“A Canadian tour de force!!! This epic BC historical fiction, fused with the compelling and often brutal shared reality of our countries heritage; cements Unger as one of Canada’s most essential new voices in Canadian literature.” Shane Bodie, Curator, Magazine Journalist, Shane Bodie, Toronto ON
Synopsis:
In 1888, Eve Walker is among the first female journalists in North America, and the first in Canada to find success among an industry of men. Just after dawn one fall morning, a mystery unfolds, when she discovers a corpse on the beach near Vananda. Her attempts to cover the story for The Coast Miner newspaper are met with resistance from the BC Provincial Police, who are concerned that news of the body will infect the town with needless fear. Resistance comes also from many of the citizens in Vananda – a company town whose ideology and philosophy still dictate that a woman’s place is at home. Despite this, Eve persists and finds unexpected allies in Warner McLeod, the town coroner, and in several leaders of a local union effort pushing for better working conditions in local mines.
A man-hunt, led by Provincial Police Captain, Red Sutherland, charges for the Coast Salish Village of Si-yat-sen, at Shelter Point, to arrest Eli Tomas, the only son of Chief Israel Tomas, the revered patriarch of the Salish Nation. Eli is charged with the murder of Ernie Tsan, an admired union activist, and the husband of Heidi Tomas – Eli’s only sister – who was banished from the Village for marrying a white-man.
Heidi insists that her brother is innocent, and together, she and Eve set out to unravel the mounting case against him, which would see him put to death. In doing so, the two uncover a perplexing mystery and massive conspiracy, with tentacles that reach right to the heart of the colonial Government. Murder, social injustice, and rampant bigotry are woven into the very fabric of pioneer life and commercial enterprise on the young, wild coast of British Columbia.
To Order A Garden of Thieves, Vol. I https://deanungerauthor.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=412&action=edit .
To Order Blessed Be The Bones, A Garden of Thieves, Volume II https://deanungerauthor.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=412&action=edit .
Purchase A Garden of Thieves and Blessed Be The Bones on goodreads or Amazon.ca https://www.amazon.ca/Garden-Thieves-Dean-Frederick-Unger/dp/098130642X
Download the historical epilogue for A Garden of Thieves ( G.O.T. ), comprising Dean’s views and perspectives on British Columbia during the colonial era; the social conditions that existed then and the challenges faced by BC First Nations in the early days of Confederation.
Garden of Thieves Historical NotesDownload