SEMI-DETACHED

An upmarket commercial ghost story that explores how making a home is as much about who you're with as where you are.

A real estate agent. A murder. A ghost. A puzzle to be pieced together through a love story that spans time and crosses classes to explore the meaning of home.

Laura Keys has been chosen, through lottery, to handle the sale of a house in Toronto's east end. The elderly owner is in a coma, and there is no evidence of heirs or a will. When Laura enters the house, taking refuge from a paralyzing ice storm, she is amazed to discover a home untouched by time, well-cared for but preserved as if it's still the 1940s. Her sense of comfort in the foreign place makes her reflect on her own marriage, which has been under increasing stress after years trying – and failing – to conceive.

Also out in the storm is a disoriented and fragile girl named Astrid, underdressed for the weather, desperate to find her secret lover. But Eddie Ferguson, off limits due to class and gender, has become an unwitting accomplice to murder.

Semi-Detached is a compelling, satisfying, and structurally inventive novel of enduring love, lost love, and familial love. Ruth is an inventive storyteller who has always been drawn to the perspective of the outsider, and her light touch makes for a propulsive read that will resonate with fans of Sarah Waters, Lori Lansens, and Audrey Niffenegger.

ELIZABETH RUTH is the author of the critically acclaimed novels Ten Good Seconds of Silence, Smoke, and Matadora. Her work has been recognized by the Writers' Trust of Canada Fiction Prize, The City of Toronto Book Award, The Amazon.ca Best First Novel Award, and One Book One Community. CBC named her “One of the Ten Canadian Women Writers You Must Read.”