Read Your Way Around Halifax - 2012 edition

It doesn't feel like like summer here at the Halifax Reader until we've toured Nova Scotia in fiction. Let's enjoy a literary tour of our beautiful province with some of this year's additions to the library's collection.


Dark Clouds of the Morning (M)
by Janet C. Burrill


The Halifax Explosion is the backdrop for this historical novel which examines one family at this pivotal point in Halifax's history. Jennie Grayson is working  in a factory and is waiting her fiance to return from the war. When her home is destroyed she goes to live with an elderly woman and meets up with her grandson, a Boston doctor, who has joined in the relief effort. A gentle read from a Christian perspective.



The Slayer (M)
by Nadine LaPierre


A murder mystery, the first in a series featuring RCMP Constable Danielle Renaud, set in Halifax. A dead woman is found in a Halifax Park and the police are without leads or suspects. Danielle Renaud is pleased to have the opportunity to prove herself with this cold case, however things quickly begin to go wrong and very dangerous for this young police officer causing her to question even the loyalty of her romantic partner who is also a crown attorney.



Ronin: Outlaw Samurai (M)
by D.C. Rhind


Michael Cameron (first met in Once a Samurai) has been framed and appears to be a vigilante who is taking down Halifax's petty criminals. CSIS has declared  him to be a rogue agent and is looking to arrest him. Cameron must track down and destroy the vampire who is setting him up in order to clear his name.



Big Town (M)
by Stephens Gerard Malone


In the 1960s the community of Africville was facing relocation. Three teenage boys must come to terms with what the move of an entire community would mean to them while still dealing with the complications within their own families. Each boy has his own crisis - abuse, illness and family breakdown.



Shattered (M)
by Jennie Marsland


The Halifax Explosion is the center of this story of two lost souls Liam Cochrane and Alice O'Neill. Liam has recently returned home from war having lost his brother and his innocence. He has become a stranger in his north end Halifax neighborhood. Alice is a musician who can read music but is otherwise illiterate and has been in love with Liam for years. Liam and Alice, both alone in the world, slowly find one another as their world moves quietly toward destruction.


Tattooed (M)
by Pamela Callow

Another adventure for lawyer Kate Lange. Tattoo artist Kenzie Sloane knows the identity of the murder victim found in the outskirts of Halifax. Not only to they share the same tattoo, but also a secret from years past. Kate and Kenzie also share an uncomfortable past. Kenzie hosted a party years before where Kate's sister indulged in cocaine. Kate removed sister Imogen from the party only to be killed in a car crash. Kate is helping Kenzie's mother Francis who is suffering from ALS to pursue her rights to assisted suicide. Kenzie returns to Halifax to see her mother for a final time and it becomes clear that she has more information about Imogen and the newly discovered body.