Val’s Book Reviews The Call of the Red-Winged Blackbird: Essays on the Common and Extraordinary by Tim Bowling Hamilton, ON: Wolsak & Wynn, 2022 $22.00 / 9781989496428 It is always a delightful surprise to discover a book you would not normally read, only to find it extremely enjoyable. Such was the case for me with …
Val’s Book Reviews The Darkness in the Light by Daniel Kalla Toronto: Simon & Schuster Canada, 2022 $24.99 / 9781982191399 If you enjoy gripping, psychological thrillers, Daniel Kalla’s book The Darkness in The Light will hold your attention to the very end. The story takes place in Anchorage, Alaska, and in the remote world of …
Val’s Book Reviews They Don’t Pay Me To Say No: my life in film and television props by Dean Goodine Victoria: FriesenPress Publishing, 2022$24.99 / 9781039144316 If you were asked what a “property master” does for a living, you would most likely assume the job was connected to real estate in some way. Such is …
Val’s Book Reviews Loss, wisdom, bereavement Minerva’s Owl: The Bereavement Phase of My Marriage by Carol Matthews Calgary: Freehand Books, 2021 (first published by Oolichan Books, 2017) $17.95 / 9780889823259 Carol Matthews’ memoir Minerva’s Owl is not a happy book, but it is one full of hope and tenderness told with the author’s beautiful prose …
Val’s Book Reviews Ticket to Ride (Volume 4 of the Jason Davey Mysteries) by Winona Kent Winona Kent and St Ives, UK: Blue Devil Books, 2022 $19.99 / 9781777329433 I must admit that I was not expecting to enjoy Winona Kent’s book Ticket to Ride as much as I did. A story about a touring …
Val’s Book Reviews The Rooming House: The West Coast in the Seventies by Michael Kluckner Vancouver: Midtown Press, 2022 $19.95 / 9781988242460 Michael Kluckner has skillfully managed to capture the free spirit, free love era of the late sixties and early seventies in this captivating story of lost youth trying to find their paths …
Val’s Book Reviews A West Coast Soccer Story Head to Head by Jennifer Manuel Toronto: James Lorimer, 2020 $12.95 / 9781459414280In this young adult book for 10 to 13 year-olds, Jennifer Manuel has written a story which will inspire all young girls who love sports. But the book also carries a strong message of how …
Val’s Book Reviews The Driving Force The Famous Five: Canada’s Crusaders for Women’s Rights by Barbara Smith Victoria: Heritage House, 2019 $9.95 / 9781772032338 In this very important book, Barbara Smith tells the in-depth stories of five women — Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards — who collectively changed …
Val’s Book Reviews Terminal City Spooks Vancouver’s Most Haunted: Supernatural Encounters in BC’s Terminal City by Ian Gibbs Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2021 $20.00 / 9781771513180 Ian Gibbs, who has spent years collecting and sharing ghost stories as a Ghostly Walk tour guide in Victoria, British Columbia, has done another impressive job in his second book …
Val’s Book Reviews A naval labour of love Dutchy’s Diaries: Life as a Canadian Naval Officer in His Own Words, 1916-1929 by John Crispo Inglis “Dutchy” Edwards, edited by Helen Edwards [Victoria]: Helen Edwards, 2020 $29.50 / 9780969728252 Helen Edwards, a well-known heritage professional researcher in Victoria, has achieved a work of immense importance to naval …
