Cold Edge of Heaven

Description

Set in 1924 at a desolate police outpost on Devon Island in Canada’s far north, this is a story of murder, mystery, and love—intensified by a clash of cultures between Inuit guides and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who live and work alongside them.

Will Grant is one of three constables who, along with their guides and families, are dropped on the windy gravel beach of Dundas Harbour. But no amount of training—not even the horrors of the First World War—would prepare the officers for ice-locked isolation and physical threats from ocean storms, blizzards, avalanches, months of darkness, and marauding polar bears.

The mental and emotional strain are exacerbated by two mysterious, violent deaths. When the Inuit abandon the outpost, Grant realizes that his values and beliefs have changed in ways he could not have imagined.

Although alone and crushed by the inexplicable murders, Grant has learned much about the Arctic through Naudla, wife of one of the guides—and his secret lover. Through her, he discovers the magnificent beauty of the land and ice-covered ocean. This is not a frozen hell, but rather the cold edge of heaven.

Cold Edge of Heaven is a historical fiction adventure set in the Canadian Arctic at the now-abandoned Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost of Dundas Harbour. Stations such as these were central to Canada asserting its sovereignty over the vast far north, with the Mounties serving as “human flagpoles.”

 

Author Bio

Whit Fraser

Fraser is a journalist, author, and viceregal consort of Canadian Governor General Mary Simon. He is winner of the 2019 NorthWords Book Prize for True North Rising, a memoir of his work in Arctic communities.

 

Following a 25-year career with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Fraser served as the founding chair of the Canadian Polar Commission and was executive director of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, Canada’s national Inuit organization.

I think you have created something here that you should be very proud of. It evokes the spirits of Service, and Mowat and all the great scribes of the North. Your story is engaging and powerful. It is well woven and leaves the reader waiting for the next twist. I also love the way you have woven some of the North’s vibrant history into the narrative along with some well-chosen political commentary. Very well done, sir!
-Reg Sherren, former host of CBC’s ‘Country Canada’ and author of ‘That Wasn’t the Plan: A Memoir’

Whit Fraser revisits a pivotal moment in Nunavut’s past in Cold Edge of Heaven.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/reviews/article-cold-edge-of-heaven-whit-fraser/

Whit Fraser’s new novel, Cold Edge of Heaven, explores the human cost of Arctic land claims.
The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers:
https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-67/clip/15956763

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