Atlantic Books

Atlantic Books

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Pamela Callow

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Pam Estabrook-webReaders often enjoy books that offer similar sensibilities, or with similar themes, genres or subject matter.

Here are some recommendations to keep fans of ghost stories, true crime and mysteries happily reading in Atlantic Canadian style.

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I love a good mystery with a local setting like Sign Of The Cross by Anne Emery (ECW Press, 2008). This is the first in an excellent mystery series set in Halifax.

sign of the crossIf you enjoy reading mysteries with a local flavour, you may also like:

  • Damaged by Pamela Callow (Mira, 2010) and Foul Deeds by Linda Moore (Nimbus, 2012)—crime novels also set in Halifax
  • Revenge of the Lobster Lover by Hilary MacLeod and The Reluctant Detective by Finley Martin (Acorn Press, 2010, 2012); both are first novels in mystery series’ set on Prince Edward Island
  • Death of a Lesser Man (Boulder Press, 2011) and The Body On The T by Mike Martin (Baico Publishing, 2013); the latest installations in mystery series set in Newfoundland.

The Curse of the Red Cross Ring by Earl Pilgrim (Flanker Press, 2000) is a true story Curse of the Red Crossof murder in outport Newfoundland in the late 1920s. This book has been lauded for its vivid depiction of Newfoundland and also for its authenticity—the story’s central character is the author’s grandfather.

If you like true crime stories from Atlantic Canada, you may also like:

  • Maritime Murder (Nimbus, 2012), in which Steve Vernon recounts 19 true crime stores from all over the Maritimes
  • Catherine Snow (Flanker Press, 2009); this is Nellie P. Strowbridge’s haunting novel based on the story of the last woman hanged in Newfoundland
  • Hunting Halifax (Pottersfield Press, 2007), Steven Laffoley’s investigation of a historical cold case—a murder that took place 150 years ago
  • The Ballad of Jacob Peck (Goose Lane, 2013); the compelling story of Amos Babcock, a New Brunswick man hanged for murdering his sister in 1805.

Bluenose Ghosts (2nd Edition, Nimbus Publishing, 2009) was originally written by iconic Nova Scotia folklorist Helen Creighton back in 1957. Over several decades, she Bluenose Ghostsrecorded tales of the supernatural as told to her by regular folks.

So, if you like a good ghost story, you may also like these books about folklore, superstitions, and ghosts:

  • Red Sky At Night by Vernon Oickle (MacIntyre Purcell, 2011); a compilation of superstitions and wives’ tales from Atlantic Canada
  • Ghost Stories and Legends of Prince Edward Island, in which Julie V. Watson (Dundurn, 1988) tells some fascinating “true tales”
  • Ghosts of Nova Scotia by Darryll Walsh (Pottersfield Press, 2010); a collection of ghost stories, old and new
  • Ghost stories from Newfoundland: Haunted Shores by Dale Jarvis (Flanker Press, 2004)
  • Tales from New Brunswick: Wicked Woods by Steve Vernon (Nimbus Publishing, 2008)
  • Brand new from Nimbus in fall 2013: Fire Spook: The Mysterious Nova Scotia Haunting by Monica Graham—the mysterious tale of a series of spooky, spontaneous fires in 1922.