Jeremy Akerman published his first novel, Black Around the Eyes, in 1971. Then life got in the way, and he did not return to writing fiction for more than 50 years, in 2023.
Since then, though, he has been a writer on fire. He has published nine novels with Moose House, with another one underway right now.
Jeremy's latest novel, just released, is My Brother's Keeper, the fifth book in the Marc LeBlanc Mysteries series.
Over the first couple of books in the series, Marc moved from a life of wealthy semi-retirement in a snazzy house in Grand Pre, near Wolfville, into reluctantly trying to help friends with puzzles and problems, and from that to getting certified as a private investigator with clients including the premier of Nova Scotia.
In My Brother's Keeper, there is a mystery almost on his doorstep, involving an archaeological dig on his property.
To write this book, Akerman drew on his early training and work as an archaeologist, including at Fortress Louisbourg in Cape Breton.
My Brother's Keeper is available now from Moose House (https://www.moosehousepress.com/product-page/my-brother-s-keeper), or by requesting it from your favourite local bookseller. You can read chapter one for free here: https://www.moosehousepress.com/excerpt-my-brothers-keeper.
Akerman is already several chapters in on a new novel, The Rise and Fall of a Premier, which sees Marc LeBlanc reluctantly entering the world of politics. His decades in Nova Scotia politics and government, including years leading the provincial New Democrats in the legislature, provide him with material that no outsider could so capably deploy.
The Rise and Fall of a Premier marks a writing departure for Akerman, too. He usually spends a great deal of time preparing the plot for each new book, but for this one he has taken a 'what-if?' idea and launched into writing without knowing for certain where the story will lead. The early chapters show the same confidence, subtlety and attention to detail as do the chapters of his heavily-plotted books, which bodes very well for this seat-of-the-pants project.
The Rise and Fall of a Premier should be available by summer, 2025: stay tuned!
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