Emma Pivato

And Along Came Alexis is a book about choices and consequences. The author's youngest daughter, Alexis, was born in 1978 with multiple disabilities, including blindness, an intractable seizure disorder and spastic quadriplegia. The choice to keep her at home despite medical advice resulted in a limiting of career opportunities for her parents and educational and other enrichment opportunities for her siblings. However, it also introduced the family to a whole community of earnest and interesting people dealing with similar challenges that they would never have known otherwise, and it provided rich perspectives on a different way of living. As for Alexis, she thrived far better than had been predicted and developed into a sweet, trusting person with a clear sense of self and an appreciation for the people in her life. The book describes the story of her life to date from her mother's viewpoint: its victories and setbacks, its grim moments and its funny moments. Overall, it is a positive story, demonstrating what is possible, even under very challenging circumstances.

Claire Burke is itching to get back into the swing of things following her maternity leave. But that is rather hard to do with her newborn twins to care for as well as her husband, Dan, and her disabled daughter, Jessie. But Claire decides to start out slowly by attending a "mommy" group, where she meets other new mothers and hears about the struggles some of them are having in adapting to this new lifestyle. However, a few weeks later there is a double murder involving one of the group members who is assumed to be the murderer. Claire is convinced from what little she has seen of this woman that she would not be capable of such a crime and she sets out to prove it by finding the real murderer. She begins investigating and along the way, she acquires a few assistants who also join in her journey. But it is Claire alone who finally comes face to face with the killer.

Yet again, someone in Claire Burke's life is murdered. She is determined to find the killer but there are many obstacles in her path: false leads, an uncooperative 'friend' and a huge personal distraction. Tia cannot help much either between the demands of her job and her toddler daughter. But one hair-raising adventure leads to another and finally Claire is sure she is on the right track. Tia comes to her aid and in the end they face a terrifying choice. Do they risk confronting the killer or stand by and watch another murder take place?

Who could be killing off patients in an extended-care hospital? The only clue is that all the victims complained a lot. Surely, that's not the reason for murdering them, argue Claire Burke and her pal Tia. But when the local police in Edmonton--Inspector McCoy and Sergeant Crombie--seem unable to solve the mysterious crimes, Claire and Tia set up a complex plan to catch the killer in his or her tracks. And as Tia's mother is a patient at the hospital in question, the women are doubly motivated. Of course, Claire has a lot on her plate with managing her co-op for disabled adults, and Tia is a new mom with a breast-feeding infant. Two more unlikely crime fighters you couldn't find, but that won't stop Claire and Tia--and, it turns out--practically an entire village of supporting players. Will they find this murderer before another elderly patient succumbs?

When Bill Mackay, a middle-aged autistic man, is brought from the group living home in which he has resided for many years to a new institution in Edmonton, Canada, his guardian and aunt, 75-year-old Marion Mackay is fearful for his ability to adjust, but due to Marion's own declining health, she believes she must move closer to her daughter in Edmonton. Bill is particularly loathe to leave his special friend Mavis Elves, a wheelchair-bound woman he considers a special friend.No sooner is Bill moved into his new residence--the Clive Center--in Edmonton than he is involved in an altercation with a nurse. When the nurse is found murdered the next morning and Bill is found asleep in his bed clutching a knife which turns out to be the murder weapon, Marion is overwhelmed. She calls Claire Burke, a friend in Edmonton, who she knows has a special needs daughter and who also knows Bill and Mavis. Claire wastes no time in stepping in and stepping up when the local police seem ready to railroad Bill for the murder without searching for any other potential suspects.Claire is a go-getter and, along with her pal Tia, not only works to clear Bill of the murder rap, but also begins a major campaign to bring Mavis to Edmonton permanently and to ensconce the two friends along with another in their own home. Along the way, Claire and Tia's efforts involve a side trip to the Barbados as well as some unexpected run-ins with the real killer. But never fear, Claire Burke is a multi-tasker if there ever was one--and those tasks include sleuthing for killers

When interior decorator Claire Burke discovers one of her clients dead on the new rug that she's just installed, she never imagines that she will soon be hard at work investigating the woman's murder. However, her severely disabled, wheelchair-bound daughter Jessie forms a bond with the victim's husband Jimmy, and when the man is arrested for his wife's killing, Claire can't believe that anyone who could be so tender towards her daughter could actually harm another human being. Soon, she enlists her friend Tia to help prove the man's innocence. Tia ensconces herself in the man's home under the guise of providing him cleaning services--all the while snooping for possible clues that might exonerate the man. Claire's Aunt Augusta also arrives for a visit and quickly befriends an elderly neighbor, and the two old ladies--anxious to help Claire--start their own investigation. With detectives seemingly everywhere, no one can possibly imagine who will ultimately bring down the killer--and it may be the most amazing detective of them all