This is the story of a system that failed utterly, at almost every level, and with fatal effect. People died, hundreds of others were made horribly sick, and for days, no one knew what was happening, or why. There were rumours about the water, but the Public Utilities Commission blandly assured callers that the water was okay. Which left investigators trying to figure out if the problem was tainted food – or something else. Colin Perkel was among the first reporters to visit Walkerton when word finally got out that the water was poisoned. Using the interviews he conducted and the testimony given to the Walkerton Inquiry, Perkel has pieced together an authoritative and riveting account of the tragedy. He tells the story from the point of view of the people who lived through it. He shows how the virtues of a small town – its closeness, loyalty, tradition, and sense of community – contributed to the disaster. He shows how two brothers, Stan and Frank Koebel, were sustained by those virtues despite their own limitations. He provides a day-by-day account of the epidemic itself, the moments of heroism and good sense, and the instances of incompetence, wilful blindness, and plain stupidity. A few heroes do emerge: the pediatrician who was thoughtful and worried enough to raise the alarm; the investigator who worked feverishly through a holiday weekend to find the source of the poison; even perhaps the reporter at the local radio station who broadcast the boil-water advisory. Neither the politicians – at any level –nor the bureaucrats in the Department of Environment and the health ministry come out very well. But Colin Perkel never loses sight of the fact that this story is about real people. And his account of what happened is always set in the context of the complicated lives of the people who lived through it. There are no villains in this story, but only flawed humans. This is a superb piece of reporting. It deals with a tragedy that might have occurred – and might occur again – in virtually any community in Canada.

"Twin teen girls with very different upbringings meet for the first time at their mother's funeral. As they get to know each other, it becomes clear that one of the sisters is driven by a secret destructive power-or is it both?"--Provided by publisher

Is it asking too much to live a typical twelfth grade existence? Kelsey Kendler just wants to earn some money for university, hang out with friends, maybe even snag a boyfriend. But her pill-popping mom and distant dad scare off anybody she tries to bring home, making those last two things feel impossible. Her part-time ice cream shop job’s a slog, but at least there, she can escape her parents’ constant fighting … until the COVID-19 pandemic forces a lockdown and she’s stuck at home with them 24/7. As the lockdown takes its toll on Kelsey’s mental health, she starts to see the appeal of her mom’s pills. She hates what they do to her mom, but numbing herself to the world seems like a pretty good idea right about now. Horrified to find herself following in her mom’s footsteps, she can only hope she’ll eventually figure out some other way to cope …

A mysterious painting holds the clues to a cache of priceless relics in this treasure hunt of “deepening suspense” à la The Da Vinci Code (Library Journal). In financial trouble, Isobel Sadler considers selling a painting that’s been in her family for generations. She can’t imagine it’s worth much . . . until someone tries to steal it. Mystified, Isobel turns to art dealer Michael Whiting for advice. He identifies the painting as a sixteenth-century treasure map pointing the way to a series of lost religious artifacts hidden by monks when Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries. If he and Isobel can decipher the clues in the painting, Michael reasons, her money troubles will disappear. But if they can’t decode the painting quickly, Michael and Isobel could be history themselves. As they struggle to translate the arcane instructions—laced with references to everything from the Bible to Botticelli—they are stalked by a rival who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the treasure. Peter Watson’s stylish art-world thriller seamlessly mixes action with “sustained literariness, refinement, and polish” (Library Journal).

Following up the first book in her new "Elemental Assassin" series, Jennifer Estep's Web of Lies once again brings readers into sexy assassin Gin Blanco's world, which is populated with giants, goth dwarves, elementals, and some kick-butt BBQ. Curiosity is definitely going to get me dead one of these days. Probably real soon. I’m Gin Blanco. You might know me as the Spider, the most feared assassin in the South. I’m retired now, but trouble still has a way of finding me. Like the other day when two punks tried to rob my popular barbecue joint, the Pork Pit. Then there was the barrage of gunfire on the restaurant. Only, for once, those kill shots weren’t aimed at me. They were meant for Violet Fox. Ever since I agreed to help Violet and her grandfather protect their property from an evil coal-mining tycoon, I’m beginning to wonder if I’m really retired. So is Detective Donovan Caine. The only honest cop in Ashland is having a real hard time reconciling his attraction to me with his Boy Scout mentality. And I can barely keep my hands off his sexy body. What can I say? I’m a Stone elemental with a little Ice magic thrown in, but my heart isn’t made of solid rock. Luckily, Gin Blanco always gets her man...dead or alive.

New package for a cult classic. First published in 2003, The Book of Lies was hailed as a 21st grimoire and instantly became a cult classic. Now reformatted for the next generation of magicians and all counterculture devotees, it gathers an unprecedented cabal of occultists, esoteric scholars, and forward thinkers, all curated by Disinformation's former "wicked warlock" Richard Metzger. This compendium of the occult includes entries on topics as diverse and dangerous as Aleister Crowley, Secret Societies, Psychedelics, and Magick in theory and practice. The result is an alchemical formula that may well rip a hole in the fabric of your reality: Terence McKenna asks if we contact "aliens" with the smokable drug DMT Daniel Pinchbeck recounts his psychedelic and magical experiences Techgnosis author Eric Davis writes about H.P. Lovecraft Robert Anton Wilson writes about the similarities between Aleister Crowley and Timothy Leary Donald Tyson's "The Enochian Apocalypse Working" ask if the seeds of the end of the world sown in the Elizabethan era. Other contributors or subjects written about include Brian Barritt, Vere Chappell, Ida Craddock, Joe Coleman, Nevill Drury, Stephen Edred Flowers, T. Allen Greenfield, Gary Lachman, Anton Lavey, Peter Levenda, Grant Morrison, Michael Moynihan, Rosaleen Norton, Jack Parsons, Austin Osman Spare, and Tracy Twyman. It's all here and more!

In this gripping, atmospheric family drama, a young woman investigates the forty--year--old murder that inspired her mother's bestselling novel, and uncovers devastating truths--and dangerous lies. Reformed party girl Meg Ashley leads a life of privilege, thanks to a bestselling horror novel her mother wrote decades ago. But Meg knows that the glow of their very public life hides a darker reality of lies, manipulation, and the heartbreak of her own solitary childhood. Desperate to break free of her mother, Meg accepts a proposal to write a scandalous, tell-all memoir. Digging into the past--and her mother's cult classic--draws Meg to Bonny Island, Georgia, and an unusual woman said to be the inspiration for the book. At first island life seems idyllic, but as Meg starts to ask tough questions, disturbing revelations come to light...including some about her mother. Soon Meg's search leads her to question the facts of a decades-old murder. She's warned to leave it alone, but as the lies pile up, Meg knows she's getting close to finding a murderer. When her own life is threatened, Meg realizes the darkness found in her mother's book is nothing compared to the chilling truth that lurks off the page.