Shadow of Doubt

 Shadow of Doubt By: Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon 336 pages • ISBN 978-0864929211 On July 6, 2011, Richard Oland, scion of the Moosehead brewing family, was murdered in his office. The brutal killing stunned the city of Saint John, and news of the crime reverberated across the country. In a shocking turn,

On Faith, Mystery and Nothingness

 By Larry McCloskey   “There’s only one story: the story of your life.” N. Frye My father had it, though I know at times he doubted. My aunt--a devout nun of 65 years--had it more than my father. Still, both my father and my aunt deferred to my mother as the

Book Review: Missing Children by Gerald Lynch

 As tethered to the rest of the world as it is, Ottawa often feels like a small, even private, city. That’s why it can be so jarring to open a local book and find a character stepping into a park or market where you've spent countless hours or even just

Review: A Neurosurgeon’s Challenge

 Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery Henry Marsh St Martin’s Press, New York, 2014. Reviewed By Don MacLean Consider, if you will, the delicate surgical task of removing a pineocytoma, which is defined as “an uncommon, slow growing tumour of the pineal gland.” The patient is

Ho! Ho! Head to the Theatre!

 A scene from Anne and Gilbert, The Musical. Photo courtesy of the NAC.  Christmas is always a great time to grab the kids and head to the theatre for a family outing.  There are two shows on in Ottawa right now that fit the bill perfectly. Anne and Gilbert, The Musical

Bluesfest Beats

 Photo courtesy of Steve G The countdown to RBC Ottawa Bluesfest is on. As the weeks leading up to the festival go by, OLM will continue to highlight must-see performances by some of the acts that you may have not yet discovered–so Ottawa music lovers listen up! An exciting variety

How The Trout Lily Got It’s Spots

 One day in early May The Trout Lily was heard to say Why are my leaves dappled this way? The Spring Beauty nearby replied with a sigh The answer lies in the meadows green Where the wily fox cannot glean Beyond the valley and in a stream Are fish so

The Vampire Bat

 Black as black As the night could be His shrieking call Was a mystery Like some spider In his dusty web The bat inspires Fear and dread With blood-red eyes And a serpent’s tongue He seeks out blood When the sun goes down With vampire’s teeth He traverses the night

Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards

 Whip Smart: Lola Montez Conquers the Spaniards, the first of the Whip Smart series by Montreal-based Kit Brennan, is an exciting page-turner transporting readers back to the Victorian era of 1842. Loosely based on the real-life adventures of Lola Montez, a notorious bad-girl of the era, Brennan fills in the

Fire on the Hill: A Canadian historical suspense novel by Frank Rockland

 Discover what really happened on the night of February 3, 1916, when a suspicious fire destroyed the centre block of the Canadian Parliament Buildings. On tours of the Center Block of the Parliament buildings, guides explain that the previous building was destroyed by a fire on the night of February 3,

9th Hour Theatre Company presents Agnes of God

 9th Hour is proud to share with audiences its fourth and final production of the 2012 season, Agnes of God, in the studio theatre at the Irving Greenberg Theatre Centre, playing for a 12-performance run November 1-10. In this drama by John Pielmeier, a court psychiatrist, Doctor Martha Livingstone, is

Are you ready for Canada’s largest independent literary celebration?

 By Clayton Andres When his father Neil first came up with the idea of a writing festival in Ottawa, Sean Wilson thought his dad was insane. “At the time, I had been noticing that just about everyone I knew in the creative community had the sense that they had to