Sue Goyette, Lures (HarperCollins, 2002) $32.00, ISBN 0-00-200506-9.

       Lures is a story of two families, of growing up in a small town in Quebec, of love and secrets. Seventeen-year old Grace often finds herself locked out of her own house. Sheila, her mother, spends endless hours sterilizing the plastic-encased surfaces of their immaculate home. Her brother Gary squints at life through a haze of pot smoke, while Les, her father, finds instant gratification in buying an endless parade of gadgets.
       Lily's family, though torn by its own conflicts, seems like a harbour of love and acceptance to Grace who tries to escape the turmoil of her own background. Like watching the world through a pair of binoculars, as Curtis does in the novel, Goyette offers a close-up view of the seemingly ordinary lives of several people to reveal their secrets, fears and longings.
       Sue Goyette is the author of Governor-General's Award-nominated poetry collection, The True Names of Birds. Sue was raised in Montreal and now lives in Cole Harbour with her family.

Susan Kerslake, Seasoning Fever (The Porcupine's Quill, 2002) $24.95, ISBN 0-88984-234-5.

       Hannah and Matthew eyed each other as children, fell in love as young adults, quit the deadened East and headed West to homestead on the prairie. There's a sod house, crops, cows, children, and passion in furrows. There's women in daylight and in the dark of night, a man who loves Hannah and the horizon, and a man who loves horses and pregnant women. Compared to Annie Proulx and Cormac McCarthy, this long-awaited novel serves up a Western epic with perceptiveness and innocence.
       Born in Chicago, Susan Kerslake has lived in Halifax since 1966. Her previous books are Middlewatch, Penumbra, Blind Date and Book of Fears, which was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award. For the past twenty years, Susan has worked as a volunteer with children with cystic fibrosis. Seasoning Fever is her first novel in twelve years.

Brad McRae, The Seven Strategies of Master Negotiators (McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 2002) $24.99, ISBN 0-07-089887-1.

       Whether negotiating a multi-million dollar contract, terms with a new supplier, a raise with the boss, or your child's allowance, everyone finds themselves striking partnerships and "making deals" on a daily basis. In The Seven Strategies of Master Negotiators author Brad McRae interviews 21 of Canada's top negotiators to gain insight into their negotiating secrets. Combined with his own experience teaching thousands of people to negotiate, he presents the seven key strategies that can make you a Master Negotiator.
       Dr. Brad McRae holds a doctoral degree in counselling psychology from the University of British Columbia and was trained in negotiating and influencing at the Harvard Project on Negotiation. He has been teaching negotiating for the past 16 years in both the private and public sectors on a worldwide basis. Currently on the faculty at St. Mary's University, he is also president of McRae & Associates Inc.

Donna Morrissey, Downhill Chance (Penguin Canada, 2002) $24.00, ISBN 0-14301-227-4.

       The world of Downhill Chance, familiar yet exotic, is a pair of utterly remote outport communities in pre-Confederation Newfoundland. Set in the bleak years during and after the Second World War, the narrative revolves around two families, the Osmonds and Gales, both burdened by scars, sorrows and secrets - terrible, unspeakable secrets.
       Morrissey blend melodrama, gritty realism and a flair for the comic in this unique novel. At its core is the unraveling of secrets - and the redemption the truth ultimately brings to the people who inhabit these pages so memorably.
       Donna Morrissey, the author of award-winning Kit's Law, left her birthplace The Beaches, a small outport on the west coast of Newfoundland, when she was 16. She lived in various parts of Canada before returning to St. John's, where she graduated from Memorial University. She now lives in Halifax.

Alain Raimbault, illustrations par Daniel Dumont, Le soufflé de mon père (Soulières Editeur, 2002) $8.95, ISBN 1-55109-384-7 and 2-92225-66-6.

       "- S'il vous plâit, monsieur le chef, auriez-vous un restant de soufflé au homard pour moi et ma petite famille? Nous avons faim. Le chef a répondu que non et qu'il était un peu tard pour venire déranger les gens. - Ce n'est pas grave. Si vous avez des œufs, du gruyère, du lait, du beurre, de la farine et un ou deux homards, je vais le préparer moi-même. Avant que le chef ne refuse, papa a pris sa trompette et is joué un air connu. Le chef a craqué."
       Alain Raimbault a écrit cette histoire rocambolesque parce qu'il adore le soufflé au homard. Et, comme il vit en Nouvelle-Écosse, du homard, il en trouve facilement et à longueur d'année.

Alf Silver, Three Hills Home (Nimbus, 2002) $19.95, ISBN 1-55109-401-0.

       In Acadia in the spring of 1755, Eulalie La Tour's life seems placidly laid out ahead of her she will marry a young farmer and raise their children. At the same time, British Corporal Cully Robin's life also seems laid out ahead of him press ganged into the British Army as a teenager, his very soul has been brutalized. He faces a life in barracks or on the battlefield until he is killed or crippled or grows too old to march.
       When the Governor of Nova Scotia executes his plan to expel the Acadians, Cully deserts and escapes to the north with Eulalie La Tour and her family. Andre is the only Acadian who knows that "Cully the tinker" was in fact a British soldier listing names and locations of Acadians. The story encompasses eight years and a journey through the very different landscapes and societies in the colonies from Massachusetts to Louisiana.
       Alfred Silver, the author of The Red River Trilogy, has been a playwright, an actor, and a songwriter, as well as a short-order cook, a nude model, and a day laborer. He lives in a farmhouse in Ardoise, Nova Scotia.