National Network for Equitable Library Service

"There are strange things done in the midnight sun By the men who moil for gold;The Arctic trails have their secret tales That would make your blood run cold." Robert W. Service, "The Cremation of Sam McGee." The High Arctic has long been a land of romance, a magnet drawing adventurers. From the 60th Parallel to the North Pole across the tundra and the Barren Lands, the Far North has beckoned the brave, the foolhardy, and the curious.

This magical new novel by Governor General and Trillium Prize nominee Mark Frutkin, set in 13th century Venice and Cathay, is a dazzling fresco of shimmering language, brimming with golden tableaus of arid deserts and cobblestone alleys, the wafting scent of cardomin and the mystical trill of a praying friar. It is the story of Marco Polo as he is about to set sail on an arduous and lengthy pilgrimage with his father, uncle and faithful guide across the sun-soaked silk route, the rich path of the carpet-makers and the black seas of the Indian Ocean.

At the beginning of the American Revolution, Justus Sherwood left his young family in order to serve with the King’s forces, first with General Burgoyne on his disastrous invasion of New York. He was soon appointed Supervisor of Spies and Prisoner Exchanges, and from his "Loyal Blockhouse" on Lake Champlain he sent out raiding parties and spying missions to harass the rebels in New York and England.

Beginning Again is a sequel to Escape: Adventures of a Loyalist Family, Mary Beacock Fryer's historical novel for ten to fourteen-year-olds. This new work chronicles the lives of the Seamans as they make a new start in Canada. The main theme is the building, by Caleb, the father, and his sons Cade, Sam and Ned, of a huge timber raft. Along the way they have many other adventures - a brush with the supernatural, a visit by a wealthy uncle, a return to the family home on Long Island by Ned and his mother, Martha.

Weaving finely spun filaments of the lyric and mythic, Barbara Lambert creates a vivid tapestry of a year in the life of Vancouver’s Allegra Schliemann, a middle-aged woman in the throes of a knotty love affair with a married man, a newly-crafted career as an artisan and a battle against a debilitating disease. Unable to see her way clear of the emotional clutter these changes wreak, Allegra hires would-be artist Brad Lindhall to fashion her a mirrored wall, praying it will bring light and clarity into the encroaching dusk of her own life.

TV stardom – fame, fortune, and Hollywood! It’s the chance of a lifetime for Kate Merriman when she lands a small role in a new TV series called Backbeat. But it’s less fun when Kate finds out her best friend Maria has turned down the part she’s been offered in the show. They’re always there for each other. How can Kate succeed when Maria’s not there to share this new adventure. And why doesn’t their friendship seem to work any more? In her first novel in the Backbeat series, Kathryn Ellis provides a lively look into the world of TV shows – and close friendships.

Innocent scapegoat or monster manipulator? Matthew Fraser was an idealistic young teacher accused of molesting a young schoolgirl and acquitted in a sensational case that left the truth hidden and the young teacher's life in tatters. Ten years later, his distraught confidante walks into Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green's office insisting that Fraser has vanished. Green's curiosity is piqued when he discovers that Fraser left behind his beloved dog, a half-eaten dinner and an apartment crammed with research related to his case.

"She had a voice like an angel, smooth and complex as a twenty-year-old single malt, rich as thick cream. Everyone who heard Olivia sing felt as if she could see right into their souls, that her songs were meant for them alone. This was the magic her artistry conjured. In earlier times, she wouldhave been put to death as a witch. Such was the talent of Olivia Saint." Meet Andy Curran, drummer in a struggling jazz trio.

In his seventh appearance, undercover agent Jack Taggart is forced to play a risky game, making a deal with one devil to bring down another. Corporate Asset takes undercover operative Jack Taggart into the world of white-collar crime and murder. Insurance companies are being bilked out of millions of dollars. Multiple murders take place right under the cops’ noses but being written off as accidental. Taggart gets a whiff of what is going on when he captures a drug trafficker willing to expose one of the murderers connected to the plot.

Michael Quinn, former rock star, turned his back on a band on the verge of superstardom twenty-four years ago. Hes spent his life since hiding from everything hed been. When a woman chased by thugs jumps into his car, he tries to help. But this sets in motion a chain of events which turns his life upside down, even more so when his best friend is murdered and the girl disappears. Meanwhile, the thugs are looking for Michael. Only by finding the mystery girl can he hope to get out of a hole thats getting bigger.