1 00:00:07,173 --> 00:00:10,493 Speaker 1: You're listening to the Saturday Morning with Jack team podcast 2 00:00:10,613 --> 00:00:13,013 Speaker 1: from News Talks at b It. 3 00:00:12,973 --> 00:00:15,413 Speaker 2: Is time to get your book picks for this weekend. 4 00:00:15,493 --> 00:00:20,373 Speaker 2: Catherine Rains is here with her recommendations. Hey, Catherine, Morning Jack. 5 00:00:20,653 --> 00:00:24,013 Speaker 2: Let's begin with Smoke by Michael Brisenden. 6 00:00:24,653 --> 00:00:27,173 Speaker 3: So this is a really eerie opening to it. So 7 00:00:27,213 --> 00:00:30,093 Speaker 3: it's that you're in the aftermath in this town of 8 00:00:30,173 --> 00:00:33,933 Speaker 3: Jasper after this wildfire has passed through, and the main 9 00:00:34,013 --> 00:00:36,293 Speaker 3: character is a character called Alex Markov, and she's a 10 00:00:36,333 --> 00:00:40,213 Speaker 3: detective and she's returned to her hometown and she's confronted 11 00:00:40,253 --> 00:00:43,613 Speaker 3: with this destruction and actually also the suspected murder of 12 00:00:43,693 --> 00:00:46,933 Speaker 3: her childhood friend's partner who's was found in a lot 13 00:00:47,013 --> 00:00:50,693 Speaker 3: shed after the wildfires. And you know, she's trying to 14 00:00:50,693 --> 00:00:53,773 Speaker 3: conduct this investigation, but she's also under pressure from this 15 00:00:54,253 --> 00:00:57,373 Speaker 3: big city la internal affairs about her past conduct and 16 00:00:57,413 --> 00:00:59,453 Speaker 3: the time that she's spent their working as a detective, 17 00:00:59,853 --> 00:01:02,773 Speaker 3: and she's dealing with aging parents and a bereaved friend. 18 00:01:03,453 --> 00:01:05,653 Speaker 3: But she gets that. You get this atmosphere of this 19 00:01:05,733 --> 00:01:10,093 Speaker 3: town and it stark and realistic against this backdrop of murder, 20 00:01:10,093 --> 00:01:13,453 Speaker 3: and this atmosphere you builds and creates tension, and there's 21 00:01:13,493 --> 00:01:17,613 Speaker 3: corruption and crooked cops and sleazy politicians, and it draws 22 00:01:17,613 --> 00:01:20,533 Speaker 3: this analogy between the smoke and the smoke concealing things 23 00:01:20,573 --> 00:01:23,533 Speaker 3: and hiding the damage, and it destroys beautiful things and 24 00:01:23,573 --> 00:01:27,093 Speaker 3: it's insidious and it's unseen, just like the corruption is 25 00:01:27,573 --> 00:01:29,813 Speaker 3: and the books about how far trust can go and 26 00:01:29,853 --> 00:01:32,493 Speaker 3: how close betrayal can be and how little loyalty can 27 00:01:32,533 --> 00:01:35,733 Speaker 3: be relied on. And it's quite dark and twisted and 28 00:01:35,773 --> 00:01:37,533 Speaker 3: gripping and lots of tension. 29 00:01:37,973 --> 00:01:38,573 Speaker 2: Sounds great. 30 00:01:39,013 --> 00:01:40,453 Speaker 3: Unfolds it is, it's very good. 31 00:01:40,573 --> 00:01:44,053 Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, cool, that sounds really intriguing. And that follows 32 00:01:44,493 --> 00:01:47,173 Speaker 2: what Detective Alex Markov, right, who's and she's kind of 33 00:01:47,173 --> 00:01:48,933 Speaker 2: been the subject of previous books as well. 34 00:01:49,893 --> 00:01:53,053 Speaker 3: That's great and yeah so, but you don't need to 35 00:01:53,093 --> 00:01:54,813 Speaker 3: have read the previous books. It's just you know, it 36 00:01:54,893 --> 00:01:58,093 Speaker 3: starts in this small town, in this airy atmosphere and 37 00:01:58,093 --> 00:02:01,133 Speaker 3: then just disappears on and the through and how they 38 00:02:01,533 --> 00:02:04,133 Speaker 3: track each other on what goes on, and yeah it is. 39 00:02:04,173 --> 00:02:06,173 Speaker 3: It's dark and twisted and a little bit creepy, but 40 00:02:06,173 --> 00:02:06,573 Speaker 3: it's good. 41 00:02:06,653 --> 00:02:10,733 Speaker 2: Yeah cool, okay. Next up, The Hazel Born Ladies Motorcycle 42 00:02:10,773 --> 00:02:13,053 Speaker 2: and Flying Club by Helen Simonson. 43 00:02:13,853 --> 00:02:16,013 Speaker 3: So Helen Simonson will wrote a book a wide ago 44 00:02:16,133 --> 00:02:18,893 Speaker 3: called Major Pedigrew's Last Stand, and she's really good at 45 00:02:18,933 --> 00:02:21,693 Speaker 3: creating characters that you'd actually like to meet in real life. 46 00:02:22,013 --> 00:02:25,053 Speaker 3: And this one set in England in nineteen nineteen, just 47 00:02:25,093 --> 00:02:27,533 Speaker 3: as the Great Wars wound to a close, and there's 48 00:02:27,653 --> 00:02:30,613 Speaker 3: you know, the loss of so many young men, resulting 49 00:02:30,653 --> 00:02:33,253 Speaker 3: in what they termed surplus women who now must plan 50 00:02:33,333 --> 00:02:36,973 Speaker 3: lives for themselves, and often with really reduced chances to 51 00:02:36,973 --> 00:02:39,333 Speaker 3: make a living, and you know who'd work steadily during 52 00:02:39,333 --> 00:02:41,853 Speaker 3: the wartime and abruptly really sent back to the kitchen 53 00:02:41,853 --> 00:02:44,573 Speaker 3: and the drawing room and pushed back into these positions. 54 00:02:44,973 --> 00:02:47,573 Speaker 3: And one of these characters, Constant har All, is drifting 55 00:02:47,613 --> 00:02:49,973 Speaker 3: in the early summer of nineteen nineteen, and she'd been 56 00:02:50,013 --> 00:02:51,813 Speaker 3: eased out, you know, as a lot of women eased 57 00:02:51,813 --> 00:02:53,493 Speaker 3: out of the job that she did her part for 58 00:02:53,533 --> 00:02:57,093 Speaker 3: the war effort. She dreads the thought of becoming a governess, 59 00:02:57,133 --> 00:02:59,653 Speaker 3: and she actually agrees to be a companion to an 60 00:02:59,693 --> 00:03:02,893 Speaker 3: elderly lady at the seaside resort, and she becomes acquainted 61 00:03:02,893 --> 00:03:05,453 Speaker 3: with this group of women who had similar looking for 62 00:03:05,533 --> 00:03:08,933 Speaker 3: means to support them and as the war changed their expectation, 63 00:03:09,453 --> 00:03:11,253 Speaker 3: and she makes friends with a group of young women 64 00:03:11,293 --> 00:03:13,933 Speaker 3: who trying to make a living using their motorcycles running 65 00:03:13,933 --> 00:03:16,013 Speaker 3: a taxi service, and she develops a taste for this, 66 00:03:16,213 --> 00:03:18,933 Speaker 3: and she's got other schools and good at bookkeeping, and 67 00:03:18,973 --> 00:03:21,853 Speaker 3: she comes this real asset to the seaside community and 68 00:03:21,893 --> 00:03:24,693 Speaker 3: she's really inhabiting this real middle ground. She's not part 69 00:03:24,733 --> 00:03:27,453 Speaker 3: of the wealthy, and she knows that she can find 70 00:03:27,453 --> 00:03:30,773 Speaker 3: some new opportunities and change your life and you make 71 00:03:30,813 --> 00:03:32,893 Speaker 3: a living and you know, and then on the other 72 00:03:32,973 --> 00:03:35,173 Speaker 3: hand of those in the war that have fought and 73 00:03:35,213 --> 00:03:37,933 Speaker 3: survived and you know, learning how to live within new realities. 74 00:03:37,933 --> 00:03:40,453 Speaker 3: And so you get this, you know, Richard Convention and 75 00:03:40,573 --> 00:03:44,813 Speaker 3: changing societal norms and these great characters in this seaside town. 76 00:03:44,853 --> 00:03:47,613 Speaker 3: And it's really engrossing as you get involved with all 77 00:03:47,653 --> 00:03:49,973 Speaker 3: of these different characters and their stories and how they're 78 00:03:49,973 --> 00:03:50,773 Speaker 3: coping with life. 79 00:03:50,853 --> 00:03:54,893 Speaker 2: Yeah. Nineteen nineteen, Oh superb Okay, cool, that sounds great too. 80 00:03:54,933 --> 00:03:58,493 Speaker 2: That's the Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen 81 00:03:58,493 --> 00:04:02,253 Speaker 2: Simon's and Catherine's first book, Smoke by Michael Brisenden. Just 82 00:04:02,333 --> 00:04:05,493 Speaker 2: like everything for else from our show, Newstook, ZB, Dot, Coda, 83 00:04:05,533 --> 00:04:08,453 Speaker 2: and Z for Slash, Jack is the best place to go. 84 00:04:08,493 --> 00:04:11,253 Speaker 2: So if you're scrambling around for a bit of paper 85 00:04:11,293 --> 00:04:13,133 Speaker 2: or something you're trying to write down something you hear 86 00:04:13,173 --> 00:04:15,213 Speaker 2: on the radio, or you're trying to text it to 87 00:04:15,253 --> 00:04:17,533 Speaker 2: yourself or something like that, don't stress out. You can 88 00:04:17,613 --> 00:04:20,173 Speaker 2: always go to our website and you'll find all of 89 00:04:20,173 --> 00:04:21,413 Speaker 2: the stuff that we recommend to you. 90 00:04:22,253 --> 00:04:25,373 Speaker 1: For more from Saturday Morning with Jack Tame, listen live 91 00:04:25,453 --> 00:04:28,253 Speaker 1: to News Talks ed B from nine am Saturday, or 92 00:04:28,333 --> 00:04:30,253 Speaker 1: follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.