SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2016 O'REILLY INSURANCE AND THE CO-OPERATORS FIRST BOOK AWARD.

As a long, hot Saskatchewan summer dawns, Darby Swank’s life is forever changed when she finds her beloved aunt floating dead in a lake. All at once, her blinders are lifted and she sees the country lifestyle she’s always known in a whole new way, with hidden pain and anguish lurking behind familiar faces, and violence forever threatening to burst forth, like brushfire smouldering and dormant under the muskeg.

With her first novel, Lisa Guenther lays bare familial bonds, secret histories and the healing potential of art. Friendly Fire recalls the work of Ann-Marie MacDonald and Lynn Coady as it eviscerates small-town platitudes and brings important issues to light.

Lisa Guenther is a writer and editor based in rural northwestern Saskatchewan. She has previously written for Grainews and Country Guide, and is currently the editor of Canadian Cattlemen magazine. Her farm journalism has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers' Federation and the North American Association of Agricultural Journalists. Her previous novel, Friendly Fire, was shortlisted for a Saskatchewan Book Award and placed second in the Saskatchewan Writers Guild's John V. Hicks Long Manuscript Award. When she's not writing, editing or reading, Lisa enjoys horseback riding and getting out on the land.

Lisa Guenther's profile page

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• Nominated, Saskatchewan Book Awards, O'Reilly Insurance and the Cooperators First Book Award

“Lisa Guenther’s arresting blend of suspense, family drama, and the healing power of music makes Friendly Fire a captivating debut novel." — Theresa Shea, author of The Unfinished Child

“A well-paced character study with a strong sense of place.” — Leo Brent Robillard, Backwater Review

“Friendly Fire is a remarkably honest and self-critical look at life in rural Saskatchewan.” — Tom Ingram, The Winnipeg Review

“It's clear Guenther knows rural small-town life, and in this novel she paints a vivid picture of both its foibles and its merits.” — Sharon Chisvin, Winnipeg Free Press