TheVeryBest Awards

Books that I have reviewed and that I consider exceptional. Since it is my own opinion, it is reliable and trustworthy.

Blood of Extraction by Todd Gordon & Jeffery R. Webber

It seems that Latin America is not given much attention these days, unless an international event like the Brazil Summer Olympics directs our attention to that sector of the globe. Yet, there is a multiplicity of issues occurring there as a casual look at the BBC’s Latin America news page proves: economic unrest and uncertainty in Venezuela, a huge cocaine haul in Bolivia, and a drug lord’s luxury prison cell in a Paraguayan prison were just some of the headlines there at the time of this writing.… Continue reading

The People Who Stay by Samantha Rideout

Samantha Rideout was born and raised in an outport community in Central Newfoundland. Her first novel, Pieces, was released in 2013. She currently lives in New York with her husband, Rob. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the primary female antagonist of The People Who Stay (2016, Flanker Press), Sylvia Pride, is also from an outport community and lives with her husband in Boston.… Continue reading

After Drowning by Valerie Mills-Milde

This is Valerie Mills-Milde’s debut novel and it is a superb one. Located on the north shore of Lake Erie where there was once a thriving freshwater fishing industry, After Drowning is a semi-psychological and vastly intriguing novel about lives shattered by events past and present in the fictional town of Port, where a vestigial fishing industry still exists in company with gentrified tourist destinations, and of course, the beach.… Continue reading

Wild Pieces by Catherine Hogan Safer

Aptly named, Wild Pieces (2015, Breakwater Books) is a collection of short stories by Catherine Hogan Safer, author of Bishop’s Road (2004, Killick Press), thus making it her first major release in over 10 years. For her fans, it certainly has been a long wait, and if (like me) you haven’t read Bishop’s road or any of her previous work, then this collection will serve as a good introduction to her writing style, particularly that of her peculiar characters.… Continue reading

This Marlowe by Michelle Butler Hallett

“Treachery and treason, there’s always an excuse for it.” – Mark Knopfler

Such is the world of This Marlowe (Goose Lane Editions 2016) by Michelle Butler Haslett. The time: Elizabethan England in 1593. The Reformation is passed, but protestant England cannot relax, fearful that Catholics will try to take the throne after Elizabeth dies (or is assassinated), since she has no successor.… Continue reading

Boss Gibson: Lumber King of New Brunswick by David Sullivan

cannot read a history of New Brunswick without coming across the name Alexander Gibson, or “Boss” as he was affectionately called by his family, friends and employees. So it was that after reading several different books on New Brunswick, I decided to see if anyone had published a book about the man.… Continue reading

Only by Blood by Renate Krakauer

World War II. Christians. Jews. Nazis. Poles. Families destroyed, separated, torn apart. These are the background themes to Renate Krakauer’s debut novel Only by Blood (Inanna Publications, 2015). The story ferries back and forth between the past and present as different cultures, faiths and families intersect.… Continue reading