The Chronicles of Goshen Series
From north of Lake Superior in the legendary Land o’ Goshen, E.J. explores the hope and the hell in rural utopias, in big bad cities, and in the nightly newscasts. Goshen is a mythical town in rural Canada, a platform for viewing Everyone's backyard as well as global events. The author attributes the quirky humour, the contrarian views, and the perfectly surprising sentiments to his muse, Holy Elijah Jumping Jesus Jehosaphat! – E.J., for short. In this series of stories and essays, E.J.’s voice is always crying, and forever laughing, in the wilderness.
VOL. 1 - The Annals of Goshen (2012)
1 Corner Gas
2 On the Square 3 The Tree Gods 4 What's In a Smell 5 A Mighty Good Sandwich 6 Goshen at War 7 American Penguins 8 Volunteerism 9 Down to Earth 10 The Degrees of Grouch 11 Timber Wolves 12 The Man Who Swamped for Paul 13 A Grain of Sand 14 Our Town 15 Letters From God 16 This Is Wonderland 17 Home Town 18 Friends and Family |
19 Snakes and Adders 20 The Last Rose 21 Language Matters 22 Nature Is Red 23 Happiness Is 24 How Much Wood 25 Lest We Forget 26 The Secret Life 27 Pike's Peak 28 One of the Greatest 29 How the Smirk Stole Christmas 30 Copy This! 31 Spare That Tree 32 Follow Your Drum, Eh? 33 The Lisbon Earthquake 34 Stopping By Woods 35 Caveat Emptor 36 Where the Sidewalk Ends |
Review of THE ANNALS OF GOSHEN
". . . Although Lavoie's quirky humour and social satire are the hallmarks of his style, stories such as "The Secret Life" and "Pike's Peak" demonstrate that where his writing really shines is in capturing the essence of the boreal forest and the ways in which the land has shaped its northern inhabitants."
— The Walleye: Thunder Bay's arts & culture alternative
". . . Although Lavoie's quirky humour and social satire are the hallmarks of his style, stories such as "The Secret Life" and "Pike's Peak" demonstrate that where his writing really shines is in capturing the essence of the boreal forest and the ways in which the land has shaped its northern inhabitants."
— The Walleye: Thunder Bay's arts & culture alternative
VOL. 2 - The Jarheads of Goshen (2013)
1 Corner Gas II
2 Land o' Goshen 3 Fruit of the Vine 4 Shadow and Light 5 The First Rose 6 Grub Street Museums 7 Monuments of Sand 8 The Lord God Bird 9 A Good Kill 10 On Your Lonesome 11 Wild By Nature 12 The Yellow Peril 13 Nebuchita Mosquita 14 The Dam Consequences 15 Old Fossils 16 The Goshen Catnapper 17 Gardeners All 18 The Butterfly Effect 19 Stand of Trees 20 The True Cross |
21 A Peckerhead Policy 22 Bambi 23 Civil War Buffs 24 Charity Hurts 25 My Old House 26 My Country Is Winter 27 The Inukshuk Conspiracy 28 Bombs, Away! 29 Romancing the Stones 30 The Wintering Place 31 The Chief Corner-Tree 32 Merry XX 33 Mr Dithers Dot Lib 34 The Mechanic 35 Wild Parrots 36 Save the Ling 37 Paddle to the Sea 38 March of the Penguins 39 Goshen's Great Whitecoat Hunt 40 Homes May Be Flat |
The Kennet Forbes Mystery Series
In 2007, Kennet Forbes returns to Thunder Bay, Ontario, to take a post at the university. He teaches journalism and media studies, a respite from the conflicts which he covered overseas as correspondent, and from the hectic world of investigative TV journalism based in Toronto. During a stint covering the war in Afghanistan in '06, he acquired a permanent black eye from an improvised explosive device. Along with it, he acquired a hankering for a bastion of security for the rest of his life. He cannot ignore, however, the crimes against humanity occurring in his own backyard, the wilderness north
of Lake Superior where he grew up.
of Lake Superior where he grew up.
The Beardmore Relics (2011)
Kennet Forbes, teacher at Thunder Bay University, finds himself embroiled in violence, murder, and mystery. Forbes, former high-profile newsman on national TV, volunteers to search for a colleague, an archaeologist who has gone missing in the field. He returns
to the wilds north of Lake Superior. In the process he awakens his own demons, the ones that drove him to foreign shores, and drove him back again. |
Reviews
"It talks about the geography and mining of this area, and the colourful local characters of Anytown, a close-knit community like many others. It told the story of old, dark secrets, of murder, romance and the thinking of keen minds. It talks about streets and businesses that exist to this day, that we can relate to . . . " The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay) "Lavoie is an experienced writer and has done a professional job with his novel. His characters are believable, his writing is tight, the plot keeps the reader riveted. It’s as good as anything of its ilk published by a mainline publisher . . . " — Elizabeth Campbell Books |
Geraldton Back Doors (2013)
When a body turns up in the wilderness north of Lake Superior,
Kennet Forbes takes it personally. Forbes, a former high-profile investigative journalist, finds himself wading through murder, violence, and drugs. The pursuit of justice dredges up his personal history, and threatens to mire him in doubts about mankind's capacity for goodness. Reviews cont'dLavoie can certainly weave a tale, and where the narrative pace lags or becomes tangential, it is made up for by rich description and Lavoie's vast knowledge of local history and geography. The result is definitely satisfying and solidifies Lavoie's position as one of Northwestern Ontario's best.
-The Walleye: Thunder Bay's arts & culture alternative |
Reviews
This is a wonderful book! A mystery thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat right to the end. From the conflict in Sarajevo to the drug trade in northern Ontario, this story never stops delivering the suspense and intrigue. It has action, really scary bad guys, and an Indian-Jones type of hero in former- war- correspondent-turned- University- Professor Kennet Forbes. Well-researched and convincing, it's a must-read for anyone who loves thrillers and/or northwestern Ontario. - Marianne Jones on Goodreads A thrill ride set in quiet, dull, Northwestern Ontario with our calm
lakes, sleepy trout streams and placid sunsets? Lavoie kicks those stereotypical images right off the pages . . . Following a placid, almost rural opening involving horse-drawn timber harvesting, we are swept from war-torn Sarajevo, where our narrator was a news journalist, to Montreal and the Hell's Angels and back to Northwestern Ontario . . . And always the story is propelled forward by the business of how men relate [to] and manipulate each other. - The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay) |