Reviews

Val’s Book Reviews Stella Ryman and the Search for Thelma Hu—A Fairmount Manor Mystery by Mel Anastasiou Langley: Pulp Literature Press, 2025 $24.95 / 97819888865799 This charming little story takes place in Fairmont Manor, a Seniors’ Care Home, where author Mel Anastasiou’s octogenarian character, Stella Ryman, currently resides. Stella doesn’t think she should be there and is

Val’s Book Reviews Unequivocal Magic: Sarah Bernhardt and the Journey of a Portrait by Alex Bertram Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2026 $42.99  /  9781771127189 Sometimes you see an image, and it stays with you. There is something unexpected that holds your attention. You blink—a human camera—and capture a picture that remains in your memory. With

Val’s Book Reviews Literary Life After Death: Commemorations of Writers in English-Speaking Canada by Carole GersonMontreal: Concordia University Press, 2026 As a reviewer, I did not know what to expect from a book with a title like Carole Gerson’s Literary Life After Death. Nonetheless, I found these commemorations of writers in English-speaking Canada to be quite fascinating. The book

Val’s Book Reviews The Angels’ Share by Jane Bow New York: Red Elixir, 2026 $37.00 / 9781966293309 The Angels’ Share by Jane Bow (Homeless) is a combination of many elements—slow-burning passion, art, wine, sex, adventure, crime—that somehow the author manages to weave together into a thought-provoking book. The book tells the story of how Dion (Dionysia), a thirty-nine

Val’s Book Reviews Outspoken: A Journey from Olympic Athlete to Activist by Betty Baxter Gibsons: Nightwood Editions, 2026 $23.95 /  9780889715066 I cannot profess to be an athlete or a sports enthusiast. For that reason, I falsely assumed I would not enjoy Betty Baxter’s book Outspoken. I played netball and tennis at school and kept playing tennis

Val’s Book Reviews Thirty Feet Under by William Wodhams Toronto: ECW Press, 2026 $24.95 / 9781770418547 Thirty Feet Under is a fast-paced mystery that will be enjoyed by art lovers and those who appreciate the mysteries of archaeology. The twists and turns along the way will hold readers’ attention to the last page. In his novel, Vancouver-based

Val’s Book Reviews Something Has Changed: An Anthology of Women’s Voices by The Pen Pals Writers’ Collective Nanaimo: Pen Pals Publishing (the book can also be ordered via penpalsbook@outlook.com), 2025 $20  /  97810694399505 “There is something profoundly magical about a community of like-minded people coming together to share their talents, passion, and skills.” These words appear in

Val’s Book Reviews They Never Left Me: A Holocaust Memoir of Maternal Courage and Triumph by Evelyn Kahn with Hodie Kahn Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2025$22.95 /  9781553807322 There have been many books written about the Holocaust, but the memoir They Never Left Me, written by a Holocaust survivor, Evelyn Kahn, assisted by her daughter Hodie

Val’s Book Reviews Broadway Corridor: The Great Social Divide by John D’Eathe Vancouver: Adagio Media, 2025 $21.99 / 9780991993079 In the “prophetic novel,” Broadway Corridor: The Great Social Divide, D’Eathe introduces his readers to a world set in the near future of Vancouver. The Broadway Corridor today is a major urban hub with many key areas—Vancouver General Hospital,

Val’s Book Reviews The Italian Secret by Tara Moss Toronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2025$25.99 / 9781443461290 The Italian Secret is a lighthearted, rollicking novel set in three time periods–1907, 1943, 1948–and travels from the Indian Ocean to Italy and Australia. The author’s protagonist, Billie Walker, is a wartime investigative journalist who by 1948 has taken over