Under Dark Waters is a suspense thriller by Roberts Creek writer Bernadette Calonego. It’s also an homage to a little known German poet, Else Seel, who moved to British Columbia in the late 1920s.
In the book, Swiss historian Sonya Werner makes a pilgrimage to the west coast of Canada to follow the trail of the poet who met and married a trapper and prospector in B.C.’s northern bush. At least this is the official explanation of Sonya’s visit. In reality she hopes to find out what happened to her adrenalin-fuelled husband who died tragically under mysterious circumstances in a seaplane accident off a remote island near Prince Rupert. The story is made more poignant when, after her husband was reported dead, Sonya discovers passionate, loving letters addressed to him from her best friend, Odette, who has also disappeared.
The book’s author, Calonego, was born in Switzerland, like her protagonist, and she emigrated to Canada in 2000 where she continued to work as a foreign correspondent for newspapers in her home country, Germany and Austria.
“Readers in Europe are very interested in Canada,” Calonego said, “and I report on everything, from bears in one’s backyard to companies like Bombardier. I also wrote a story about funky Roberts Creek for a large German newspaper.” The book gives a good idea of how a German or Swiss visitor might view the province. (“What? Another ferry!” says Sonya on one of her travels.)
When Calonego knew she was writing a novel, she travelled in Seel’s footsteps, just like her character Sonya, and she visited many coastal towns including a trip to the Sunshine Coast to meet Seel’s son. That’s not fiction; he still lives here.
“Sonya’s fascination with Else Seel is also my obsession,” writes Calonego. “Because she was a writer who emigrated to Canada, I feel very close to her. It’s a pity that her creativity vanished in her isolation in the bush. If she had had high speed Internet and email, it might have been very different for her writing.”
The plot of this suspenseful tale twists and turns with every page. Paranoia abounds – it seems someone is out to get Sonya and stop her from investigating. Or are the stalkers following the handsome mining engineer who befriends Sonya? Is he trustworthy? There’s something secret here and it could have to do with diamonds mined in the Yukon’s tundra. The final twist at the end of the novel is worth the wait.
The book was written in German and published in 2010 then translated by Gerald Chapple and re-released in English this year by Amazon Crossing. It’s available at Talewind Books in Sechelt for $19.95.
