IWAW loves a great mystery/thriller, and if you do, too, you should treat yourself to reading Laurie Dove’s 2025 novel, Mask of the Deer Woman. There will be NO spoilers in this show! Sonja and Vanessa visit with Dove about the compelling issues underpinning this gripping story. There are so many positive reviews of the novel, so here’s just a sample: “A beautifully written tale about the Indigenous girls who disappear twice, once in life and once in the news. Clever, elegant and utterly compelling, Mask of the Deer Woman is a brilliant exploration of identity and the struggle of being separated from one’s culture. Hypnotic and beguiling, I was hooked from the first sentence.”—Christina McDonald, USA Today bestselling author of These Still Black Waters.In our interview, Dove talks about what sparked her desire to write Mask of the Deer Woman, why she felt compelled to turn to fiction, and how she understands the role of storytelling. Plus, this is only the first of the Carrie Starr novels, and Dove lets us in on when we can expect the next installment. Along the way, Sonja defends The Book of Kells, and Vanessa wishes she could be in a book club with Starr.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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