In what author
Daniel Woodrell has dubbed “country noir,” Murmurs of the Dead
examines the dark side of small town life in North America. This is an allegorical
tale set in coastal British Columbia and explores a way of life that is slowly
disappearing. It is also a parable about Canada and the external forces changing
our culture. The central characters are reporters who gradually become aware of
the history of smuggling, the frontier justice, and marijuana grow-ops as they
unearth stories from the town’s shady past. Central to the story are unsolved
murders of drug dealers, and when the young journalists discover the cover-up
it increasingly appears to be the work of vigilantes. But how many townspeople
were involved, and how were the murders kept secret so long? With
a narrative style reminiscent of Ken Kesey’s Sometimes A Great Notion, MacLachlan
imbues his wacky characters with a rich sense of social and environmental consciousness
akin to the creations of John D. MacDonald. Greg Potter, author of Hand
Me Down World Praise
for Al MacLachlan’s After the Funeral This is a very good
first novel, with plenty of promise. MacLachlan can set action in a place…we
have a writer to watch. Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail Al
MacLachlan was born and raised in England by Canadian parents, and came to Canada
during high school years. He attended university in Montreal before studying journalism
and film in Toronto, and has resided in BC since 1977. He has lived over much
of BC working as a journalist and television producer including stints in Vanderhoof,
Vernon, Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast and the Fraser Valley. He currently lives
on Vancouver Island.
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