Gwendolyn Southin

TouchWood Editions is proud to introduce the first female sleuth in our selection of mystery novels. Author Gwendolyn Southin uniquely blends the charm of gumshoe techniques with the fresh perspective of a developing female detective. The Margaret Spencer Mysteries offer action and suspense, with a human subtext.

TouchWood Editions
978-1-894898-72-0 /
1-894898-72-9
$12.95 paperback 240 pages
Available March 2008

Death in a Family Way

At age fifty, Margaret Spencer's empty nest and empty marriage prompt her to answer an ad for part-time office work at the office of private investigator Nat Southby. Suddenly, she is deep in the most unlikely of adventures for a woman in 1950s Vancouver, helping him with a case of missing young women involved in a shady business ring. Maggie finds unexpected freedom as a developing detective and along the way she uncovers evil in the quaintly urban setting. 

"The flow is smooth, the action well-paced."
- Quill & Quire

TouchWood Editions
978-1-894898-71-3 /
1-894898-71-0
$12.95 paperback 240 pages
Available March 2008

In the Shadow of Death

Just one year later, Margaret is coming into her own as an investigator, after leaving the comforts of her Kerrisdale home and her inattentive husband, a corporate lawyer. Living in trendy and bustling Kitsilano with Nat Southby, her newfound happiness is undercut by her family's pleadings to return home. In need of a vacation, she and Nat head for a ranch in the Cariboo. Instead of solace, they find violence, betrayal and an unsolved missing person's case that introduces them to host of new and questionable characters.

"Margaret Spencer is a smart and feisty woman to whom people open up. Original."
- The Saskatoon Star Phoenix

TouchWood Editions
978-1-894898-70-6 /
1-894898-70-2
$12.95 paperback 240 pages
Available March 2008

Death on a Short Leash

Back in Vancouver, Maggie and Nat begin their next adventure at a cranberry bog where a veterinarian's assistant has been found dead. A long trail with a faint scent to follow, their victim's double-life leads them to a strip club, a bogus religious sect, and a nursing home with a dark underlying secret. 

Gwendolyn Southin was born in Essex, England and launched her writing career in Canada on the Sunshine Coast. She is a co-founder of the SunCoast Writers' Forge, The Festival of the Written Arts, and the Sunshine Coast Writers-in-Residence Program. Her short stories and articles have appeared in Maturity Magazine, Pioneer News and Sparks from the Forge. She makes her home in Sechelt, B.C.