Category: Newest Blog Post

Kudos for The Color Red

A.M. PotterLeave a comment

Kudos are coming in for The Color Red (Release Date: March 20, 2023). The Color Red brings the twisted Balkans to Boston and Cape Cod.

What critics and advance readers are saying:

“A smart, fast-paced mystery by a master craftsman of the genre who weaves complex ideas into a riveting storyline. Detective Bourque is one unique officer of the law, willing to ‘dance with the devil’ when need be.” ~ Lesley Choyce, author of The Unlikely Redemption of John Alexander MacNeil

“Potter is writing at the top of his form with the launch of his new detective series set in Cape Cod. Ancient Balkan grudges collide with no-nonsense Yankee detectives in this exceptionally well-written mystery.” ~ Caroline Woodward, author of Alaska Highway Two-Step

“The Color Red is a captivating eddy of old world and new, east and west, masculine and feminine, fed on a healthy menu of well-cooked dishes of revenge. Potter’s language is accurate and elegant, and his characters are on point. A superb read.” ~ S.M. Collins, author of To Be Human Again

“The Color Red opens with Detective Ivy Bourque encountering mysteries within a mystery. Is the case a double murder or murder suicide? What is the significance of the two dark neckties from which the victims are hanging? A maze of personal relationships complicates the investigation. But Bourque’s unquenchable curiosity helps her discover exactly what happened and the reasons behind it.” ~ Jim Poling Sr., author of Tecumseh: Shooting Star, Crouching Panther

“A winning read with fascinating suspects. Detective Bourque is wry, intelligent, and sympatico. What a great main character for a series.” ~ P. W. Tilley, Former RCMP Detective

“The Color Red stands out as a gripping, intelligent, and well-written detective story. An excellent start to what promises to be a must-read series.” ~ Jane Bwye, author of Breath of Africa

“A. M. Potter confirms his mastery of page-turner crime fiction. Detective Lieutenant Ivy Bourque arrives on a baffling Cape Cod scene that would ‘scare the scales off a salmon.’ Was it murder? Suicide? Both? Through multiple interlocking scenarios Bourque deploys her skills in connecting life in coastal and urban settings, complex individual and professional personalities, history, and culture to expose the perpetrators of the grim scene. The Color Red foretells a captivating new series.” ~ Bertrum MacDonald, Information Management Professor, Dalhousie University.

Purchase The Color Red: Click here for information.

Shepherding a Flock of Words

A.M. PotterLeave a comment

A few weeks ago, Ben Fox of Shepherd.com (now BookDNA.com) asked for a curated list of books for his site. The site was created to link readers to books, not just any books, but books recommended by authors as opposed to algorithms (which are used extensively by sites like Amazon).

Ben asked for a focused theme. I chose “the best Canadian detective and mystery novels.” My top five 📚 recommendations are:

A Siege of Bitterns by Steve Burrows

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

Until the Night by Giles Blunt

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe

Click the link to see the full recommendations and a review of each title. https://bookdna.com/best-books/canadian-detective-and-mysteries

Broken Man on a Halifax Pier: A Personal Review

A.M. PotterLeave a comment

Broken Man on a Halifax Pier by Lesley Choyce, 2019. Dundurn.

Book reviews are supposed to be objective and largely impersonal. Caveat: This one is personal. Tune out if you wish.

Broken Man on a Halifax Pier swirls around Stewart Harbour, Nova Scotia, a fictionalized fishing post close to the real Sheet Harbour on the Eastern Shore, where I grew up. Although I left the shore at 17, I still feel it in my bones.

Some followers of this blog have been asking me to broaden my introduction. At the risk of boring others, here we go. [You can skip ahead to the review. See the last paragraph.] Shortly after leaving the shore, I headed to OZ, taking in the whole Red Continent, after which I kept goin’ down the road. Over a 20-year span, I “paused” to work many times – in Australia again and again, central and western Canada, the USA, England, and New Zealand – to fill my pockets and keep travelling, which I managed to do, seeing every continent except Antarctica. I only stopped because my pack was worn out. Just kidding.

But enough of my wanderlust. Back to the Halifax pier.

It could be that I’m prewired to like this book. Broken man on a Halifax pier happens to be a lyric from one of my favourite Stan Rogers songs: ‘Barrett’s Privateers.’

Now, the book review. To me, Broken Man on a Halifax Pier is an honest feelgood novel, not soppy but uplifting. I won’t recap the plot (I rarely do). Suffice to say, it’s a story of redemption and love. True love often comes across as unbelievable; I felt occasionally at sea as I read, but I didn’t mind. A beguiling woman (smart, sexy, and rich) falls for a completely down-and-out man. I fell for them and the setting. Choyce knows and loves the Eastern Shore. He brings it to life like no author has. For that, I am eternally grateful.

Kudos from Governor General’s Award Winner Steven Heighton

A.M. PotterLeave a comment

“Bay of Blood is a vivid page-turner – one that promises more from both its writer, A.M. Potter, and its feisty protagonist, Sergeant Eva Naslund.” ~ Steven Heighton, Governor General’s Award Winner | Author of The Nightingale Won’t Let You Sleep, The Dead Are More Visible and more

Bay of Blood is available from your favourite book vendor. Ebook $3.95 USD; print book $14.95 USD. The print book is sold at select Chapters/Indigo and Coles locations, as well as at indie bookstores. If you prefer online vendors, Bay of Blood print books and Ebooks are available from:

Amazon.ca | Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble | Smashwords | KOBO | Black Opal Books | iTunes | Scribd | ChaptersIndigo

Bay of Blood Press Release

A.M. Potter2 Comments

‘OrilliaMatters’ Press Release: Novel based on bizarre death of Canadian icon set in Georgian Bay.

Bay of Blood, a new novel set in Georgian Bay, is based on the mysterious death of renowned Canadian painter Tom Thomson.

The book’s idea came to author Andy Potter when he was watching a documentary about Thomson’s life and mysterious death called West Wind: The Vision of Tom Thomson. This would make a great novel, Potter thought. Then he thought, No, it wouldn’t. You can’t fly too close to the Tom Thomson myth. It’s sacred. He’s a Canadian icon.

So, Potter wrote a mystery novel based on Thomson’s death. Thomson died on July 8, 1917. The famous painter murdered in Bay of Blood died on July 8, 2017. There are other similarities, but the painter in the novel is not Thomson, and he’s not the main character. The novel’s main character is OPP Detective Sergeant Eva Naslund.

Click here to see the full story.