Archive: Author: jeromeb

At the stroke of a pen, Sister Cassandra Lalonde has gone from being a teacher in an orphanage to a nurse in a psychiatric hospital, and her beloved students have been “reclassified” as mental patients. Set against the backdrop of Québec’s Great Darkness of the 1940s and ‘50s, Day of Epiphany tells a haunting, riveting story inspired by true event of the Duplessis orphans scandal, a much overlooked national tragedy.

Invisible to society, and with no rights under the law, the children of Sainte-Madeleine Institute are subjected to experimental treatments and unspeakable abuse. Alone against the combined powers of the Catholic Church, the autocratic government of Maurice Duplessis, and the province’s medical authorities, Cassandra must resort to increasingly drastic measures to protect those under her care. When Cassandra’s plans to save one of her best and brightest students all apart, she renounces her vows and is left to pick up the threads of a shocking criminal scandal with roots stretching far beyond the walls of Sainte-Madeleine.

This is a story of faith and betrayal, irreconcilable loyalties, and one courageous woman’s dauntless humanity in the face of institutionalized oppression. Part historical fiction and part mystery, with the atmosphere of a noir thriller, Day of Epiphany underscores a transformative moment in Canadian history.

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Ferguston, Ontario, is an angry little town full of dark secrets, a place where keeping your head down is never a bad idea. That’s fine with Justin Lambert, an introverted, biracial 12-year-old who generally prefers books to people anyway.

Against all odds, Justin has found a new friend. Her name is Billie. She’s sweet, precocious, and a bit feisty. She also isn’t human.

David Raymond, on the other hand, is all too human. A brutal, volatile thug and celebrated public nuisance, he was the only person of interest ever named in the disappearance of Justin’s mother 10 years ago. Although he was never convicted, the lingering stink of suspicion has followed him around for a decade, and he blames the Lamberts.

Now Justin and his dad have stumbled upon evidence that could get the case reopened. When Raymond gets wind of this, his anger is reignited, and he is very good at making bad things happen.

Meanwhile, Justin is learning that Billie has an agenda of her own, and it’s on a scale that defies comprehension. If Justin’s life is threatened — increasingly likely these days — he can’t be sure if Billie will intervene on his behalf, or look at him as just one of an infinite number of variables in some unimaginable cosmological equation.

One way or another, Justin is about to find out.

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