The Seaboard Review: March 24th, 2025
Date Volume 2, Issue 12
Michael Greenstein Reviews:
Hot Takes: Brief Notes on Books Present & Past
(Note: clicking on the underlined link takes you to the book’s publisher page for more information or for purchasing purposes)
The Queen (2025, Simon & Schuster) by Canadian creep-meister Nick Cutter is a deeply visceral read for fans of detailed gore and unfurling mystery both. With shades of the Alien, and the yuck of various bugs and the psycho-fuel of teenage pheromones amped up by something diabolical brewing out of sight, The Queen draws readers into an anarchy of arthropod fury. Cutter uses the cat nip device of treasure-hunt clues left via iPhone by someone who's got it out for plucky teen heroine Margaret Carpenter, who combines the wiles of Riley from Aliens and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Contributed by Emily Weedon)
Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (1999, HarperCollins Canada) "While the 'hot take' is that the world is regressing into the 1930s, I picked up some 1930s reading. Ngaio Marsh has been called one of the Queens of Crime - alongside Agatha Christie - writing what now would be called cozy mysteries. Marsh's settings are delightfully retro, while her main characters are surprisingly modern; Detective Roderick Alleyn calls his wife, by her last name, and independent "Troy" has kept her career as a celebrated painter, while helping her husband solve murders. Steeped in an era, infused with glamour, and wittily written, Marsh is a delightful find for an escape from the current tensions in the world." (Contributed by Heather McBriarty)
Berth by Carol Bruneau (2005, Nimbus Publishing) Willa Jackson, the lonely wife of a helicopter technician for the Canadian Air Force, falls for the attentions of Hugh, an attractive saxophone player (and lighthouse keeper). When her husband Charlie is on a tour of duty, Willa leaves her present life and moves, along with her nine-year-old son Alex, to Thrumcap Island in Halifax Harbour. The Island, however, harbours secrets, some from the former keepers, some from when the military used the island for military practice, and some from Hugh’s past. Carol Bruneau’s writing has always fascinated me, and this novel from her back catalogue is no exception. She builds tension and suspense in her unique way. Well worth finding a copy, you won’t be disappointed. (Contributed by James M. Fisher)
Saints Rest Book Launch
The SAINTS REST Book Launch “tour” continues with a stop in Fredericton at Gallery 78 (the oldest private art gallery in New Brunswick!) Saturday, March 29th at 6pm. I’m told that there will be copies of all three books of Luke’s there, and Westminster Books will be selling them.
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Thanks for reading this issue of The Seaboard Review!
James M. Fisher, editor-in-chief
