Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City


Tanya Talaga - 2017
    An inquest was called and four recommendations were made to prevent another tragedy. None of those recommendations were applied.More than a quarter of a century later, from 2000 to 2011, seven Indigenous high school students died in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The seven were hundreds of miles away from their families, forced to leave home and live in a foreign and unwelcoming city. Five were found dead in the rivers surrounding Lake Superior, below a sacred Indigenous site. Jordan Wabasse, a gentle boy and star hockey player, disappeared into the minus twenty degrees Celsius night. The body of celebrated artist Norval Morrisseau’s grandson, Kyle, was pulled from a river, as was Curran Strang’s. Robyn Harper died in her boarding-house hallway and Paul Panacheese inexplicably collapsed on his kitchen floor. Reggie Bushie’s death finally prompted an inquest, seven years after the discovery of Jethro Anderson, the first boy whose body was found in the water.Using a sweeping narrative focusing on the lives of the students, award-winning investigative journalist Tanya Talaga delves into the history of this small northern city that has come to manifest Canada’s long struggle with human rights violations against Indigenous communities.

Indian Horse


Richard Wagamese - 2012
    His last binge almost killed him, and now he’s a reluctant resident in a treatment centre for alcoholics, surrounded by people he’s sure will never understand him. But Saul wants peace, and he grudgingly comes to see that he’ll find it only through telling his story. With him, readers embark on a journey back through the life he’s led as a northern Ojibway, with all its joys and sorrows.With compassion and insight, author Richard Wagamese traces through his fictional characters the decline of a culture and a cultural way. For Saul, taken forcibly from the land and his family when he’s sent to residential school, salvation comes for a while through his incredible gifts as a hockey player. But in the harsh realities of 1960s Canada, he battles obdurate racism and the spirit-destroying effects of cultural alienation and displacement. Indian Horse unfolds against the bleak loveliness of northern Ontario, all rock, marsh, bog and cedar. Wagamese writes with a spare beauty, penetrating the heart of a remarkable Ojibway man.

Beyond Control


Karice Bolton - 2013
    With a brilliant job in the corporate world, glamorous parties, and a beautiful condo overlooking Seattle, she is thrown into a world she doesn't want to claim. It's not until Jason crashes into her world that she realizes she's not really living. Facing his own demons, Jason attempts to piece his life back together after a personal tragedy. Damaged by his ghosts, Jason finally begins to forgive himself whenever Gabby's around. She makes him feel--alive, something he hasn't felt for a long time.It's only as their love grows and secrets are revealed that they realize a devastating connection from their past might actually tear them apart.------Dear reader:I hope you enjoy reading Gabby and Jason's story as much as I loved writing it. This is a completed story of Jason and Gabby and is the first in a new series. However, the book does end with a new story just beginning surrounding another couple, who I've gotten the joy of writing about. Their story continues in Beyond Doubt and is out now!Again, thank you for taking the time to read the first in the Beyond Love Series, and I hope you enjoy!~Karice

Smoke River


Krista Foss - 2014
    For readers of Lori Lansens, Joseph Boyden, and John Bemrose's The Island Walkers.     After a proposed subdivision becomes the site of a Mohawk protest -- the land, which has long formed a kind of neutral border between a reserve and the neighbouring town, is contested -- tensions escalate through three sweltering summer months, exposing old wounds, as well as forging new and sometimes surprising connections.This compelling contemporary story is told in the voices of several vivid, unforgettable characters, from the restless young Mohawk woman dreaming of adventure and fame in the wider world; to the successful businessman who has made good use of his position between two communities, and who harbours a surprisingly tender secret; to the high school hero whose inner life would shock his admirers, especially his ambitious mother; and to the unexpected lovers, who must weigh happiness against history and fierce pride.Smoke River is wise and tender, fearless and often very funny. It heralds the arrival of a vibrant, original, and intrepid new voice in Canadian literature.

Winter Letters


Sicily Yoder - 2013
    He left the Amish to join a biker's club, leaving her heart-broken. However, handsome Amish man, Jeremiah Troyer, fills in the gap that Elijah left; however, there is a major problem: Rachael's grandfather, Ben, keeps comparing him to Elijah. Setting out to prove himself fit for taking Rachael's hand in marriage, Jeremiah moves to Shipshewana to work on her brother's dairy farm. However, there are secrets that Jeremiah is keeping from Rachael. One winter morning, Rachael comes head-first with Jeremiah's secrets and is faced to deal with her own transgressions. Can God help her heal? Will he forgive her for her sins? Will she forgive herself and find true love?

Red River Girl: The Life and Death of Tina Fontaine


Joanna Jolly - 2019
    It was wrapped in material and weighted down with rocks. Red River Girl is a gripping account of that murder investigation and the unusual police detective who pursued the killer with every legal means at his disposal. The book, like the movie Spotlight, will chronicle the behind-the-scenes stages of a lengthy and meticulously planned investigation. It reveals characters and social tensions that bring vivid life to a story that made national headlines. Award-winning BBC reporter and documentary maker Joanna Jolly delves into the troubled life of Tina Fontaine, the half-Ojibway, half-Cree murder victim, starting with her childhood on the Sagkeeng First Nation Reserve. Tina's journey to the capital city is a harrowing one, culminating in drug abuse, sexual exploitation, and death. Aware of the reality of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Jolly has chronicled Tina Fontaine's life as a reminder that she was more than a statistic. Raised by her father, and then by her great-aunt, Tina was a good student. But the violent death of her father hit Tina hard. She ran away, was found and put into the care of Child and Family Services, which she also sought to escape from. That choice left her in danger. Red River Girl focuses not on the grisly event itself, but on the efforts to seek justice. In December 2015, the police charged Raymond Cormier, a drifter, with second-degree murder. Jolly's book will cover the trial, which resulted in an acquittal. The verdict caused dismay across the country. The book is not only a true crime story, but a portrait of a community where Indigenous women are disproportionately more likely to be hurt or killed. Jolly asks questions about how Indigenous women, sex workers, community leaders and activists are fighting back to protect themselves and change perceptions. Most importantly, the book will chronicle whether Tina's family will find justice.

My Ratchet Secret 2


Midnite Love - 2013
    And I’m still snatching wigs on these hoes left and right. Me and my boo Adrian are finally building our life together. And guess what? We bout to have us a lil crumb snatcher!The only problem is these birds out here can’t stand to see another sister on the come up. Well they asses can fall back and have a stadium full of seats if they think a bitch like me will back down.I got my man, my new home, and bout to have a new baby. That should let you know I won’t let nothing stand in the way of our happiness. Yeah… I got a few issues I need to deal with but in the words of Kevin Hart “They gon learn today!” Pebbles is NOT to be fucked with!ATTENTION: This is a short story 19,860 words

Nichelle Clarke Crime Thriller Series, Books 4-6: Box Set: Devil in the Deadline / Cover Shot / Lethal Lifestyles


LynDee Walker - 2018
    DEVIL IN THE DEADLINEA human sacrifice unlocks a chilling mystery, and leads Nichelle Clarke into a world of unimaginable danger."...You won't be able to read fast enough..."When Richmond Police find a young woman's bloody remains spread across a candle-lit altar in an abandoned power plant on the banks of the James River, they give crime reporter Nichelle Clarke an all-access pass in exchange for her help.But the information Nichelle gets from the victim's friends only draws her deeper into the mystery. Where did Jasmine come from? How did she end up on the streets of Shockoe Bottom? And why doesn't she have any dental records?The answer trail stops at the front doors of a sprawling compound in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, where Nichelle finds a secretive cult leader and his devoted following. It is a world where lies becomes truth, and money is the true idol. Money some people would do anything to keep collecting...Even if it means murdering a nosy reporter.----------------------------COVER SHOTCryptic online messages and a murder in a swanky condo complex don't strike crime reporter Nichelle Clarke as related--until a gunman sends a hospital into chaos."...if you're a fan of mystery, you simply must read this series..."When a body is discovered in a high-rise in Richmond, Virginia, crime reporter Nichelle Clarke races to the scene. The victim is a brilliant doctor with an unusual past. But before Nichelle can decide what to make of the murder, the local police radio is filled with a dreaded distress call.There is an active shooter at a nearby hospital.The gunman has taken hostages on a patient floor, and gives the police a single demand.He wants to speak with Nichelle.In person.----------------------------LETHAL LIFESTYLESThe groom is the prime suspect in a murder at his own rehearsal dinner. Crime reporter Nichelle Clarke doesn't believe he's the killer-but now it's up to her to find out who is.When Nichelle Clarke is invited to be the maid of honor in her friends' Virginia Vineyard wedding, she looks forward to the celebration.

The Heaviness of Things That Float


Jennifer Manuel - 2016
    This is a place where truth and myth are deeply intertwined and stories are “like organisms all their own, life upon life, the way moss grows around poplar trunks and barnacles atop crab shells, the way golden chanterelles spring from hemlock needles. They spread in the cove with the kelp and the eelgrass, and in the rainforest with the lichen, the cedars, the swordferns. They pelt down inside raindrops, erode thick slabs of driftwood, puddle the old logging road that these days led to nowhere.”Only weeks from retirement, Bernadette finds herself unsettled, with no immediate family of her own—how does she fit into the world? Her fears are complicated by the role she has played within their community: a keeper of secrets in a place “too small for secrets.” And then a shocking announcement crackles over the VHF radio of the remote medical outpost: Chase Charlie, the young man that Bernadette loves like a son, is missing. The community is thrown into upheaval, and with the surface broken, raw dysfunction, pain and truths float to the light.

Hood Love


Leondra LeRae - 2012
    The chance meeting of Capo turns things from upside down to good all around. Take a ride with Jonnae as she realizes your first love isn't always real love & that hood love can be a good love.

The Better Woman


Ber Carroll - 2009
    John Delaney, the boy next-door, is her best friend, her first love and the one who breaks her heart. Jodi Tyler is raised on Sydney's northern beaches amidst a loving family, but a terrible secret shadows her teenage years. On her eighteenth birthday, the awful burden she has been living with is finally exposed, with tragic consequences. This is a story of two remarkable women, their illustrious careers, their families, their friends, and the men they love. Sarah and Jodi, from opposite ends of the world, have more in common than they'll ever realise - they have their sights set on the same job. For both, it represents how far they've come to triumph over the tragedies of their pasts - but at what cost to their personal lives?

The Office Girls


Sylvester Stephens - 2008
    When the newspaper runs an article he finds offensive to African American men, he writes a rebuttal, which offends so many women it gets him fired. Michael then sets out to write a book that proves corporate women are just as scandalous, competitive, and insensitive as their male counterparts. But when he manipulates events to get hired into an office that is staffed by all women, events quickly spiral out of control. As romances sprout like weeds and Michael finds himself fighting for the women he works alongside, rather than against them, the question is whether he will be able to focus on his work, keep his flings a secret, and achieve the success he has always dreamed of. In turns hilarious, sobering, and eye-opening, The Office Girls tells the story of every woman who works in the corporate world and the challenges they face on a daily basis. The misogyny, sexual harassment, and gender inequality faced by these characters will ring true for all women who have experienced corporate America.

720 Heartbeats


Jaka Tomc - 2017
    His worldview and his common sense are being defied by an adversary who seems to know everything about him.From the moment he discovers an obscure icon on his desktop, everyday life seems to unravel. Everything he holds dear appears to slip through his fingers and is about to disappear from his life. Unless he manages to make the right defining decisions while working on a challenging drug trafficking case from this point forward. Is knowledge true power?This gripping novel simultaneously plays with your imagination, the fringes of theoretical physics and philosophy. You will be devouring every word, absorbing page by page, positioned on the edge of your seat. Buckle up! "Tomc uses an intriguing story to question the impact of every decision a person can make." - Independent Book Review"The book is truly captivating and unique in the way it weaves genres together." - Literary Titan"You should expect to be impressed and pleasantly shocked." - Indie Book UprisingFinalist in the 2019 IAN Book of the Year Awards in the "Novella" category.Winner of 2018 Breakthrough Fiction Award in the Suspense/Thriller category.

Stubborn Love


Wendy Owens - 2013
    She had given him her youth, and all he gave in return was misery and pain. She was ready for a new beginning, but Ashton wasn’t about to let her go so easily, even if it meant destroying both their lives in the process.Three years later Emmie convinces herself she is ready to leave all of that heartbreak in the past and find a little piece of normal for herself. She heads to New York City to pick up where she left off, determined to finish art school. Emmie is determined to focus on school and not let anything distract her, but life has a way of throwing curveballs.Paige, Emmie’s new roommate, brings Colin Bennett into her life. His smoldering eyes and lean muscular body are difficult for any girl to ignore. Only thing is, Emmie isn’t any girl. Her past makes her resistant to his charms. Colin isn’t one to give up easily, and just when he thinks he may have found a way to her stubborn heart, her tragic history may have found a way to tear them apart.

Grace


Jane Roberts Wood - 2001
    In a time when people reveal little about themselves, their problems, and their passions, Grace takes readers into the hearts of four families during the last year of the War. Bound together by neighborhood and southern customs, yet separated by class, money and family, they are an unforgettable lot, vibrantly brought to life.As the war draws to an end, it becomes the catalyst that drives the inhabitants of Cold Springs across the boundaries that had once divided them, taking them to places both chaotic and astonishing.