Tag Archives: Canadian authors

Review: The Color of Sky and Stone, by Sara Davison

Book cover: The Color of Sky and Stone, In the Shadows, Book One, by Sara Davison.

The Color of Sky and Stone, by Sara Davison (Three Dreamers Press, 2023)

Part thriller, part romance, and part Christian women’s fiction, The Color of Sky and Stone is a beautiful story that’s clearly hard for me to categorize. (Although I’ve learned a couple of new terms: this can be called upmarket fiction or book club fiction, since it’s designed to stimulate thought and discussion.)

Thriller: Tane is a secret operative in a Canadian organization tasked with taking down drug lords and crime rings. The brief scenes from the enemy’s point of view had me very nervous reading this book. I’m left with an unanswered question, but as an increasingly-timid reader I don’t think I’ll be brave enough to read the sequel in search of an answer. If this is the last high-suspense novel I read, though, I’m glad to have ended with one so appealing. [Note that only portions are intense; most scenes engage the heart and spirit. Also, what I feared didn’t transpire… yet.]

Romance: Lia and Tane are both isolated by their roles in life. Their relationship begins as two strangers exchanging letters. In the honesty and vulnerability of what they write (they’re not expecting to meet) watching them fall in love is sweet.

Christian women’s fiction: Themes of forgiveness (of self and others), honesty, secrets, identity, faith, childhood trauma, risk-taking, and emotional healing make this a book where readers walk with the characters and perhaps find something that makes a difference in their own lives. Discussion questions at the end offer additional opportunities for personal reflection and/or group discussion.

Lia and Tane’s experiences leave them both questioning their chosen roles. What makes the story beautiful is the honesty they risk sharing and the way it frees Tane from hurts he’s carried for years. None of this is contrived or pushy; it’s an organic outcome of their shared experience.

The Color of Sky and Stone is book 1 in the “In the Shadows” series. Sara Davison is an award-winning Canadian author of romantic suspense. Visit her website to learn more about her and her books: saradavison.org.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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Review: Crafting for Murder, by Barbara Emodi

Crafting for Murder, by Barbara Emodi (C & T Publishing, 2023)

Secrets and schemes and small-town murder.

Empty-nester Valerie Rankin has returned to the tight-knit—and tiny—community of Gasper’s Cove on Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast. She’s housesitting for her vacationing aunt and teaching sewing classes and trying to set up a crafter’s co-op to boost tourism.

But home isn’t the stable, unchanging place she remembers. Suddenly, she’s trying to save the family store and investigate a murder. The locals she’s known all her life aren’t who she thinks they are. At least one is a killer.

I really enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next one. The town feels like a character in its own right, and I like how ordinary Valerie and her rescue dog, Toby, are. The mystery is solid, but it’s the interpersonal relationships that unfold that make the story stick with me.

This isn’t one of those stories where the amateur sleuth has a knack for quietly finding and piecing together the clues. Valerie is impulsive, she jumps to conclusions, and she antagonizes a lot of people in her quest for justice.

One of the people she accuses says, “Maybe you should slow down on trying to figure people out and maybe notice who they are more.” [p. 157]

In short, Valerie’s a lot like most of us would be in her situation. And she has a good heart. She may be going about this the wrong way, but she’s sure it’s for the right reasons.

Crafting for Murder is sure to appeal to fans of small-town cozy mysteries. You don’t have to be a crafter or a Nova Scotian to engage with this story, but if you are you’ll feel an extra connection.

As well as her mysteries, Barbara Emodi has written instructional books on sewing. To learn about the author and her work, visit babsemodi.com. Book 2 in the Gasper’s Cove Mysteries series, Crafting Deception, is scheduled for release in December 2023.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Review: Risking Rest, by Carolyn J. Watts

Book cover: Risking Rest: Embracing God's Love Through Life's Uncertainties, by Carolyn Watts

Risking Rest: Embracing God’s Love Through Life’s Uncertainties, by Carolyn J. Watts (hope*books, 2023)

The best memoirs let us experience something of the writer’s world but also invite us to apply some of the life lessons to our own hearts, however different our circumstances.

Risking Rest is a memoir in two parts, linked by the imagery of pregnancy and birth from Dr. Carolyn Watts’ obstetrics training. The first two-thirds of the book revisit her brief years serving in a medical mission to Afghanistan’s “hidden women” in a remote village. A sensitive soul with an as-yet-undiagnosed illness that taxed her body, she nonetheless proved wrong the assessing psychologist’s declaration that she’d never make it—never make meaningful connections there.

For North Americans, this glimpse into the harsh beauty of rural Afghanistan and its courageous women will help us better appreciate the needs. And it helps us see some of what these women have since lost under the restrictive Taliban regime.

For non-medical readers, the narrative of serving 24/7 with never enough staff—or heat!—and while working in a language not their own is the stuff of heroes. But Carolyn Watts is quick to deny the heroic—they served because the need was great, even when exhaustion wore their compassion thin and government officials threatened to shut them down.

In the middle of this intense season, Carolyn wrestled with Jesus’ invitation to rest: “How did ‘my yoke is easy, and my burden is light’ mesh with words about taking up your cross and sharing in Christ’s sufferings? [Page 128]”

She describes feeling a strong call from God to this part of Afghanistan, and that call kept her focused through the hard times—until her deteriorating health brought her back to Canada.

Enter part two of the memoir, learning to let go of the first calling—to focus on the One who gave the call and who was now giving a new call: to be cradled in His love and to learn that weakness could be a gift.

When the outward things that define you are stripped away, who are you?

Favourite lines:

…the One who brings life into being in us, tending it gently and with great skill, is little worried about the mess of the process. [Page 12]

Cling not to the call but to the One who called. [Page 166]

There are times grace hurts. [Page 167]

Risking Rest is a transparently vulnerable account of one Christian’s lifelong desire to grow closer to God. Each chapter opens with a heart-warming Scripture pointing to how she experienced God’s care even in the hard places. The book concludes with some practical and personal questions to help readers consider their own faith journeys and how they might apply the same lessons for themselves.

Dr. Carolyn Watts is a Canadian writer and blogger. You can find her at Hearing the Heartbeat, which she describes as, “Listening together to God’s heart and making our home in Christ’s love.” I highly recommend subscribing to follow her hope-filled blog posts. To view the trailer for Risking Rest or to download a free chapter, visit hearingtheheartbeat.com/risking-rest.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

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99-cent Ebook preorder!

99-cent Ebook preorder! And not for the book you were expecting!

I don’t do 99-cent preorders anymore.

So why am I doing one for this book?

And what book is it, if it’s not the next Green Dory Inn mystery?

Announcing the Expanded Anniversary Edition of Heaven’s Prey,
now with 6 new chapters + prologue.

Expanded Anniversary Edition of Heaven's Prey preorder sale: ebook 99 cents. Ends Nov. 1/23.

So, why 99 cents? I hope many of my followers have read the earlier version. Why should I ask you to pay full price for a story when you know how it turns out?

For that matter, why suggest you buy it at all? 

How about those 6 extra chapters I mentioned? Plus the prologue.

If you’ve been with me awhile, you may have noticed my books combine mystery/suspense with a strong serving of Christian women’s fiction. It took time for me to discern the pattern, and by then Heaven’s Prey was already out there in the world. It’s not completely lacking in that aspect, but I had cut out the first part of Ruth’s story before submitting it to the publisher.

Last year, I reread the book. Reached the end, and started asking, “What about this part? Or this one? I didn’t see them anywhere.” And I realized they deepen who Ruth is. And they match my pattern of blending the mystery/suspense with Christian women’s fiction.

They also give readers the opportunity to walk with a Christian who’s grieving. Who’s angry. Whose faith shakes but ultimately stands. 

You know what? That’s me some days. And I suspect it’s you too. So let’s start the story with “everyday” Ruth. Before she becomes the prayer warrior God sends like Ezekiel to call a wicked man to repentance. 

May we never encounter a person with this depth of evil. And yet, may we trust our God and rely on His faithfulness to carry us through whatever paths He brings us into.

If Heaven’s Prey is new to you, be aware the subject matter is darker and more intense than my later books and comes with a content warning. The villain is a serial rapist-murderer. Not a nice man. But he’s a soul in need of salvation.

Not for you? I get it. I couldn’t read something like this if I hadn’t written it (because I know what does and doesn’t happen). Even so, it took a long time to write because I’d tiptoe through scenes and have to go back and deepen them. 

If you can, please pick up a copy and consider leaving a review to raise visibility. If you can’t, please share with any friends who read darker fiction.

The print book will release later in November, but the ebook 99-cent preorder sale ends November 1. The buy links are collected here: books2read.com/heavens-prey-special.

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99-cent Ebook Sale (Ends Aug. 27/23)

If you were waiting for a sale to get your copy of Bitter Truth, now’s the time. The ebook is 99 cents until end of day Sunday, August 27 on Apple, Google Play Books, Kindle, Kobo, Nook, Smashwords, and probably a few more. To make it easy for you, here’s a link that will let you choose your preferred store and country: books2read.com/bitter-truth.

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Review: A Cast of Falcons, by Steve Burrows

Cover art: A Cast of Falcons, by Steve Burrows

A Cast of Falcons, by Steve Burrows (Dundurn, 2016)

Detective Chief Inspector Domenic Jejeune is a Canadian serving on the local police force in Norfolk, England.

By this point in the series (book 3) his colleagues are beginning to trust that however erratic his methods, he’ll solve the crime. Except this time he seems distracted by an unconnected death that’s not even local.

This time the mystery centres around rival research groups and a controversial plan to mitigate global warming. The murder victim had switched sides and is found on the property of his former employer. With the company owned by wealthy internationals, Jejeune’s superintendent insists he not turn the investigation into a political crisis.

As the story plays out, it’s interesting to watch the developing relationships between the characters. And as always, readers will find richly detailed natural settings and sightings of birds both rare and common.

There are some continuing threads from previous books, but a person could begin here and not be lost.

A Cast of Falcons is book 3 in the Birder Murder Mystery series, which is at least 7 books long. Book 1 is A Seige of Bitterns. For more about the book and about Canadian author Steve Burrows, visit steveburrows.org.

[Review copy from the public library.]

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Short-listed for an Award!

Text: Short-listed for The Word Awards! Cover art: Bitter Truth
More text: descriptors of the book, including "mystery-suspense meets Christian women's fiction"
Available on all digital platforms and in print on Amazon. Click for buy links.

Short-listed in The Word Awards 2023. Finalist in the Angel Book Awards 2022.

Attempted murder. A hostile rescuer. And an amateur sleuth’s vow to catch the attacker before he strikes again.

Against all odds, Landon Smith and her ordinary-hero neighbour Bobby Hawke survived a murderous plot six weeks ago. Now, she’s determined to leave solving mysteries to the experts—like handsome local police officer Dylan Tremblay.

But when her friend Ciara is nearly killed in a daring daylight attack, Landon can’t sit this out. Not when she knows the anger of being a victim.

Her faith tells her to leave room for God’s vengeance. Her heart says to retaliate.

The fight to expose Ciara’s enemy will uncover secrets and betrayal that could cost Landon her life.

Discussion questions included. If you like clean mystery/suspense and Christian women’s fiction, read Bitter Truth today! Buy link: books2read.com/bitter-truth.

Ebook Discount

Happy Read an Ebook Week!

Click the image to find my books at 75% off in this sale.

To help you choose a book to read this week, you can find my entire collection at a promotional price at Smashwords from March 5-11. [I goofed and set a deeper promotion than I intended, so the most you’ll pay for any of my books is $1.50 USD and two of my titles are free this week, only at the Smashwords site.]

This is a coupon-based sale, with the price reduction appearing at checkout. For any questions about how to load your purchases (or freebies!) onto your reading device of choice, visit Smashwords FAQ and select your details under the “Getting Started” section.

Find my books on my Smashwords page (or click the image above) or check out the full catalogue.

Included in the Angel Book Awards!

I’m excited to share that my newest release, Bitter Truth, received second place in the Angel Book Awards (mystery/suspense category)!

Congratulations to first-place Carrie Stuart Parks with Woman in Shadow and third-place Mary Dodge Allen with Hunt for a Hometown Killer. I feel like my characters are in good company!

You can see the full list of winners at the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival page on Facebook. Here’s the link to the announcement post.

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