A long-time resident of Nelson, JG (Judy) Toews was born on Salt Spring Island and raised in North Vancouver. A graduate of UBC, she is a former teacher, nutritionist, columnist and non-fiction author. Set in Nelson, her debut novel Give Out Creek (Mosaic Press, $24.95) was shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for best unpublished first crime novel by the Crime Writers of Canada. Having returned to a small mountain town where she grew up, newspaper reporter Stella Mosconi doesn't ever mention her crippling fear of deep water. With spring runoff, the alpine creeks are swelling as she watches the level of the lake rising outside her door. When a new friend is found dead in her rowboat, Stella is drawn into the investigation despite a complicated history with the police officer in charge. Stella struggles to hold her family together following the death of a second woman who was a suspect in the initial investigation. Ultimately, she will have to find the courage to overcome her intense fear of water in order to help solve the murders.

Lucky Jack Road (Mosaic Press $19.99) is Toews' sequel to Give Out Creek. Stella Mosconi encounters a teenage boyfriend, Jack Ballard, twenty years after their fling ended badly. She had hoped to escape Jack's attention but the former pro mountain biker won't leave her alone. Then his body is found off a popular hiking trail and Stella goes out of her way to unravel the mystery of Jack Ballard.

After four decades in Nelson, Judy Toews moved back to North Vancouver in 2021.

BOOKS:

Give Out Creek (Mosaic Press, 2018) $24.95 978-1-77161-305-7

Lucky Jack Road (Mosaic Press, 2020) $19.99 978-1-77161-508-2

[BCBW 2021]