Book Club Picks with Alberta Books

We love the club—book club that is! This week EPL’s book club is reading The Melting Queen by Bruce Cinnamon, a captivating Alberta-published novel that’s perfect for lively discussion. Want to add more Alberta books to your own book club lineup? We’ve got four great suggestions to get you started!

The Longest Night

One forty-below December night, 18-year-old Ash Hayes finds herself locked out of her home in rural Minnesota. She seeks shelter from the freezing cold with neighbours she hasn’t yet met.The next morning, everything is off-kilter – the house has no mirrors or modern technology, and all the windows blocked. When Ash tries to call her parents, their numbers are disconnected. One of the strange inhabitants is a doctor, who offers Ash a terrible form of help and won’t take no for an answer. In her efforts to get out of the house, Ash finds herself transported to an even stranger place and time, setting off a chain of events that connect with (and alter) her past and her future.

Perfect for book clubs that love Mona Awad and Emily St. John Mandel.

The Longest Night

Lauren Carter

Published: Sep 09, 2025 by Freehand Books
ISBN: 9781990601958

Meltdown: The Making and Breaking of a Field Scientist

In Meltdown, Sarah Boon tells us about field adventures in snow and ice, the tough decision of choosing an academic career over that of a writer, and the challenges she faces as a woman in science. Her story blends adventure and academia as she traverses John Evans Glacier on Ellesmere Island, builds weather stations in northern British Columbia, samples proglacial rivers, and scares away grizzlies with helicopters. Along the way, Boon finds inspiration in the stories of historic female explorers like Mary Schäffer Warren and Phyllis Munday, celebrating the tenacity of women in the field. But her path isn’t without obstacles. In addition to the physical and psychological rigors of fieldwork, Boon faces gender bias, departmental politics, and job insecurity in academia. Her journey is also marked by injury, struggles with imposter syndrome, and a serious mental health diagnosis. Meltdown is an honest and reflective narrative about the process of finding your identity, the need for open conversations around mental health and science, and one woman’s pursuit of balance between her career and personal life.

Perfect for book clubs that love raw, reflective, and honest non-fictions.

Meltdown: The Making and Breaking of a Field Scientist

Sarah Boon

Published: Jun 17, 2025 by University of Alberta Press
ISBN: 9781772127911

Secrets in the Water

Back on the island to lay her grandmother to rest, Kate can’t avoid reflecting on the death of her aunt. Learning that her late mother had believed Emma was murdered and had conducted her own investigation, she decides to track down her aunt’s killer. With the help of her neighbour, impetuous and hedonistic sculptor Siobhan Fitzgerald, Kate picks up where her mother had left off. When the two women become the subject of threatening notes and violent incidents, it’s clear that one of their fellow islanders is warning them off. As they begin to look into Emma’s connection to the Sutherlands, a prominent Meredith Island family, another islander dies under suspicious circumstances, forcing Kate and Siobhan to confront the likelihood that Emma’s killer is still on the island.

Perfect for book clubs that crave a good murder-mystery.

Secrets in the Water: A Meredith Island Mystery

Alice Fitzpatrick

Published: Jun 01, 2024 by Stonehouse Publishing
ISBN: 9781988754611

The Sun the Moon Forgot

In the vast, lawless ocean beneath the thick surface ice of Jupiter’s moon Europa, independent undersea miners compete against megacorporations for natural resources, and pirates hunt for unwary prey. Kassia McCullough will stop at nothing to enact revenge on Pretorious Grant, the man she holds responsible for her father’s suicide. When Grant’s half-brother escapes from prison, Kassia may just have her chance to capture her elusive and powerful enemy.Earth Detective Max Danzig has his own reasons for pursuing the nefarious siblings. The newly escaped convict, Somerled Rhone, murdered his partner, and Max is determined to bring him in alive.Brought together by their mutual quest for vengeance, Kassia, Max, and an outlawed AI named Alex embark on a perilous journey, dodging bounty hunters, corporate mercenaries, and dangerous undersea creatures along the way.

Perfect for book clubs that love expansive sci-fi adventures.

The Moon the Sun Forgot

Book Club Picks with Alberta Books