The open-and-shut case of the Fatal Flapper just won’t stay closed in this thrilling and immersive novel of 1920s Vancouver—another Raincoast Noir mystery. Miss Dora Decker doesn’t look like the sort of young woman capable of stabbing her stockbroker employer twenty-five times with her high-heeled shoe; yet, thanks to a slow news day, she has become internationally famous as the Fatal Flapper, and the police are only too happy to make the arrest. Meanwhile, Ed McCurdy, former muckraking journalist, has traded his typewriter for a career reading radio news as Mr. Good-Evening, Canada’s first “radio personality.” As a celebrity he draws resentment and paranoia from far and near, and he worries that the next murder victim will be himself. Inspector Calvin Hook scours the wet, boozy streets of gritty 1920s Vancouver, piecing together a mystery that somehow connects Al Capone, Winston Churchill and Brother Osiris, the leader of a mystical cult on De Courcy Island.

Originally published in The New Yorker, Mollie Panter-Downes was the voice of England during the Second World War.

A very funny show about some unlikely subjects, including a one-legged actor applying for the role of Tarzan, an in-depth interview with an unimpressed shepherd who witnessed the Nativity, and a French singer who misunderstands an Anglo-Saxon vulgarity and composes a song around it.

“You should learn something new everyday!” That is what Mr. Jay always tells his grade school students. In this premier of A. A. Jackson’s Mr. Jay book series, Mr. Jay almost gets physically hurt as he learns something everyone needs to know if they want to communicate and get along better with others. You can learn about it with him as the mystery of this story unfolds with each thrilling chapter. “This is a cute read. As an educator I enjoyed the realistic depiction of a teacher’s day. The inclusion of discussion questions at the end makes this a good book to use with a classroom. Additionally, the length of the story helps so that it can be used in a single session.” —Mrs. S. Durio, NY Certified Teacher

Isabella is a spirited girl who enjoys shouting out her thoughts, ideas and feelings. In fact, she loves using her loud voice so much; it’s earned her the nickname “Decibella!” Young readers will be entertained as they see how Isabella learns the “five volumes” of voice and discovers that different situations require a different tone. This book shows kids how and when to use their five voices – whisper, 6-inch, table-talk, strong speaker and outside. It is part of the Communicate with Confidence series, which emphasizes skills to help young children be better communicators.

Vancouver is in an uproar over the death by gunshot of a Scottish nanny, Janet Stewart. An almost deliberately ham-handed police investigation has Constable Hook suspecting a cover-up. The powerful United Council of Scottish Societies is demanding an inquiry. The killing has become a political issue with an election not far away. The city is buzzing with rumours. Miss Stewart's fellow nannies have accused the Chinese houseboy of murder, capitalizing on a wave of anti-Chinese propaganda led by the Asian Exclusion League and enthusiastically supported by the sensational press--not to mention the Ku Klux Klan, which has taken up residence in upperclass Shaughnessy. The White Angel is a work of fiction inspired by the cold case of Janet Smith, who, on July 26, 1924, was found dead in her employer's posh Shaughnessy Heights mansion. A dubious investigation led to the even more dubious conclusion that Smith died by suicide. After a public outcry, the case was re-examined and it was decided that Smith was in fact murdered; but no one was ever convicted, though suspects abounded--from an infatuated Chinese houseboy to a drug-smuggling ring, devil-worshippers from the United States, or perhaps even the Prince of Wales. For Vancouver, the killing created a situation analogous to lifting a large flat rock to expose the creatures hiding underneath. An exploration of true crime through a literary lens, The White Angel draws an artful portrait of Vancouver in 1924 in all its opium-hazed, smog-choked, rain-soaked glory--accurate, insightful and darkly droll.