A Victoria-based author is releasing her first mystery novel in two years while also celebrating having spent the last two years in remission from cancer.
Jean Paetkau is getting ready to release the latest instalment in her bestselling Breakwater Mystery series.
The newest whodunnit, Murder at the Otter Cove Market, follows the ongoing story established in her first two books, Blood on the Breakwater and The Sinking of Souls.
Those two novels by Paetkau were written and released in the years just before her life changed significantly.
In April 2024, she was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer.
Paetkau was fortunate to go into remission, but still had to rely on daily chemo pills, and she says she wasn’t sure if her chronic brain fog would ever clear enough for her to write another book.
“Cancer took my health, my job and my hair, but it didn’t get to take my words,” said Paetkau.
“Although I have chronic fatigue and migraines this summer a story showed up and almost wrote itself. And after the first miracle of being in remission, this feels like a second miracle—to complete my ‘thrillogy’ of Victoria murder mysteries.”
In spite of her diagnosis and the challenges she has faced, she has overcome the odds and wrote Murder at the Otter Cove Market, which is set to be released at a book launch on Sunday, November 1st at Bolen Books.
The mystery is set at a Victoria farmers market, inspired by Paetkau’s own experience as a market vendor.
Through this lens she says she managed to come up with eccentric characters and a plotline centered around handmade crafts and locally grown produce.
“Although it’s a murder mystery, it’s also a tale of quirky people caught up in sometimes hilarious situations,” said Paetkau.
“A market is rich ground in which to grow a story—pun intended. The suspects include cheesemakers, carpenters and other crafters.”
She also noted that in addition to being a suspenseful whodunnit, Murder at the Otter Cove Market is also an homage to her fellow cancer fighters, as it is written from the perspective of three narrators, one of whom is in remission.
“There are so many myths or misunderstandings about cancer, chemo and side-effects,” explained Paetkau.
As an example, when she went into remission, people assumed she was back to “normal,” but many in remission who must continue immunotherapy or chemotherapy can be devastated by the toll it takes on the body.
“There is no returning to the person I was before. So I’m trying to figure out who the new ‘me’ is,” she added.
Paetkau’s previous murder mysteries have become bestsellers online, as well as in Victoria bookstores.
Her fans stretch from the island, to France, to Australia and beyond through her online cancer and chronic illness community.
The official book launch for Murder at the Otter Cove Market is slated for Sunday, November 1st at 7 p.m. at Bolen Books.
Munro’s Books will also carry her new addition to the series, and carries all of Paetkau’s previous mysteries.
Murder at the Otter Cove Market book launch
- Where: Bolen Books, 644 Hillside Ave #111
- When: Sunday, November 1st at 7 p.m.
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