Voices with No Fear

I love books that have either children or older adults as protagonists or main characters. They speak honestly and I feel, for the most part, are able to see the world through lenses that are not clouded with their own judgment, or fear of judgment from others. Children, because they aren’t yet jaded, and older adults because they’re past caring what people think.

The first book I wrote, The Wheaton, was situated in an Independent Living Facility where the average age of the residents was eighty. It’s a book about overcoming regret, and, because of their age, I could hear the characters voices in my head, their dialogue clear as they spoke their minds.

My second novel, A Snake in the Raspberry Patch, which won best crime novel set in Canada for 2023, and was shortlisted for the Saskatchewan Book Awards, is an adult book with children as its protagonists. There is a gruesome murder at a farm just outside their family’s small town and once again, the voices of the girls were clear in my mind as they set out to solve the crime. 

In my third novel, Sunset Lake Resort, my protagonist, Ruby, is in her sixties, and one of the main characters, Gerry, is 101. Ruby inherits a cabin at a desolate lake where the previous owner has died under mysterious circumstances. She meets Gerry who knew the previous owner and his voice spoke to me loud and clear as he regaled us with stories from the past.

Here are a few of my favorite books with children or the elderly as the protagonist or main character.

The Bad Seed by William March

The Bad Seed, published in 1954, was written at a time when children committing crimes was a new idea, and the controversy, nature versus nurture was being discussed. This book tells the story of an eight-year-old girl, Rhoda, who, on the outside, appears to be the perfect child. She’s obedient, well-groomed, and submissive, doing her chores without being asked. But soon her mother, Christine, comes to realize that her daughter may be behind some murderous crimes that have happened. Christine investigates and learns that she herself is adopted and her mother, Rhoda’s grandmother, was a notorious serial killer. She then blames herself for passing on the “bad seed.”

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Not to sound too cliché, but To Kill a Mockingbird is my favourite book, so I can’t help but put it on my list. Well not your traditional crime novel, I would still class it partially in the genre, as there is a crime and Atticus Finch is tasked with proving the innocence of a convicted man.

Over the years the book has been eclipsed by the movie, which was fantastic and I watch every time I have a chance, but I still love the book, preferring to see the kids in my minds eye, and hear their voices speaking to me as I read. 

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman, is the first in a series of books featuring elderly sleuths. The other books in the series are called, The Man Who Died Twice, The Bullet that Missed, and The Last Devil to Die. The fifth in the series, called, I Only Read Murder, will be released soon. 

The protagonists in these books live in Coopers Chase retirement village. They meet on Thursdays to discuss any new murders that may have happened, then set about to solve them. Elizabeth Best, one of the amateur sleuths, is a retired spy, the others being a retired nurse, an ex-psychiatrist, and a former union leader. The books are highly entertaining, quite humorous, and make you think twice about categorizing the elderly as helpless, as these four are anything but.

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

The final book is called Killers of a Certain Age. The title is a play on words where a woman is said to be of a certain age, rather than middle-aged or beyond. It’s about four women assassins who are retiring. Not only is this book unique as it features four women as the protagonists and who are assassins, but they are also all in their mid-sixties. They embark on a cruise to celebrate their retirement and discover that the company they’ve been loyal to for the past forty years, is now trying to have them eliminated. The book involves them attempting to find out why they have been targeted, and to prove that they are still quite capable, even at their age.

About Sunset Lake Resort by Joanne Jackson:

When Ruby’s father passes away, but fails to leave her the millions some expected, Steve, her husband of 35 years, moves out. Alone, but in control of her own affairs for the first time in her life, Ruby is torn between panic and relief. When she investigates the remote beach cabin her father had left her instead of his estate, she discovers a dilapidated beach resort in a remote location, seemingly untouched since its former owner, Cecelia Johansen, died under mysterious circumstances. Despite the condition of the property and rumours it is haunted, Ruby decides to move to Sunset Lake Resort, determined to find out why her father bought it, and why he left it to her.