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IT'S A MYSTERY!

The Perfect Nanny: A Novel

By Leila Slimani

In the store

Called a masterpiece and a brilliant exploration of the collision of race, genre, and class wrapped up in a gripping psychological thriller.

The English Teacher: A Novel

By Yiftach Reicher Atir, Philip Simpson

In the store

Yiftach Atir is a retired Israeli intelligence officer who writes like a poet about the double life of those trapped in the world of espionage.

The Wrong Side of Goodbye

By Michael Connelly

In the store

Can't go wrong with Connelly! Great details about police procedures.

Roseanna: A Martin Beck Police Mystery (1)

By Henning Mankell, Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo

In the store

Introduction by Henning Mankell for the husband and wife team who started Scandinavian Noir in the 70's.

Coffin Road

By Peter May

In the store

In his latest mystery set in Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, award-winning author Peter May spins a tale about three disparate cases that may or may not be linked.

The Twenty-Three

By Linwood Barclay

In the store

Canadian mystery writer Linwood Barclay is one of Stephen King's favourite mystery writers!

The Sympathizer: A Novel

By Viet Thanh Nguyen

In the store

Last year's Pulitzer Prize winner, The Sympathizer is described as a thriller. The narrator, a Vietnamese army captain is actually a communist sleeper agent in the United States.

The Woman in the Window: A Novel

By A. J. Finn

In the store

What is real? What is imagined? Who is in danger? Who is in control? In this diabolically gripping thriller, no one-and nothing-is what it seems.

Twisty and powerful, ingenious and moving, The Woman in the Window is a smart, sophisticated novel of psychological suspense that recalls the best of Hitchcock.

IN CASE YOU MISSED THE MOVIE!

The Sense of an Ending

By Julian Barnes

In the store

The star of the movie, Jim Broadbent, is such a suitable match for the elegant and memorable words of Juian Barnes. This novel reveals how a life unlived beneath the surface can affect all of one's interactions for years.

The Global Forest: Forty Ways Trees Can Save Us

By Diana Beresford-Kroeger

In the store

After seeing this movie Call of the Forest and reading this book, or visa versa, you will understand why Canadian botanist and medical biochemist Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a hero in the fight to help people understand the importance of the natural world.

I Am Not Your Negro: A Companion Edition to the Documentary Film Directed by Raoul Peck

By James Baldwin, Raoul Peck

In the store

The powerful and prescient words of James Baldwin are laid bare in this moving and still timely book and movie.

A Man Called Ove

By Fredrik Backman

In the store

Ove has been a bestseller everywhere! Bitter sweet, and hard not to love!

Paterson

By William Carlos Williams

In the store

Considered one of the greatest poets of the 20 century, William Carlos Williams wrote about life of his hometown, Paterson, New Jersey, in a series of poems called Paterson. Jim Jarmusch's movie of the same name evokes much of the feel of the city with Adam Driver playing the role of a citizen whose last name is Paterson. Lots of sweetness and love here.

Lion (Movie tie-in edition)

By Saroo Brierley

In the store

Lion is a moving, poignant, and inspirational true story of survival and triumph against incredible odds. It celebrates the importance of never letting go of what drives the human spirit: hope.

Fences (Movie tie-in)

By August Wilson

In the store

From legendary playwright August Wilson, the powerful, stunning dramatic work that won him critical acclaim, including the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize.

Page Turners & Pot Boilers

Review: The English Teacher

Article By Barb Minett

Date: 8 Sep 2016

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The English Teacher: A Novel

On the cover of The English Teacher, Gideon Raff proclaims that it as “an extraordinary page-turner," a promise that has occasionally left me disappointed. Teacher is a translated Israeli novel unfamiliar to me, and since I had no idea who Gideon Raff was, I decided to do some research. As it turns out, he wrote the Israeli television series Prisoners of War, upon which Homeland was modelled. I am now indebted to Gideon Raff for not only inspiring one of my favourite television series, but also for introducing me to Yiftach Reicher Atir!

Atir is a retired Mossad Brigadier General and Teacher's introduction states that his writing is based on first hand experience as an intelligence officer. These experiences must be one of his secret weapons as the amount of detail in every scene speaks volumes. The story is deliciously complicated, beginning at the end with Rachel, an undercover agent trying to escape her handler and, indeed, all of Mossad. After killing a German scientist, she wants to shed her spy skin and decides to seek out an Arab ex-lover whom she knew many years ago. To complicate things even further, her handler (who is old enough to be her father) loves her, which is not a relationship that Mossad would condone.

Writers of spy novels are often compared to John Le Carre, but in the instance of The English Teacher, I am confident in that comparison. Atir’s characters are complex and imperfect, much like Le Carre’s. The antagonists created by both writers are never singularly evil or one dimensional. Refreshingly, the work of Le Carre and Atir frequently allows us to feel the loneliness of the undercover agent, and to see how futile the messy world of espionage really is. Highly recommended.

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