Vikki VanSickle

Vikki VanSickle has worked as a bookseller, a menstrual health educator, a creative writing instructor and publishing professional with Penguin Random House Canada. Currently, she lives and writes in Toronto and hosts a book segment on CTV Your Morning.

VanSickle's new novel is The Mystic and the Missing Girl.

Recently I asked the author about what she was reading. Her reply:

I am a voracious reader and like to read across all sorts of genres. Here are some titles I have absolutely loved recently.

The Book of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey is a compulsive, twisty piece of speculative fiction that reminded me at times of Never Let Me Go. Set it an alternate 1970s, three boys remain at one of the last remaining homes for boys who are susceptible to a mysterious, unnamed illness. They know very little about the world, much like Nancy, another child who lives with loving parents who never let her leave the house. But these children are connected in a stunning, horrifying twist. The world building in this novel complex but never confusing, like a gorgeous puzzle revealed in stunning pieces from multiple perspectives. It can be difficult to pull off a believable and satisfying child narrator in adult fiction, but Catherine Chidgey does it so well. She is an author who deserves a much bigger profile. This title and a previous title, Pet, are among the books I recommend the most.

I love it when an author can successfully blend genre elements, and Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett is a prime example of how this can be done well. Set in a magical version of 1920s Montreal where Magicians are maligned by society, it is both historical and fantastical. After her cat shelter is destroyed in a magical attack, Agnes needs a new place to house her many stray cats. She finds herself renting a location from Havelock, the infamous Witch King, a magician who is in hiding from his villainous sister and general society. At first Agnes and Havelock do not get along, but irritation turns to attraction, as it so often does in these cozy romances. Magical and historical elements, enemies-to-lovers romance trope, time travel—this book has it all yet never feels overly stuffed or uneven.

I love a thriller, but when you read a lot of them, the plot, rhythms and twists start to become predictable. This is not true of The Artful Anna Harris by Tracy Maton, in which one con artist meets her match and a deadly game of cat and mouse unfolds. Anna has created a new persona and life for herself in a charming English town, complete with the perfect fiancé, but one bad decision involving a handsome stranger (who is also not who he claims to be) puts everything (including her life) in jeopardy. Anna is very unlikable at first, but somehow, I found myself rooting for her. I admired author Tracy Maton’s ability to create flawed, compelling and surprising characters. If you love a thriller but feel a bit tired of them, this one feels like a shot of (very dark) espresso.

Visit Vikki VanSickle's website.

--Marshal Zeringue