Membaca

Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time by Michael Palin Vancouver: Greystone Books USD $28 Toronto: Penguin Random House Canada CDN $37 Reviewed by John Wilson In the past century and a half, dozens of books have been published dealing with the lost Franklin Expedition but only a few have stood the test of time—springing to mind are Richard Cyriax’s magisterial Sir John Franklin’s Last Arctic Expedition and David Woodman’s examination of the Inuit testimony, Unravelling the Franklin Mystery . Many are stylistically dated or poorly written or just plain weird, but for anyone wanting to add to the corpus of Franklin literature today, there is a much more dangerous pitfall—time. As Michael Palin puts it in Erebus , after Lieutenant Schwatka’s return from his exploration of King William Island in 1880, “The indignation that fuelled the search, the wounded national pride that gave it such imperative, and the appetite of newspapers…for the grisly detai...

Nonfiction Peace and purpose, compassion and forgiveness A BETTER PLACE A Memoir of Peace in the Face of Tragedy By Pati Navalta Poblete 256 pp. Nothing But The Truth Publishing Reviewed by Sala Wyman When an aborted robbery results in the death of Robby, her only son, Pati Navalta Poblete, Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist, embarks on a personal journey of healing. She discovers, however, that becoming whole again is much greater than her own pain and terror. The quest for wholeness becomes one that encompasses more than herself, family and friends. It extends to a larger community of coworkers, business associates, and, finally, to the four men responsible for Robby’s death. Robby was 23 when he was shot and killed. On the day that he died, Poblete and her fiancé (her second marriage) had just finalized their wedding plans when she received phone calls from Robby’s grandmother and her daughter Julie. She remembers: I can only describe what happened next in bits and pieces. Fl...

Nonfiction Beaks, scales, feathers, fur UNLIKELY COMPANIONS: The Adventures of an Exotic Animal Doctor By Laurie Hess, DVM, with Samantha Rose 259 pp. Da Capo Reviewed by Lynne M. Hinkey, author of Marina Melee Part memoir, part mystery, and all heart, Dr. Laurie Hess’s Unlikely Companions is a captivating look at the dedication, frustration, and devotion that veterinarians – and the whole animal healthcare community – pour into their work. Centered on a spate of sugar-glider deaths, and one vet’s determination to solve the mystery before any more of her patients are lost, this book takes us through a few harrowing weeks in the life of Dr. Laurie Hess, a Westchester county, New York veterinarian specializing in exotic animals. Interspersed with her search for answers, Hess provides a mix of anecdotes about her journey to becoming an exotic animal vet, her family life, and entertaining stories of her often-eccentric clients, and their beloved and bizarre pets that are her patients. Th...

Twenty-three year old Katy Speed is fascinated by the house across the street. The woman who lives there, Gloria, is the most glamorous neighbour on the avenue, owning a fashionable dress shop in Bexhill-on-Sea. But who is the woman who arrives in the black car most Saturdays while Gloria is at work? Sometimes she brings women to the house, other times they have children. Hilda, Katy's mother, disapproves of Gloria. She wonders if these mysterious visitors have just been released from prison. Is Gloria secretly bringing criminals, or worse, into the heart of the community? Then one night, the house burns down. In the wreckage, the bodies of Gloria and her daughter are found. Katy is sure the unexplained visitors must be responsible until her father is arrested and charged with murder. Have the police arrested the correct person? Are the rest of the street safe? Can Katy find the truth before it's too late? Lesley Pearse has always delivered such incredibly realistic storylines ...

1956 It's Ellen Crosby's first day as a student nurse at Ambergate Hospital. When she meets a young woman admitted by her father, little does Ellen know that a choice she will make is to change both their lives for ever... 2006 Sarah is drawn to the now abandoned Ambergate. Whilst exploring the old corridors she discovers a suitcase belonging to a female patient who entered Ambergate fifty years earlier. The shocking contents, untouched for half a century, will lead Sarah to unravel a forgotten story of tragedy and lost love, and the chance to make an old wrong right . . . I loved The Secret by Kathryn Hughes so I have been looking forward to reading another book by her. The Key tells the tragic story of Amy who back in 1956 is taken to Ambergate County Lunatic Asylum at only 19 years old. She is adamant that she doesn’t have mental health problems and shouldn’t be in there.  The story is told from two time frames, the events of Amy’s stay at Ambergate back in the 1950’s and al...