“I am pleased to announce that the One Book One Island title for 2015 is the Maureen Jennings novel Except the Dying, the book that helped inspire the television series Murdoch Mysteries on CBC,” said Minister Henderson. “This is a great selection for our annual promotion because it is appealing to a wide variety of Islanders and helps us realize our goals of improving literacy, promoting Canadian literature and bringing Islanders together to discuss a common book.”

One Book One Island was first launched in 2010. Past titles include Still Life by Louise Penny, The Burma Chronicles by Guy Delisle and Island: The Collected Short Stories by Allistair MacLeod. In 2014 14 titles by Island authors were chosen as part of a special 14 Books One Island to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference.

Except the Dying is the first novel from Canadian author Maureen Jennings. It is a murder mystery based in Toronto in the late 1800s. The characters in the novel helped inspire the CBC series Murdoch Mysteries. It was shortlisted for both the Arthur Ellis and the Anthony first novel awards. It is also available in French under the title Sauf le mort. There are now seven books in the series. The television program is now in its eighth season. Maureen Jennings will be on Prince Edward Island July 14-16 and will host events each night. On the 14th she will be at the Confederation Centre Public Library at 7pm, on the 15th at Summerside Rotary Library at 7pm and on the 16th at Montague Rotary Library at 7pm.

Additional copies of the novel are available for borrowing from public libraries across the Island. The Bookmark and Indigo are offering a ten per cent discount on purchases of the novel. DVD copies of the television series are also available to library users. For more information on One Book One Island 2015 visit www.library.pe.ca/onebook