Four Books For Podcast Listeners

For the True Crime Detective

Zara’s Dead by Sharon Butala (Coteau Books)If My Favourite Murder, Criminal, and COLD reign supreme on your podcast rotation, literary mystery Zara’s Dead, from GG-nominated author Sharon Butala will kick your inner sleuth into high gear. Loosely based on the real 1961 case of “The Girl in Saskatoon,” the novel follows a sixty-something amateur detective who’s spent the better part of her adulthood trying to solve the murder of her high-school friend Zara Stanley. And she’s about to give up until an unmarked envelope lands on her doorstep. 

For the Comedy Yukster

A Brief History of Oversharing by Shawn Hitchins (ECW Press) Much like some of our personal go-to comedy podcasts—2 Dope Queens anyone?—comedian Shawn Hitchins’s hilarious and thoughtful collection of essays in A Brief History of Oversharing hits all the right funny bones. Everything from heartbreaks to masturbation to familial relationships is told with endearing vulnerability, honesty, and more than a few dashes of humour to keep it real.  

For the Horror Buff

Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall by Suzette Mayr (Coach House Books) If the well-paced, character-driven terror of The No Sleep Podcast has your nightlight flickering, then you’ll love Suzette Mayr’s Dr. Edith Vane and the Hares of Crawley Hall a kind of Alice in Wonderland meets The Haunting of Hill House, set in the hallowed, hellish halls of a university campus (and some of us might remember that special kind of horror too well). From vast sinkholes to maggots falling from the ceiling,  prepare for a jumpy, unsettling ride to its gripping conclusion.

For the Storytelling Enthusiast

Best Canadian Stories 2018 edited by Russell Smith (Biblioasis) If you’re partial to the bite-size, but immersive likes of The Truth or the New Yorker short stories featured in The Writer’s Voice, Best Canadian Stories 2018 will deliver the same narrative punch, but with a Canadian flair. Now in its 48th year, this newest edition engages both new and established writers—Shashi Bhat, Lynn Coady, Deirdre Simon Dore, Alicia Elliott, Michael LaPointe, Stephen Marche, Lisa Moore, Kathy Page, Alex Pugsle and many more—anthologizing an array of short story treats.