GRANITE

by Pat Mattaini Mestern

(Dundurn Press, 384 pages, $21.99 softcover)

Granite is the latest novel by writer and arts promoter Pat Mattaini Mestern of Fergus.

An old Indian legend separately draws both Noah and Lish to a heavenly corner of southwestern Ontario. Both are seeking respite from their city lives.

As they become involved in the community of Seven Springs and an idyllic hideaway, Hunters Mark, on the nearby escarpment, they find to their surprise they share a common ancestry.

But the storyline wanders as Noah fades from the picture and Lish, intrigued by the secrets of Thalia Russo, her eccentric employer at Hunters Mark, along with a new love interest, begins to probe the actions of unscrupulous developers seeking to buy up the pristine area for aggregate profits.

She succeeds in derailing their plans and uncovers a local secret as well before settling down to a life of married bliss.

The legend of the Cougar that drew her to Seven Springs reappears as an afterthought at the end of the story, but by now has lost its point. This could be a good yarn if the story had a bit more cohesion.

But what Mestern does best is paint evocative pictures of the lovely rural area in the rolling hills between Fergus and Collingwood, and Shelburne to the east.

The book is worth reading for this alone, especially if you are familiar with the area.

Tess Bridgewater is a Cambridge writer.