As we on the South Coast find ourselves in the midst of our annual snowstorm, we’ve put together a list of books that will help you float away to solve mysteries, have adventures, and learn how to welcome community. Snuggle up on these snowy days with these cozy winter reads and hey, you might even find out where you can source local fibre to knit a snuggly blanket from.
To Track a Traitor by Iona Whishaw (TouchWood Editions)
Book 10 finds our beloved sleuth heroine Lane Winslow called back to Scotland to deal with a mysterious family affair. Keeping secrets seems to be a Winslow family trait. Forever fans as well as newcomers to this bestselling series will love this novel!
Available now!
Lightning Strikes the Silence by Iona Whishaw (TouchWood Editions)
The latest in this Globe & Mail bestselling series is nigh! The story begins with an explosion on a warm summer afternoon back in King’s Cove. Lane Winslow and Inspector Darling must inspect this case of bygone promises and lingering prejudice. We bet you’ll love this darling read!
Out May 7, 2024!
Princess of the Savoy by Ron Base & Prudence Emery (Douglas & McIntyre)
Check back into London’s posh Savoy Hotel in the swinging sixties where dark forces and murder are uninvited guests—volume 3 in the cheeky series that is now a French bestseller. Join Priscilla Tempest at the Savoy Press Office to battle a fascist plot hatched from an English estate.
Out March 9, 2024!
Stazy and the Magic List by Nancy Hundal (Rebel Mountain Press)
From career teacher-librarian Nancy Hundal, whose first book won the BC Book Prize, comes a story about dyslexia and accepting your friends and yourself, just as you are. Stazy begins grade seven with lousy luck, and it doesn’t help that three snooty girls are giving her the eye. It’ll take more than a little magic to turn their trio into a foursome.
Out now!
We’re Happy You’re Here by Julie Wilkins, illustrated by Brady Sato (Orca Book Publishers)
A delightful, inclusive book for soon-to-be older siblings about the joys of preparing to welcome a child and the importance of community and family. Many special people are involved in welcoming a new child into a family. Everyone has their part to play, and it takes a lot of wishing, planning and training. But it’s all worth it when we finally get to say, “We’re happy you’re here!”
Out March 12, 2024!
Candle Point by Nancy Deas, illustrated by Mike Deas (Orca Book Publishers)
This illustrated children’s book is a story about honesty, earning trust and taking accountability for our actions. Cozy up out of the snow while reading about Kay’s stay at her aunt’s lighthouse where she has to save a moon creature in a snowstorm.
Out now!
Ocean Drive by Sam Wiebe (Harbour Publishing)
From award-winning Vancouver crime writer Sam Wiebe comes a a story where a paroled killer and a small-town cop find themselves on a collision course when the murder-by-arson of a college student sparks off gang violence along the forty-ninth parallel.
Out April 20, 2024!
Fleece and Fibre: Textile Producers of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands by Francine McCabe (Heritage House Publishing)
Are you a knitter, farmer, or sustainable fashionista? Cozy up with your knitted blanket and fuzzy socks and learn about where local textiles come from in this book documenting a local textiles scene. We talk about farm to table food, but what about farm to closet clothing? A land-based textiles economy is just as worthy of attention as local food.
Out now!
Always On Call: Adventures in Nursing, Ranching, and Rural Living by Marion McKinnon Crook (Heritage House Publishing)
In this memoir, intrepid public health nurse Marion McKinnon Cook shows the reader what it was like to juggle marriage, children, and a vast array of patients and cases in rural British Columbia in the 1970s. This is the much-anticipated follow-up to Always Pack a Candle (although you don’t have to have read the first book to enjoy this one).
Out April 2, 2024!
Permission to Land: A Memoir of Loss, Discovery, and Identity by Judy LeBlanc (Caitlin Press)
In this courageous memoir, Judy LeBlanc delves into a lyrical and moving exploration of her Coast Salish heritage, unravelling the deep-rooted consequences of erasure that have shaped her family.
Out February 23, 2024!