Gail Bowen eBook Bundle

by Gail Bowen

Three compelling mysteries in one ebook bundle.

286 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Gail Dianne Bowen (née Bartholomew) is a Canadian playwright and writer of mystery novels. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Bowen was educated at the University of Toronto, the University of Waterloo and the University of Saskatchewan. She subsequently taught English in Saskatchewan, and is currently a professor of English at First Nations University of Canada. Bowen's mystery novels feature Joanne Kilbourn, a widowed mother, political analyst and university professor who finds herself occasionally involved in criminal investigations in various parts of Saskatchewan. Many have been adapted as Canadian television movies by Shaftesbury Films.

Series:
* Joanne Kilbourn Mystery

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (1995): A Colder Kind of Death

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learn so-o-o-o much from my goodreads friends and book club friends ( not all of them are on goodreads despite my constant urging!)

This month’s book club read was anything by Canadian mystery writer Gail Bowen. I was not familiar with her or her writing so this was a new adventure. Having reviewed the summaries of a number of her books (currently about 19 novels and 4 or 5 novella types, some plays, and more), and as I’ve been struggling to stay with anything for a while now I chose to read this series of three novellas.

Bowen’s writing is set in fairly contemporary settings and often somehow includes politics.

In this series the main character is a late night talk show host, Charlie D., who is the son of a former long time politician.

The books included here are
Love You to Death
One Fine Day You’re Gonna Die
The Shadow Killer

Charlie ‘s mantra is “on air tension is the life blood of talk radio “ and while he may not start out to create it, it seems to find him and when it escalates to the point of criminal activity, he tries to diffuse it. He doesn’t do that alone, as he does call in police to trace calls and find the perpetrators and victims. He also calls in professionals to help diffuse the on air frenzy.

While you best suspend your view of reality to enjoy these stories it is easy to do. They are very fast paced, after all the talk show is only a couple of hours, although in some cases the plot spans a few weeks of talk shows at intervals laying out a criminal plan that doesn’t immediately come to light.

There is lots of well written dialogue and the characters are rather well developed in a short period of time. While the outcomes may be fairly predictable the enjoyment is clearly in the journey to arrive there.
All in all the writing is quite good with a nice mix of dialogue, background, music... specifically chosen to set the mood, vulnerable characters who are willing to share their pain and struggles, and of course, mystery.

I will now have to pick up one or nineteen of Bowen’s full length novels to enjoy more of this Canadian writer.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick read, a 3 book bundle of 225 epages by Canadian mystery author Gail Bowen. We have chosen this author for our book club at the end of the month. Life with an all night talk show host who solves problems of his owns and those of his callers. Fast paced stories, well written so I will seek out another of hers. Like Louise Penny, she has a series of books.