(by R.M. Reid)
Roberts Creek resident Bernadette Calonego has situated her latest mystery thriller Stormy Cove in small-town Newfoundland. The isolation and interdependence of lives in a remote village is reminiscent of The Double Hook by Canadian novelist Sheila Watson. As in Watson’s book, people are few and far between but every window holds a view and every glance has a reporter. In Stormy Cove, Jacinta Parsons’ murder remains unsolved 20 years on. Someone must have seen something.
Calonego’s protagonist Lori Finning arrives on assignment from the West Coast with her own story. From her bag, professional photographer Lori pulls out a camera for descriptive snapshots of Newfie life in order to create a coffee table book. Her photos capture images of people who have seen and heard things. It is an almost imperceptible effect on otherwise normal photos.
The photos take Lori’s attention off her own dark memories of time spent in Germany and guilt that still weighs her down. She turns her focus on Jacinta’s murder instead.
But the murder isn’t the only mystery in the deserted landscape of rock, forest, bog, ocean, and haunted island. There is the never seen again, the completely unexpected, and the legend of the Isle of Demons. Lori will soon be bogged down in a web of neighbours, friends and relationships in the fishing village. Smiles will turn to sneers, offhand remarks will show true colours. Who did what, and when, are slowly revealed like artifacts in an archeological dig.
Lori appreciates fisherman Noah Whalen taking her to the legendary Isle of Demons for respite. She attends an evening gathering of women which turns out to be a friendly potluck.
Stormy Cove is both recognizable and different. Snowmobiling on barrens of Newfoundland, stepping into a Newfie pub, learning what happened in a B&B, watching a blizzard play out from a lonely window, waiting for the sea ice to thaw, the wind to shift, the waves to settle, the rain to stop, and spring to come is what gives the small town its outpost appeal. From its windows the fishermen watch the weather. Every chance they have they head out, trawling for whatever the Fisheries’ allotment allows them.
Calonego uses these small stories and descriptions to soothe and distract the reader. They are as delicious as Noah’s meal of fresh fish, fish and more fish.
The author lives a few months every year in Newfoundland and has firsthand experience of people’s dependence on the sea and their down-to-earth way of life. She’s also European, so watch for a German potato salad, girls who just want to have fun, an admiration for hardworking men and other delicious rewards in this well-balanced and enjoyable murder mystery.
Calonego, a Swiss-born novelist and foreign correspondent, has lived in Canada for the past 17 years. Her home in Roberts Creek is bright and clutter-free––perfect for focusing on vibrant, puzzling thrillers.
She has published five successful books and also writes for media in Switzerland, Germany and Austria; her most recent article was about the legalization of marijuana in Canada. She is a member of the Sechelt Arts Council.
Calonego writes her mystery novels in German and they are translated into English. She has been told at times she is “too direct” in her opinions and conversations; she attributes it to cultural differences. Smiling, she admits she is trying to become more diplomatic. I can see that it may be difficult as she sits across the table, arms crossed. However, her forthright attitude provides honest answers.
Does she ever go completely to the dark side or does she prefer a murder story without eyeballs hanging out or someone hanging themselves in a dark corner of a cow barn?
Without hesitation she replies she prefers soft crime. “No gory details or lakes of blood, more of a whodunit. How far can you go with these gory types of murder stories? More violence, more gore, more blood, where does it lead?” Instead, she goes for interesting characters, good dialogue and rugged geography.
Stormy Cove and Under Dark Waters, another of her mystery novels, lean on geography. Stormy Cove draws on her feet-on-the-ground knowledge of Newfoundland. Under Dark Waters, a mix of fiction and non-fiction, required research of real-life Prussian poet Else Seel. Seel answered an ad in a German newspaper and travelled as a sort of mail order bride to Canada to marry her trapper husband. They lived on remote Ootsa Lake for 25 years. Calonego was very surprised to find Seel’s son Rupert living in Sechelt. She was happy she had the opportunity to meet him in person.
Calonego has made like-minded friends here as part of our talented literary population. And whether she is writing, hiking or playing Brain Freeze at the Roberts Creek Legion, she follows the Creek tradition of love of nature and good times with supportive friends. Inspired by her own love of reading she writes page-turners, leaving the reader wanting more after the last word has been read.
“I enjoy reader response; without them my books would not come alive,” Calonego says. Meanwhile, in my mind’s eye, I still see the inhabitants of Stormy Cove going about their business.
Stormy Cove
Author: Bernadette Calonego
Published by AmazonCrossing, Seattle, 2016
ISBN-13:9781503935846
ISBN-10:1503935841
Calonego’s books are available in the Vancouver Public Library. Local libraries can order them.
Previously published in German as Die Bucht des Schweigens by Amazon Publishing in Germany in 2015