“At 80, George Wilcox hardly expected to crown his life by committing a murder. It had happened so quickly, so easily, so unexpectedly in the sleepy town of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia: a near-perfect crime that wraps Wilcox in a web of guilt, honour, and secrets of the past. An unprovoked act that soon binds him to the warm-hearted town librarian, Cassandra Mitchell, and her new romantic interest, zealous RCMP Staff Sergeant Karl Alberg.”
So begins The Suspect by L.R. Wright – the first of her nine mystery novels set on the Sunshine Coast.
On Saturday, Nov. 21, the Sechelt Public Library and the Friends of the Library are hosting a celebration to honour Wright and the 30th year of the book’s publication. The event runs from 1 to 4 p.m. in the foyer of the library. Everyone is invited to attend the cake cutting ceremony, share refreshments and talk about their favourite books. Participants will have the opportunity to win a full set of L.R. Wright books.
Wright was born Laurali Rose Appleby on June 5, 1939 in Saskatchewan. Known as Bunny, she grew up in Saskatoon and in Abbotsford. She worked as a reporter in Calgary before becoming a full-time writer in 1977. After publishing her fourth book, Wright returned to school, receiving an MA in Liberal Studies from Simon Fraser University. She taught writing at UBC and wrote adaptations for several of her books for radio, film, and television. Wright died of breast cancer on Feb. 25, 2001.
In 1986, The Suspect became the first Canadian novel to win the prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America, beating out titles by Ruth Rendell and Jonathan Kellerman. Two later Alberg mysteries, A Chill Rain in January (1990) and Mother Love (1995), won Arthur Ellis Awards from the Canadian Mystery Writers.
