What determines the course of our lives? Chance . . . or destiny?On Midsummer's Day, 1982, three-year-old Azalea Ives is found alone at a seaside fairground.One year later, her mother's body washes up on a beach—her link to Azalea unnoticed.On Midsummer's Day, 1992, her adoptive parents are killed in a Ugandan rebel uprising; Azalea is narrowly rescued by a figure from her past.Terrified that she, too, will meet her fate on Midsummer's Day, Azalea approaches Thomas Post, an expert in debunking coincidences. Azalea's past, he insists, is random—but as Midsummer's Day approaches, he worries that she may bring fate upon herself.**From BooklistIronmonger’s first novel published in the U.S. charts Azalea Lewis and her complicated family across the British Isles and East Africa. The unlikely organizing principle is the seeming inevitability of disaster on Midsummer’s Day, a fatal date across several decades. Although Ironmonger uses multiple characters and points of view, the novel centers on a love story between Azalea and an academic, Thomas Post, whose research focuses on probability. Ironmonger’s prose is easy to follow, even with his peripatetic approach. His extended discussions of free will flirt with big questions, though the playful sparring stops short of challenging the reader. Ironmonger is at his best when he’s able to link the various stories in a manner that’s neither forced nor indulgent, in a modest but nevertheless lyric style: “That fisherman would be the son of a fisherman, and he the son of another, and so it would go back into the past and perhaps into the future as if the pages of the book had already been written.” --Kevin Clouther Review“Playful, inventive, and fast-paced, COINCIDENCE sweeps you up and carries you along. . . The droll, sharp-witted narrator spins this tale with the lightest of touches, all the way to its perfect ending. I adored this book.” (Christina Baker Kline, New York Times bestselling author of ORPHAN TRAIN) “In COINCIDENCE, J.W. Ironmonger takes the reader on an amazing journey. . . Read this brainy, delightful novel.” (Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of THE FLIGHT OF GEMMA HARDY) “A haunting, lyrical meditation on how fates are woven together, for better or worse.” (Simon Van Booy, author of THE ILLUSION OF SEPARATENESS) “Ironmonger spins another nimble tale. . . It’s a feat of cleverness. . . A fast, captivating read.” (Kirkus Reviews) “A heady, seductive novel. . . Ironmonger does a masterful job of folding the stories together. . . He ties his complicated plot elements together brilliantly, leaving the reader entirely satisfied with all outcomes. A compelling story.” (Shelf Awareness) **** Views: 34
In 2005, Maurice Mierau and his wife, Betsy, travelled to Ukraine to adopt two small boys, age three and five. After weeks of delays while navigating a tangled bureaucracy, they returned to Canada as a proud new family of four. Now what? Does fatherhood begin the moment that the adoption papers are signed? Is family something that is created in an instant? And what happens when everything seems to be on the verge of falling apart? In Detachment, Maurice Mierau probes not only the process of adoption but what comes after—the challenges of becoming a family, the strain on his marriage. While his son acts out and gets in trouble at school, Maurice feels removed, detached, thinking instead about his own emotionally distant father. Also born in Ukraine, Maurice's father has a traumatic and mysterious past of his own. If Maurice can come to understand his father's life, perhaps he can start to make sense of his new sons... Detachment is a moving, darkly funny, and searingly... Views: 34
An in-depth account of an event that shocked the world: the murder of four RCMP officers near Mayerthorpe, Alberta, by a man named James Roszko. Roszko had a serious grudge against the police and had vowed to kill them the first chance he got.Through extensive research and interviews, Robert Knuckle takes us from the start of the tragedy on March 2, 2005, through the suspenseful hours as more and more RCMP members arrive at Roszko's farm, the shooting, and the aftermath: the comments of wives, parents, and friends; the trial of the accomplices; and conclusions. James Roszko left a huge wave of destruction in his wake, destroying families and sowing disillusionment.Knuckle unravels the details of all phases of the story, which is one of the most violent and complex tales in the annals of Canadian crime Views: 34
Mary Immaculate is just twelve years old the day she goes missing. Berry-picking in the woods near her village in outport Newfoundland, Mary has an encounter with something from another world. When she is finally found, Mary is taken to hospital in St. John's, where her attending doctor makes the decision to adopt her out of poverty. Duley's authentic portrayal of outport life sits in stark contrast to life in upper-level St. John's, making this a novel as much about class distinction as it is a stunning narrative of a woman's life in pre-Confederation Newfoundland. Originally published in 1939 to acclaim in Britain and the US, Cold Pastoral was the second novel by Margaret Duley, the acknowledged "first novelist" from Newfoundland. Views: 34
If there is a cardinal rule that everyone seeking a roommate would agree with, it’s that you don’t get involved with someone you live with. Too complicated. But complicated doesn’t stop Sarah Bennet from agreeing to let the gorgeously sexy Ethan Collier move in. He’s everything she’s not - confident, charming and intense. The attraction becomes even stronger when she learns about his dark past. She should be running away, but instead she finds herself running toward him. Falling into bed with Ethan was easy, falling in love is another matter entirely. She’ll need to hold on tight, or this bad boy could break her apart completely. Views: 34
