Terry Griggs: 5 books

Shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award, these first short stories from Terry Griggs herald one of the most original voices to appear out of Canada in the last several decades. The stories in Quickening are eccentric, wildly inventive, whimsical and fantastic. Her narrative energy sweeps us along, though the real delight of these stories is the gorgeousness of the writing.

The Discovery of Honey is a suite of short stories narrated by Hero, its hyper-precocious and nosily omniscient central character. Running wild even before she can walk, Hero goes on riotous road trips, dabbles in DIY dark magic, falls in and out of love with a feral bad-boy cousin, and kills a friendship...

Fans of Sarah Perry's The Essex Serpent will enjoy Grigg's historical novel with fantastical elements. Griggs is well known for her playfulness of language, and has been called "Robertson Davies on speed" for her raucous but intelligent humor. Grigg's is one of the best readers/storytellers...

Meet the Perfect Man...no, no, he’s not the hero of Thought You Were Dead. That would be Chellis Beith, literary researcher, slacker, reluctant detective, and a man bedeviled by every woman in his life. This is the most unconventional of murder mysteries, turning the genre completely on its head, by bludgeoning flat language and Puritanical sensibilities with evident glee.

Strange things are happening in town, but only Nieve seems to notice that something is up. But when two strangers come to town, trailing night along behind them, and people, including Nieve’s best friend Malcolm, begin to disappear, Nieve knows that she must do something. She must venture into the Black City to uncover the mystery and save her town.