Withdrawn from Circulation

by Maureen Garvie

When the body of a local writer is found by the steps of the public library, police focus on the library staff. Senior librarian Greer McCallister is soon high on their list of persons of interest. Greer is an unlikely murder suspect, a quiet, dependable employee of almost twenty years. Recently, however, her life has having at last found the courage to leave her overbearing husband, she is finding life as a single woman bewilderingly complex. A precipitous affair shakes her sense of identity and ultimately her grip on reality. The investigating officer points out that many aspects of the case lead back to her, and she is terrified that she is in some way responsible for the tragedy.

206 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2015

About the author

Maureen Garvie is a young adult author who also teaches writing to young adults. She was born in Kingston, Ontario, and grew up beside the St. Lawrence River, swimming and canoeing around wrecks of ships from the War of 1812. At university she worked at Fort Henry during the summer, where she developed a fascination with history that went beyond soldiers in red coats.

After finishing her education at Western, Queen's and University of Toronto with Masters, teaching and library degrees, she married and moved to New Zealand. For 12 years she worked on farms and in libraries on the South Island, taught English and drama in Christchurch, and wrote.

Now back in Canada, Maureen lives in Kingston once more. In the golden days before Hollinger and Conrad Black, she worked as a writer and editor for the Kingston Whig-Standard and has reviewed children’s fiction for Quill & Quire for many years. She is now an instructor at Queen's University's Writing Centre and an editor for McGill-Queen's University Press. She has a daughter, Leila, who is an amazing knitter.

Reviews

[Gillian Scobie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read. It had a very Canadian sensibility to it. Very straightforward writing, interesting and individual characters, but not extreme in any way. People I could relate
to. And as a frequent library user, I found it enjoyable to read a story set in a library.

The thing is, if you only read the back cover blurb, you'd think it was a mystery. But it's really about a woman having a sort of mid-life crisis. That is the main focus of the book and all its drama flows from that. Why the publisher wrote a description so different from the book is the real mystery. And the other focus is the relationships between the characters, all of whom work in the library. That works very well. The author draws you in with her sympathetic handling of her personae.

My only objection is that no one seems to have copy edited or proofread the book. I found a number of errors that shouldn't or wouldn't have happened if there had been one or the other or both. For example, "alternate press." It's "alternative press." Any editor would know that.

I found this book entirely by accident in the library. Check it out.

[Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful well-plotted mystery with its Kingston-like setting and relatable library characters. This book deserves more attention than it may get from such a small publisher and print run. It could also be the start of a great library mystery series.