The Quinte area has enjoyed a generous share of talented and successful writers, both fiction and non-fiction. A name that should be added to that growing list is Joy Lynn Goddard, a Picton-raised girl, who has been making a success with her books in partnership with her husband, Dan Pike. Their latest book, now available, is called “The Keepers,” set in a fictional winery and tourist accommodation operation in Prince Edward County.
Goddard thoroughly paints a cast of characters involved in a gripping story which includes a brutal murder, marital stress and breakup, a troubled teenage boy as a result, illicit drugs and wild beach parties, troubles with neighbours and budding new romances.
Richard, a successful writer, finds he is drying up and abandons his estranged wife to recover in the quietude of a summer let house at the winery. He soon gets involved with single mom Beth, the do-it-yourself and competent owner and her family and neighbours.
Alexandre, Beth’s son, is a diamond in the rough teenager seemingly bent on a troubled life, getting involved with irresponsible friends and wild partyers. When a troublesome neighbour is found murdered in a shed at the winery, Beth quickly becomes the prime suspect and Richard pitches in to help clear her.
Lots of tense moments in this gripping story, with a suitably happy ending, and a recognition of the real problems some people have to face, often alone. This is a book for Adult Fiction fans. Exciting, enjoyable and beautifully portrayed.
More About the Reviewer
Jack Evans is freelance writer and reviewer.
More About the Author
Joy Lynn Goddard teamed up with her husband, Daniel Pike, to write contemporary adult fiction. Both their novels, Moonshadow and The Keepers, have global appeal and won Canada Book Awards. Besides novels, they wrote Buyers, Liars, Sellers and Yellers, a collection of humorous short stories about the real estate industry. Although she is well known for her young adult and junior fiction—starting with the award-winning Daredevils and including Hello, my name is Emily, Charlie's Song, Jazz, When Pigs Fly, and Mrs. Maloney's Garden—her adult novels are attracting wide-ranging attention, each crisscrossing romance, mystery, and suspense genres.
Joy and Dan divide their time between Guelph and Belleville, Ontario, where they spend time with a growing family when not working on their next book.