The Off Season by Amber Cowie | The Miramichi Reader

My first read of Cowie’s, I wasn’t sure what to expect though everything about it looked good, including the striking cover. I also did a little research and was not only hooked but anchored by her biography. A fan of dark mysteries, especially when they have good family characters with depth and good conflict, I was eager to dive in.

Admittedly, the beginning was a bit chaotic for me and kept me wary of my high expectations. Fortunately, this confusion didn’t last and I was in. Chapter three and the introduction of Sienna got me. The story of a quick marriage and the promise of not looking into each other’s sordid past intrigued me, the concept of starting over with minimal baggage and lack of Social Media background checks seemed fitting. The short courtship and eagerness to become insta-mom of a sixteen year old disconnected me slightly as I could not fathom such a situation. That may be just my own prejudice yet the author addressed this with Jane’s best friend, Mickey.

Jane, the main character of this story, while written in third person, was complex and a conundrum to me. A documentary filmmaker and thorough investigator, it did seem hard to believe she wouldn’t be curious about her new husband Dom. Mickey, her best friend, felt the very same. They warned her, refused to come to the wedding and expressed genuine concern at the ready-made family with a request not to look into them. That didn’t stop Mickey, or eventually Jane, from doing some digging.

Circumstances brought Dom, Sienna and Jane to a friend’s remote hotel during the off season (hence the title) in British Columbia under the ruse that Dom was to complete some renovations his former wife started. Jane found the new-to-her resort stunning and immediately set out to understand its history and secrets. She didn’t fathom Dom would expect her to become the perfect house wife while Sienna revolted in every way possible.

Through a cast of characters both charming and creepy, Jane uncovers as much about her rushed decision to say “I do” as the people she meets along the way. Learning how recently her husband’s former wife died, the claims of the accidental death and learning how the rise of a YouTube star took dark turns, Jane risks her life, and her toes, to overcome her own sordid past and face her mistakes and misfortunes.

Amber Cowie is a novelist living in a small town on the west coast of British Columbia. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Salon, The Globe and Mail, CrimeReads, and Scary Mommy. Her first novel, Rapid Falls, was a Whistler Book Awards nominee. She holds a history degree from the University of Victoria and is a mother of two. She likes skiing, running, and inventing stories that make for a questionable internet search history. Visit her at AmberCowie.com or on Twitter and Instagram @AmberCowie.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 14, 2024)
Paperback 6″ x 9″ | 368 pages
ISBN: 9781668023518

Sarah Butland

Website

I am a struggling artist, a challenging and challenged mother who always thinks she is failing, an emerging freelance writer and reporter, an author with my name on several books crossing genres and always hoping to find more readers who enjoy them.

I am also a successful artist, a wonderful and thriving mother of one, a reacher towards both people and dreams despite all of the turned backs and obstacles in my way. I am a thriving freelance writer and reporter, an author loved by enough readers to make it worthwhile and a discombobulated conundrum who loves to hear new music, tell new tales and meet new authors. And I’m doing something I always dreamed of doing – reviewing books to support others as well as myself and my family.