A mute Mayan girl held captive in a crate in the Guatemalan jungle, a big-city psychoanalyst with a rescue complex, and a journalist with a broken heart are the characters in Sheila Dalton’s second literary novel.

Caitlin Shaughnessy, a Canadian journalist, discovers that Inez, a traumatized young Mayan woman originally from Guatemala, has killed Caitlin’s psychoanalyst partner, Dr. Jerry Simpson. Simpson brought the girl, who may be autistic, back to Canada as an act of mercy and to attempt to treat her obvious trauma. Cailin desperately needs to find out why this terrible incident occurred so she can find the strength to forgive and move on with her life.

Inez, whose sense of wonder and innocence touches all who meet her, becomes a focal point for many of the Canadians who encounter her. As Caitlin struggles to uncover the truth about Inez’s relationship with Jerry, Inez struggles to break free of the projections of others. Each must confront her own anger and despair. The doctors in the north have an iciness that matches their surroundings, a kind of clinical armour that Caitlin must penetrate if she is to reach Inez.

The Girl in the Box is a psychological drama of the highest order and a gripping tale of intrigue and passion.

Sheila was born in Middlesex, U.K., and emigrated to Canada with her family at the age of six. She returned to England to attend the University of London, and afterwards travelled through Central America. After working as a barmaid in England, as an art gallery assistant, and as a self-employed craftsperson specializing in jewelery, she became a librarian. For two years, she was in charge of the Native Peoples Collection at the North York Central Library, where she still works. Sheila also works as a freelance editor and writer. She currently resides in Newmarket, Ontario, with her husband and son. Among Sheila’s wide-ranging interests are visual art (she has participated in shows in Queen Street galleries), and Vipassana (Insight) Meditation, which she has practiced for 15 years. Sheila’s work has been published extensively; her non-fiction work includes three children’s books on wild animals (Leopards, Gazelles, and Orangutans) and two on cultures of the world (Children of Japan and Children of France) for Grolier. From 1989-91, she wrote for and edited Discovery, a science magazine used in elementary schools, for Houghton Mifflin. Her first picture book, Bubblemania, was published in 1992,. Her other picture books include Doggerel and Catalogue (Doubleday, 1996, 1998), and Pig Tale, published by Doubleday in 1999. Additionally, Sheila has written an adult novel, Tales of the Ex-Fire Eater (Aurora Editions, 1994), and a volume of poetry, Blowing Holes Through the Everyday (HMS Press, 1994). Her poetry and fiction have been published in literary magazines such as Descant, Rune, and Canadian Forum. Sheila has even ventured into the drama field, winning third prize for her play Legacy in the University of Toronto Playwriting Competition, in 1983. This play was later produced, and reached the semi-finals of the Simpson’s Drama Festival. Trial By Fire was Sheila’s first novel for young adults, and her first publication with Napoleon.

Sheila Dalton's profile page

Amidst all the noise on the web, it's often hard to find the quiet treasures that lie beneath the hubbub of tweeting and tooting of marketing horns. The Girl in the Box is the best literary discovery I've stumbled upon in a long time.

Sleepingwithpattyhearst.com

Dalton has a way with the written word and with telling this heart-gripping story about hope, love, and doing what's right.

jjireads.com

"Complex, fascinating, subtle and intensely emotional, this is a book that...will profoundly impact its readers."

Birdseyeview.com

Dropping you right into the heat of Guatemala, Sheila Dalton proves from the first few pages that she has an incredible eye for detail. The story moves around to a number of diverse locations, but Dalton handles them all beautifully, adding in small details which really enhance the imagery. From the sweltering heat of Guatemala, to the frozen wasteland of Northern Newfoundland, I constantly found myself being sucked into her settings.

Hookedonbooks.com

"The Girl in the Box is an intelligent read…Sheila Dalton’s characters are fascinatingly complex and interact so naturally that you forget you are reading a book at all. The narrative is beautiful, her descriptions delicately evocative yet she never shies away from the truth of any situation."

Judith Arnopp-Medievalscribe.com