finds herself in a race for justice that criss-crosses the Canada-U.S. border and pushes her to a place from which she might not return.

What People Say

"Butler’s strong debut shows a powerful heroine determined to bring a nasty but fully fleshed-out set of baddies to justice."—Kirkus Reviews

"An intricate, full-throttle thriller told with passion and authenticity. Park Ranger Jenny Willson is a smart, tenacious hero for our times."—Barbara Fradkin, author of The Amanda Doucette Mysteries