Completion of the 5th Canadian Book Challenge

The Canadian Book Challenge was my only Reading Challenge in the past year. Hosted by John Mutford at the Book Mine Set blog it goes each year from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. John selected July 1 for the start of the challenge as it is Canada Day. In the challenge readers are to read 13 books written by Canadians over the 12 months. With 2 weeks to go in the Challenge I have completed the challenge and will finish the year having read 15 books by Canadians.

Back in March I put up a post updating the challenge. At that time I had read 9 books.

The books read to that date were:

1.) An Ordinary Decent Criminal by Michael Van Rooy;

2.) Deadly Appearances by Gail Bowen;

3.) A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny;

4.) The Mystery of the Moonlight Murder by Roderick Benns;

5.) Snow Job by William Deverell;

6.) Burnt Out by Nelson Brunanski;

7.) The Placebo Effect by David Rotenberg;

8.) The Lies have It by Jill Edmondson; and,

9.) I’ll See You in My Dreams by William Deverell.

Since March I have read:

10.) Bush Dweller (Essays in Memory of Father James Gray O.S.B. edited by Don Ward) – The only non-fiction book in the year was this collection of essays in memory of a Saskatchewan Benedictine monk, Father James, who taught me first year university English and lived as a solitary on the grounds of his monastery, St. Peter’s Abbey for 30 years while establishing deep and intimate relationships with a striking group of Canadians;

11.) TheSuspect by L.R. Wright – The first in the Karl Alberg series was a fascinating examination of the death of Carlyle Burke knowing from the first page was his neighbour, George Wilcox. It was a worthy Edgar winner;

12.) StrayBullets by Robert Rotenberg – The third mystery in the Toronto series featuring an assemble cast of lawyers and police dealt with a difficult murder. A 4 year old boy is killed in the parking lot of a Tim Horton’s coffee and doughnut shop in Toronto. Nancy Parrish faces the challenge of defending a man universally despised;

13.) Dos Equis by Anthony Bidulka – Russell Quant, in his 8^th mystery, delves into the death of a colleague, Jane Cross. The action takes him from Saskatoon to rural Saskatchewan to the Pacific coast of Mexico as Russell tracks down a ruthless killer; and,

14.) Kaleidoscope by Gail Bowen – Joanne Kilbourn appears in her 13^th mystery and it is one of the best in the series. Joanne retiring from being a university professor is looking forward to a quiet lake summer when she and husband, Zack Shreeve, become embroiled in a controversial project that would massively alter Canada’s most notorious neighbourhood.

The 15^th book will be The Taken by Inger Ash Wolfe which I am currently reading. It is the second in the series featuring Ontario police inspector, Hazel Micallef. The feisty Micallef celebrates an unusual 62^nd birthday while dealing with a macabre, even grisly, mystery. I will be writing about Inger Ash Wolfe continuing to be unidentified. The third book in the series, A Door in the River, is to be released at the end of July.

I am glad I took on the challenge. With so many books on the TBR piles I am not sure I would have read 15 Canadian books over the year. I will identify my favourite at the start of the 6^th Annual Canadian Book challenge in just over 2 weeks.