A Globe and Mail bestseller in its first week, the thirteenth in Gail Bowen's beloved Joanne Kilbourn mystery series is the best of them all: very bad things happen very close to home, and Joanne may never be quite the same again.
"Security for any one of us lies in greater abundance for all of us." For many years, this was the core of Joanne's political beliefs, but for a number of reasons, she has drifted away from it. But soon after she retires from her university teaching post, Joanne is forced to experience its truth. Two groups -- developers with a vision for a revitalized neighbourhood on one side, protestors who fear gentrification will further marginalize their community on the other -- are close to war and Joanne and Zack have loved ones on both sides. One night their house is blown up, and that is only the first of several terrible incidents that force Joanne to consider what it means to live in a world where she can count on nothing.

Gail Bowen’s bestselling mystery series featuring Joanne Kilbourn will number an even dozen titles with the publication of The Nesting Dolls in August 2010. The first six books in the series have appeared as made-for-television movies with world-wide distribution. Winner of both the Arthur Ellis Best Novel Award and the Derrick Murdoch Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Crime Writers of Canada, in 2008 Bowen was named ’Canada’s Best Mystery Novelist’ by Reader’s Digest. She was selected as oneof "The 100 Most Popular Contemporary Mystery Authors" for an upcoming Library Unlimited reference book.

Gail Bowen's profile page

• "I love this series... This book brings [Joanne Kilbourn] back to her conscience and her past, and Bowen does it all with panache." - Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail
• "[Bowen is] one of the finest writers in Canada. Kaleidoscope is . . . fresh and compelling." - Hamilton Spectator
• "[Bowen] shines best when Joanne is in the thick of the small dramas that affect her and those she loves best." -- National Post
• "Bowen writes beautifully in catching the tone and the minutiae of [Joanne's] almost flawless familial existence. . . . Keeps readers turning the pages." - Toronto Star