Midwest Book Review – May 2025
Home Fires Burn
Anthony Bidulka
Stonehouse Publishing
https://www.stonehousepublishing.ca
9781988754642, $16.95, PB, 300pp
Synopsis: A celebrated philanthropist is found slumped against his car, frozen to death. PI Merry Bell is hired by his son, country music star Evan Whatley, to find out the truth behind what really happened on that desolate stretch of road. As Merry’s investigation uncovers old wounds which never healed, her own are revealed as she confronts her pre-transition past and questions the boundaries of family and friendship.
Critique: “Home Fires Burn” is the concluding volume of the award-winning Merry Bell trilogy by Anthony Bidulka that began with “Livinsky” and then “From Sweetgrass Bridge”. Expertly crafted with vividly memorable characters and reader engaging plot twists, “Home Fires Burn” will have a practical and special appeal to fans of cozy mysteries with female sleuths and LGBTQ elements. This paperback edition of “Home Fires Burn” from Stonehouse Publishing will prove a welcome addition to personal reading lists and an enduringly popular pick for community library Mystery/Suspense collections.
Editorial Note: Anthony Bidulka (https://anthonybidulka.com) has dedicated his career to writing traditional genre novels in an untraditional way, developing a body of work that often features his Saskatchewan roots and underrepresented, diverse main characters. He tells serious stories in accessible, entertaining, often humorous ways. Bidulka’s books have been shortlisted for and won numerous awards including the Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence, the Lambda Literary Award, and the Saskatchewan Book Award. ‘Going to Beautiful’ won the Crime Writers of Canada Award for Best Crime Novel and the Independent Publisher Book Award as the Canada West Best Fiction Gold Medalist. ‘Flight of Aquavit’ was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery, making Bidulka the first Canadian to win in that category.
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