Arthur Ellis Award-winning author

Grand Master Award of Crime Writers of Canada (2018)

The queen of Canadian crime fiction (Winnipeg Free Press) returns with a new installment in the Joanne Kilbourn series that is perfect for readers of Louise Penny, Ruth Rendell, and Peter Robinson.

On a Saturday bright with harbingers of spring, Joanne Kilbourn-Shreve, her husband, Zack, and their family prepare to celebrate the season. Joannes life is full, and at 60, she has been given the chance to understand a part of her history that for years was shrouded in secrecy.

Living Skies is producingSisters and Strangers, a six-part TV series about the tangled relationships between the families of Douglas Ellard, the father who raised Joanne, and Desmond Love, her biological father. Joanne is working on the script with Roy Brodnitz, a brilliant writer and friend. The projects future seems assured, but before the script is completed, Brodnitz disappears while scouting locations in northern Saskatchewan. Hours later, hes found sweat-drenched, clawing at the ground, and muttering gibberish. He dies in a state of mortal terror. 

Heartsick and perplexed, Joanne resolves to learn what happened in the last hours of Roys life. What Joanne discovers threatens Brodnitzs legacy, and the decision about whether or not to reveal the truth is hers to make.The Unlocking Season is another deeply satisfying and thought-provoking novel from one of Canadas finest crime writers.

Gail Bowen is an author, playwright, and teacher. Among her numerous writing awards are a lifetime achievement award from the Crime Writers of Canada and the Distinguished Canadian Award from the University of Regina.Readers Digest has called her Canadas best mystery novelist. In 2018, she was awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit and the Grand Master Award of Crime Writers of Canada. She lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, with her husband, Ted.