Can Lit: Aliens on the Moon, On Wings of Blood and more

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Aliens on the Moon

Thomas King

HarperCollins

What would you do if aliens landed on the moon? For a motley crew of characters in a small Ontario town, life goes on pretty much as usual. After all, what are their options? But as aliens keep a watchful eye on citizens of Earth, some folks have important decisions to make.

Should Darlene keep the money she finds in a fanny pack, or should she return the bag to its rightful owner and collect a reward? Herb bought the town’s old drive-in theatre and made it his home. Now he’s living large, watching movies on the big screen and hitting golf balls in the vast parking lot. But maybe this is a good time to visit his on-reserve family.

Car dealership employees Gary and Brenda are having a secret affair, and lovelorn Richard wants to create an online dating profile, but finds he can’t hook up without a cellphone.

Expect award-winning author Thomas King (Indians on Vacation, Sufferance), to bring his usual brand of dry, wry wit and humour to the proceedings, along with a certain degree of gravitas and, naturally, otherworldly occurrences.

A woman throws her great-grandmother’s rosary into a Canadian lake and it lands at the Vatican, where it smacks the pope’s cheek. Elderly Thea, whose son has put her in a nursing home, wishes she had a daughter instead. And while some earthlings are alarmed at messages from the moon, others welcome their new alien overlords.

She Didn’t See It Coming

Shari Lapena

Doubleday Canada

Count on Shari Lapena (An Unwanted Guest, The Couple Next Door), to deliver a thriller you can take to the beach every summer. This time out, a woman who is working at home vanishes from her luxury apartment in the middle of the day.

When she fails to pick up their daughter at daycare, Bryden’s husband Sam comes home to find her car in the underground garage and her laptop, keys and cellphone in the apartment. So, is she still somewhere in the building? Did she go willingly or was she taken? It’s a mystery, and a page-turner.

Whistle

Linwood Barclay

William Morrow

Turns out prolific writer Linwood Barclay (A Noise Downstairs, Elevator Pitch), is a model-train enthusiast. His hobby plays a sinister role in Whistle, in which widow Annie Blunt and her young son Charlie move to a small town to get a fresh start.

The author of a popular children’s book series, Annie lost her husband to a hit-and-run accident, then suffered another trauma involving a young reader. Moving into a big, old, isolated house with weird neighbours, ghostly train whistles and a mysterious backyard shed should be just the cure she needs.

On Wings of Blood

Briar Boleyn

MIRA

Academic Briar Boleyn used to write non-fiction about mythical and magical creatures like King Arthur and J.K. Rowling’s Dumbledore. Now she’s touted as the next great thing in romantasy — fantasy plus “significantly more kissing” — with her Bloodwing Academy trilogy.

Weighing in at almost 600 pages, On Wings of Blood introduces half-fairy Medra Pendragon, who has been captured by vampires and now resides at the aforementioned academy. The second book is due in November and the trilogy wraps up in 2026.

The deluxe limited edition is a keeper. It features a blood-red metallic cover and stencilled edges with dragon-scale imagery.