The Devil’s Cave by Martin Walker

(21. - 1264.) The Devil’s Cave by Martin Walker - A deceased naked woman floats on a punt through St. Denis gathering more and more attention. After a failed attempt at catching the punt with a fishing cast, it is stopped on the edge of town. 

Police Chief, Bruno Courrèges, is startled to find a pentagram drawn on the woman’s torso, a charred bottom to the punt from a fire and two black candles. Can there be black magic or Satanism involved?

The mayor, Gérard Mangin, futilely hopes the death will get little attention.

Bruno, using his deep knowledge of the community, informally deals with a spousal assault. Resenting Bruno’s questions, the husband, Louis Junot, attacks Bruno who deftly evades and delivers a pair of punishing blows. Then, after carefully listening to husband and wife, he does not arrest the husband. His predecessor, Joe, was also noted for informal justice. In such a situation Joe and a couple of rugby “chums” might have taken the offending husband behind “the barn and treat him with some of his own medicine”.

The investigation takes Bruno out on the river in a canoe to search for the location from which the punt was launched. The search provided a vivid view of the beauty of the Périgord region from a perspective not provided in the earlier books.

The leisurely ride down the river takes them past a chateau. The complexities of French life and history are reflected in the owner of the chateau - the Red Countess, a WW II hero of the Resistance and a committed communist.

The area’s greatest attractions are the caves with amazing prehistoric depictions of animals.

The Devil’s Cave is actually a commercial cave drawing thousands of tourists annually.

As always, there is a major contemporary issue. Mayor Mangin wants to proceed with a large land development. Bruno conducts his customary low key but effective investigation and has reservations. The Mayor listens.

Bruno’s love life remains complicated with the dynamic police officer Isabelle, still working in Paris, and the lovely Pamela, in Scotland because of her ailing mother. A visit from Isabelle stirs up his conflicted heart. I think there are a couple of women in St. Denis awaiting an opportunity for a relationship with Bruno.

One of the reasons I love the series involves Walker’s skilful touch with regard to Bruno’s personal life. Bruno’s devoted dog, Gigi, was killed in the previous book defending Bruno. He is moved to learn Gigi has been honoured by the Ministry as a canine hero. 

Isabelle and her superiors in the Ministry of the Interior obtain a puppy bassett hound, Balzac, for Bruno. He tries not to love the puppy so that he can choose a new dog on his own, but his defences are instantly overcome when he picks up the affectionate puppy with his long long ears. 

While the Mayor remains uncomfortable, it turns out Satan is good for business.

Identification of the floating woman proves unexpectedly difficult considering the notoriety surrounding her discovery.

As the investigation probes relationships that would prefer privacy Bruno and those with him eat very well. Every Bruno story has one or more amazing food experiences. In The Devil’s Cave Bruno picks the flower buds of dandelions and uses them to flavour an omelet.

Bruno and the Mayor tread very carefully in their study of the backers of the proposed development.

The Church does not ignore evidence of Black Masses being conducted in the Devil’s Cave. The response demonstrates the Church’s powerful and majestic rituals.

I was swept up into the story eagerly reading page after page. Walker manages to credibly involve the elites of France with the locals of St. Denis in story after story. The Devil’s Cave is another complex satisfying mystery.  I would like to visit the Périgord.

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Walker, Martin - (2019) - Bruno, Chief of Police and The Magic of St. Denis and Three Pines; (2023) - The Dark Vineyard; (2024) Black Diamond and The Crowded Grave

The 2025 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence Winners

Since it is the end of May it is time for the crime writers of Canada awards of excellence. Congratulations to all the winners. Unfortunately, I have not read any of the books. I hope to read several over the rest of the year. The CWC press release is below.

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THE 2025 AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNERS

The Miller-Martin Award for Best Crime Novel

Sponsored by the Boreal Benefactor with a $1000 prize

Conor Kerr, Prairie Edge, Strange Light, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada

In Conor Kerr’s exceptional novel Prairie Edge cousins Ezzy, an aimless big-hearted drifter, and Grey, a cynical burned out activist, hatch an audacious scheme to abduct a herd of bison and release them into a downtown Edmonton park. What follows is a tragic, unsentimental exploration of the unpredictable sometimes fatal consequences of their actions and the brutal realities of contemporary activism. Characterizations are complex and multi-layered; dialogue is raw and authentic; the propulsive narrative is flawless with passages of astounding beauty and lyricism. It is a profound testament to the enduring legacy of multi-generational trauma. This powerful, gripping, darkly funny crime novel is brimming with love and rage, despair and hope and is utterly impossible to either put down or forget.

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Best Crime First Novel

Sponsored by Melodie Campbell with a $1000 prize

Ashley Tate, Twenty-Seven Minutes, Doubleday Canada

From its haunting opening description of death to its surprising but somehow exactly right ending, Ashley Tate’s Twenty-Seven Minutes is a gripping, assured debut novel. As the story of Phoebe Dean’s death unfurls, we discover its effect on her family, her friends, and her neighbours in the little town of West Wilmer. Tate takes her time, revealing twist after twist but never allowing the pace to falter. The reader is hooked; we care about these people and hope for a happy ending for them, even as we know disaster is coming. The author shows real skill in concealing so much in plain sight, and the jury is sure that Twenty-Seven Minutes is only the first book in a long, successful career for Ashley Tate.

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Best Crime Novel Set in Canada

Sponsored by Shaftesbury with a $500 prize

Shane Peacock, As We Forgive Others, Cormorant Books

In Shane Peacock’s As We Forgive Others, the Canadian setting stands as a character in its own right. The talented author creates the brooding atmosphere of a rural Ontario winter seen, ironically, through the eyes of a New York homicide detective. Hugh Mercer is trying to escape a shattered marriage and career in an old, rented farmhouse he describes as located, “at the end of nowhere.” The peace he craves eludes him when a mysterious woman appears at the farmhouse door with a ludicrous, perhaps clairvoyant, prediction of a murder. Peacock pulls the reader deep inside the character as he tries but fails to understand the Canadians he meets. The author’s wry humour shows when Mercer compares dangerously polite Canadians, bereft of emotion, to his transparent American countrymen. A laconic local cop with strong appetites, Alice Morrow, invites herself into his life. A skillfully crafted character, she is secretive and incomprehensible, like the Canadian winter. Together, they solve the ingenious mystery, but Mercer is left without answers or forgiveness for his own broken story.

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The Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery

Sponsored by Jane Doe with a $500 prize

Thomas King, Black Ice, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Black Ice is a thoroughly enjoyable, masterfully crafted whodunnit that has it all: tight plot, clever clues, elements of surprise, and compelling characters.

King has deftly hidden clues throughout this witty mystery - if you can only stop grinning long enough to spot them. Just as the case seems impossible, Thumps Dreadful Waters, Temporary Sheriff, has a brilliant revelation—every puzzle piece clicks into place for both him and the reader - if they have been paying attention. A clever mystery that rewards the sharpest minds.

Set in a cozy-like, close-knit community where people know and care for one another, this novel blends surprise twists, resonant emotion, and humorous dialogue with deeper themes. That context supports one of the novel's underlying themes, which is how a person carries on after profound loss. The exploration of that theme, along with the light shone on environmental concerns reminds us that crime fiction can be about more than presenting a “whodunnit”.

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Best Crime Novella

Sponsored by Carrick Publishing with a $200 prize

Pamela Jones, The Windmill Mystery, Austin Macauley Publishers

The Windmill Mystery is a whodunit set in off-the-beaten-path neighbourhoods of Montreal, where an unlikely duo of detectives investigates the death of an eccentric political activist with a mysterious past and a few items of considerable value. When she is found deceased at the foot of an old windmill, the officers find several suspects with compelling motivations: a riches-to-rags sister, a shady politician, and a group of financially distressed nuns. Central to the story is the history of the expulsion of the Acadians from what is now Canada’s Maritime provinces, in 1755. With its clever writing, colourful characters and a satisfying puzzle that can be solved by the perceptive reader, The Windmill Mystery tops our list as Best Novella.

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Best Crime Short Story

Therese Greenwood, “Hatcheck Bingo”, from The 13th Letter, Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem, Carrick Publishing

“Hatcheck Bingo” is fresh and original with deeply Canadian historical roots. The post-WW1 period is effectively woven through the action. Our hat-check girls are clever and resourceful, moral if not entirely law-abiding. Underlying the effervescent Prohibition-era atmosphere are serious undercurrents invoking postwar PTSD, sex discrimination for jobs, and ruthless cross-border power struggles over lucrative booze trafficking routes. The jury specially commends the masterful use of these themes as essential drivers to the deliciously twisty crime story. Wit and humour sparkle to the last bubble, like the best smuggled champagne.

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Best French Language Crime Book

Guillaume Morrissette, Une mémoire de lion, Saint-Jean

The judges thoroughly enjoyed this story, with its intriguing mystery and well-drawn, complex, and sympathetic characters. The slow unfolding of the information is cleverly done, and the flashback sequences well signalled with a clear timeline. The growing trust between the autistic main character, who talks only through a lion puppet, and one of the police officers, conflicts with the understandable insistence on “going by the book” by some members of the police team. This clash between team members paints a nuanced portrait of police officers as human beings. The author skillfully draws the reader into the layered processes of police work. Readers gain insight into the life of an autistic person living off the grid and managing in what, to him, is an alien world, and are also shown the varying reactions of citizens of Trois-Rivieres towards him, ranging from protective to hostile. The town is atmospherically described, and the author’s judicious use of "joual" adds a very real, very immediate sense of place.

Une Mémoire de lion is an outstanding example of a police procedural in which the reader follows the investigation as it happens, to arrive at a very satisfying ending. A story with a great deal of heart. Bravo.

Les juges ont beaucoup apprécié cette histoire, avec son mystère captivant et ses personnages bien conçus, complexes et sympathiques. Le dévoilement progressif des informations est habilement réalisé, et les séquences de flashback sont bien signalées avec une chronologie claire. La confiance croissante entre le personnage principal autiste, qui s'exprime uniquement à travers une marionnette de lion, et un des officiers de police, contraste avec l'insistance compréhensible de certains membres de l'équipe sur le respect strict des procédures. Ce conflit entre les membres de l'équipe offre un portrait nuancé des policiers en tant qu'êtres humains. L'auteur réussit à immerger le lecteur dans les processus complexes de l'enquête policière. Les lecteurs découvrent la vie d'une personne autiste qui vit en marge de la société et s'adapte à un monde qui lui est étranger, tout en observant les réactions variées des habitants de Trois-Rivières envers lui, allant de la protection à l'hostilité. La ville est décrite de manière atmosphérique, et l'utilisation judicieuse du "joual" par l'auteur ajoute un sentiment très réel et très immédiat du lieu.

Une Mémoire de lion est un excellent exemple d'un roman procédural policier dans lequel le lecteur suit l'enquête au fur et à mesure qu'elle se déroule, pour arriver à une fin très satisfaisante. Une histoire avec beaucoup de cœur. Bravo.

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Best Juvenile / YA Crime Book

Sponsored by Superior Shores Press with a $250 prize

Sigmund Brouwer, Shock Wave, Orca Book Publishers

In this fast paced and engaging thriller, eighteen year old Jake Ballard is tricked into helping a teenage girl break into a houseboat and becomes the target of an angry crime boss. Jake is given 24 hours to rectify the situation and, as his mother is away receiving treatment for combat related PTSD, he must do it on his own. As Jake skillfully navigates dangerous situations and finds the courage to continue, he discovers the answer to the question that many teens today face - what to do with their lives. The author elevates this storytelling by providing interesting and realistic discussions on the military, violence, service to others, and mental health. Short chapters, action filled scenes and snappy dialogue make this book set in Sicamous, British Columbia a compelling and easy read for teens.

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The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book

Sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton) with a $300 prize

It’s a tie!
From the judges: What a privilege to have these two stories in our lives, as devastating and emotional as they are. The authors of these women-centred, family-focused narratives show compassion for their subjects, tenacity in their research, and a commitment to shining spotlights on important issues. These two Canadian books showing survivors reclaiming their own narratives are worthy of the highest recognition. Congratulations to Denise Chong, Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse and Tanya Talaga, The Knowing.

Denise Chong, Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's Journey through Betrayal, Tyranny and Abuse, Random House Canada

In Out of Darkness, Denise Chong has created a compassionate and respectfully written portrait of Rumana Monzur’s horrific lived-experiences of abuse and violence. The result is a tribute to Rumana’s resilience, ambition, and strength in overcoming personal tragedy.

Chong’s masterwork in building tension examines how abuse intensifies over time, revealing the warning signs, missed clues, and betrayals that facilitate the hidden epidemic of domestic violence. Chong’s ability to immerse the reader into the narrative, to be alongside Rumana in the horror and the light, creates a long-lasting impression the reader—and the jurors—will not soon forget.

Out of Darkness honours the life Rumana has chosen for herself: A life rich with knowledge and bravery—full of happiness and love while showing her daughter, Anusheh, a way forward, out of the darkness.

Congratulations to Denise Chong and Out of Darkness.

Tanya Talaga, The Knowing, HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Tanya Talaga lives up to her name Ka-musko pimojijet pinaysheesh, Little Bird with Big Wings Who Carries a Heavy Burden, in her brave and ambitious book The Knowing. Talaga meticulously braids 150 years of narratives to show how crimes against Indigenous Peoples are systemic and individualized, complex, and intergenerational.

Talaga draws deeply on her personal journey to reclaim the stories of her ancestors and reveal the frustrations of trying to reconcile Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge with the reality of missing and destroyed official government records. A skilful journalist, Talaga’s detailed research and rigorous self-examination shows how crimes of the past are compounded and reverberate today.

Talaga’s thoughtful organization of The Knowing invites and moves the reader through her journey. As jurors, we were moved by Talaga’s perseverance and commitment to telling her and Indigenous Peoples’ truths.

Congratulations to Tanya Talaga and The Knowing.

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Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author

Sponsored by ECW Press with a $500 prize

Luke Devlin, Govern Yourself Accordingly

A surreal supernatural crossgenre work of crime fiction. The mystery at the heart of the book has a satisfying solution, and there is excellent tension as the hero battles to uncover it.

A Dark Death by Alice Fitzpatrick

(20. - 1263.) A Dark Death by Alice Fitzpatrick - Meredith Island, off the coast of Wales, is an insular isle. The residents are comfortable with their isolation. Many gather at night in the pub.

Islanders are far from excited when T.V. personality and "investigative medium", Griffin Blackstock, makes a dramatic entrance in the pub announcing he has come to make the Island famous with a documentary on Faraday Manor which has been abandoned for almost 150 years. The original owner, Artemis Faraday, had left the island with his infant daughter after his wife died in childbirth.

Archaeology professor, Simon Penhaligon, sharply engages Blackstock asserting spiritualism is fraudulent. Blackstock retorts with examples of archaeological fraud. 

Penhaligon, with some students, is excavating a site on the island thought to be the location of a medieval monk’s cell.

Kate Galway, formerly a teacher and currently a historical novelist writing about the 18th Century, has returned to the island after 35 years away. Feeling “unconditionally accepted” by the islanders has been good for her soul.

Blackstock arranges an event at the Manor to prove spiritualism is real. Handwritten invitations are delivered to several islanders. 

Miss Sophie Sutherland, grande dame of the island, is vulnerable from the loss of her two sisters. 

Blackstock confidently asserts the Manor is filled with the “spirits of those souls who lived and worked here, those souls who called this place home, and yes, those spirits who died here”.

The local minister, Imogen Larkin, is deeply shaken by being choked in the hallway outside the room where the séance was conducted. Praying is not enough to restore her soul. She finds herself “listening for God”. I wish her crisis of faith had been more deeply explored. There was more to be considered in the intersection of spiritualism, faith and archaeology.

Penhalgion’s team make tantalizing discoveries that have the potential of making the excavation a major site.

Blackstock is found dead in the archaeological excavation with his body ritually posed. In his few days on the island he has managed to alienate and anger a significant number of people. 

To Penhalgion’s intense frustration, for his team can stay on the island only a few more days, the murder stops the excavation.

Detective Inspector Tom Warwick arrives from the mainland with a team of investigators. They have been to the island before dealing with murder.

The police start with questioning the students. They are thorough in gathering information.

Warwick directly advises Kate and her good friend, Siobhan Fitzpatrick, their assistance is not needed for the investigation even though they had been helpful on a previous murder investigation on the island. Kate and Siobhan ignore Warwick. They will, as they advise those they interview, assist the police in their inquiries..

The characters are interesting with a mix of backgrounds and ages.

The setting of a small island packs suspects and victims together. Not often are there a group of credible suspects in such a situation. A Dark Death has ample genuine suspects among the islanders, the students and the professors.

I thought of The Lighthouse by P.D. James in which Adam Dagleish is called to a small island off the coast of Cornwall where a prominent author has been found hanging from the lighthouse. The island, a retreat for distinguished world citizens, has only a few guests and a small staff.

Assumptions by the police hamper the investigation into Blackstock's death.

My legal mind cried out as the police questioned people as suspects not witnesses. There was nary a warning nor a caution to any of them of the consequences of answering questions when suspected of murder. A caution was only given after arrest.

The world of academic archaeology is fraught with jealousy, treachery, fraud and deceit in A Dark Death. Just right for a murder mystery.

I found Kate an interesting sleuth. I found her sidekick Siobhan more interesting.

The ending felt contrived. Overall, A Dark Death is a good book.

The Wrecking Game by Chris Forrest

(19. - 1262.) The Wrecking Game by Chris Forrest - Rancher Big Dave Watson getting killed, while making breakfast, draws the attention of County Sheriff Hal Wannamaker, Senior Special Agent James C. Beechem of the FBI and the Texas State Police.

There is concern that a gas well recently blown up on Big Dave’s land is domestic terrorism. There are underlying issues over insurance and Big Oil with regard to the explosion.

In Toronto, Ray Carver runs into a car turning left in front of him on a yellow light. The car turns on its side. The woman driving is strung up in the vehicle. The moment instantly becomes intense when a firefighter sees a baby in the car.

Ray had circled the block three times waiting for a car to turn in front of him but he “went too fast” and “drew the wrong mark”.

Ray is assessed as having a soft tissue neck injury.

After leaving the hospital he joins his team for a beer. Their leader, Vince Calder, says they will lay low after the screwed up “go-ahead”. They do not want an insurance investigation.

Ray “doubts the potential for empathy in its own right”. Empathy for those injured during a criminal endeavour would interfere with business.

Ray has been far from empathetic in life. He trolls meetings of alcoholics, drug addicts and gamblers looking for troubled souls he can lure into crime.

Constable Gabriel Kruzik of the Toronto Police has an almost photographic memory. He analyzes the accident starting with the female driver’s assertion that the driver of the car who hit her waved her through. He believes there is a new “squad” in Toronto committing insurance fraud.

Kruzik grew up in the Regent Park complex, “The Projects”. He is married with a child and his wife pregnant with their second.

Benjamin Blackstone is a member of a Texas biker gang with the evocative name, The Lord’s Riders. The ruthless, highly intelligent Blackstone is deeply involved in what happened in Texas.

Empathy is not part of Blackstone’s life. He is a philosopher reflecting on God and religion. He “knows, like any man who has been shot at or stabbed and left for dead and lived to see the truth, that God is both within and without”. He had a revelation on his 82nd day of solitary confinement.

Blackstone is an Old Testament Christian committed to vengeance on those who betray him. Mercy and forgiveness are also not part of his faith.

For Blackstone  “the only group living without a code of honour were those running the world with nine-to-five men.” He despises them.

He heads north to Canada pursuing an informant.

Leads on the murder of Big Dave take Beechem and another experienced agent, Jen Logan, to Canada. Beechem and Logan had been a team years in the past.

Contemplating his life, Ray makes contact with the driver of the car, Alisha Saito. As with other characters her life is a mess. Can it be possible he has a touch of empathy in his soul?

Ray lives a life on the dark side. He tells Alisha:

    “... There’s crime everywhere, even in small towns. It               doesn’t discriminate.”

The consequences of the American disaster are rippling through the world of the fraudsters. A big score is needed. A scheme is hatched that will need the full team.

Ray is a great pretender. How much pretence is in his developing relationship with Alisha?

For accident fraudsters, a compliant lawyer and doctor are needed. Regrettably neither is hard to find.

The scheme is complex.

After I concluded Ray was just a master manipulator, Forrest surprises me with Ray described as having a “saviour complex concerning women”. His actions in this part of his life are honourable. 

It is amazing how many police organizations become involved when crimes cross borders. There are the Toronto City Police, the Sûreté du Québec, the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police, the FBI, the Texas State Police, a County Sheriff’s department and the Department of Homeland Security. Some are operating as Lone Rangers. Unlike T.V. police there are consequences.

Everyone converges on Toronto with a great sense of urgency.

As in the best noir there is a building sense of dread in The Wrecking Game. Violence is coming and it will be bad.

The police have some good luck. I do dislike the break in a case coming from luck. In real life, I have not found that evidence comes from good fortune.

Forrest has characters with big personalities that could have been stereotypes but, whether good or bad, are thoughtful fully developed people. 

He  provides evocative descriptions of Toronto. An example involves Alisha. Having grown up in the Okanagan Valley of central British Columbia, she finds herself uncomfortable and slightly intimidated by the immense towers that surround Bay and Wellington. Though I had visited family in the Toronto suburbs, I can remember having the same feelings standing on that corner decades ago as a young lawyer who grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan.

There is a dramatic ending with twists I never saw coming. It is wonderful to read a thriller with complexity in plot and characters.

Email Exchange with Fred Reid on Captured by Fire

After reading Captured by Fire by Chris Czajkowski and Fred Reid I wrote to Fred and his partner, Monika about his book and Three Against the Wilderness. Fred kindly replied. I appreciate his response. Our exchange is below.

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Fred and Monika

I just finished reading Captured by Fire and was captivated by the book. It is well written.

I read it just after reading another book, Three Against the Wilderness by Eric Collier, set in the Chilcotin not far from you.

I had been intending to re-read Three Against the Wilderness for some time. As set out in my posts on the book it was my Dad’s favourite book and I taped it for him in the early 1980’s.

While fire is not the focus of that book, fire features in the opening as Eric Collier, in 1922, watched a fire race along Meldrum Creek partly because the beavers had been trapped out and the creek barely ran.

Might you be aware of Three Against the Wilderness or possibly have read it?

If you have read it I would be glad to get your thoughts on the book.

As inevitable, for at least me, in reading a book about people in a difficult and dangerous situation I think about what I would have done at your farm in the summer of 2017. I expect I would have evacuated.

That reflection led me to wonder what the two of you would do eight years later if another dangerous fire were to come your way. While I pray you would never be confronted by the fire dragon again I would be interested in your answer.

I appreciated the chance to talk with the two of you and Maxine at Don and Celine’s place last year.

I mentioned to Maxine and possibly both of you that I feel fortunate to have grown up at Meskanaw.

Your family, Fred, was one of the reasons for that feeling.

Fred, I have added you to the remarkable list of authors connected to Meskanaw. 

You and your Dad join other Meskanaw families with intergenerational authors. The Traill family had Catherine joined by her sons Willie and Walter. In my family there was my grandfather, my father, myself and my sons.

I think Meskanaw deserves to be thought of as a book town.

Links to my review of Captured by Fire and my posts on Three Against the Wilderness are below.

If you are able to reply to this letter and are willing I would post your reply when I post this email on my blog.

I hope 2025 will be a quiet summer for the two of you. I think you have had enough drama for your lifetimes.

All the best.

Bill

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Hi Bill;  I am so glad that you enjoyed Captured by Fire.  I have read Three Against the Wilderness a couple of times and have done some drafts of a book I am working on titled A Walk with Henry David Thoreau.  His experience in the wilderness was roughly 100 years after Thoreau's Walden and I am in the wilderness another almost 100 years later.  I feel his concept of the wilderness and the complex relationship between flora and fauna is much more insightful than Thoreau's.  I feel so lucky that I can go for a walk or drive and see bears, deer, moose, fishers, martins, bobcats and lynx. The magical sounds of the wolves are enchanting and appreciated even though we have lost the odd calf to them.

We were actually put under evacuation order again two years ago with fires on both sides of our valley but we had become so aware of the movements of fires driven by the south westerly winds meant that they should blow past us.  We only had one tense day when one of the fires blew up dramatically in the late afternoon.  Another reason we feel relatively safe is because so much of the fuel in the forests around us has been burnt in the fire of 2017.  We also feel lucky that the forests on the slope just above our meadows are relatively green although they were partially damaged in the fire I wrote about.

I have an essay published in Fire Season III edited by Amory Abbott and Liz Toohey-Wiese (ISBN: 978-1-7381461-4-7).  It gives a follow up of the fate of the Three Sisters.

Meskanaw was such a special place for our family and is never far from my heart.  I have been glad to show Monika the place twice now and Don and Celine have always been such great hosts.  I know my dad held your dad in great regard from the exchanges I witnessed as a child.  My memories are more related to the honey and the showing of a lynx pelt at school.  Another project is a book about my brief (6 year) experience raising pigs organically in the Fraser Valley.  In the early chapters I reflect on my upbringing on the farm in Meskanaw and how strongly embedded in me that experience was.  That manuscript has been rejected once but I will revisit it and try again later.  I think it may be more suited for a prairie farming audience than lotus land types.  I am proud to be included as a Meskanaw author - thank you for that and thank you for the kind review of Captured by Fire.

Cheers;

Fred

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Captured by Fire 

Collier, Eric - (2025) - Three Against the Wilderness  - Part I and Part II