Amanda sits down for a question-and-answer session with dru’s book musings so that we, the readers, can get to know her better.



What is your full name?
Just Amanda Doucette. My parents never gave me a middle name.

How old are you?
I’m vague on that, but about 35 years old

What is your profession?
International aid worker, now working in Canada.

Do you have a significant other?
Not at the beginning of the series, but by the time of my Wreck Bay adventure, yes.

What is his name and profession?
Chris Tymko, Corporal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police

Do you have any children?
Not yet. But who knows?

Do you have any siblings?
Yes, one brother, but I never see him.

Are your parents nearby?
About 30 miles from my home base, but it might as well be 3000.

Who is your best friend?
Matthew Goderich, my business partner

Do you have cats, dogs, or other pets?
I have a dog, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever named Kaylee. But she’s much more than a pet; she’s my rock.

What town do you live in?
My home base is in the country near Ottawa, but I’m usually not there.

What type of dwelling do you own or rent?
I rent a rustic log cabin from my aunt in the Quebec countryside, but my work takes me all across Canada, so I often stay in short-term rentals.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
In winter, in the living room curled up by the fire. In the summer, lounging on my deck.

What is your favorite meal and dessert?
When I was an aid worker overseas, I learned to love all types of food, especially Thai. Dessert has to be brownies.

Do you have any hobbies?
Anything wild: hiking, canoeing, and swimming.

What music do you listen to?
I’m very eclectic, but the rebel in me loves the old 60s and 70s folk songs.

What is your favorite color?
Red. Make a statement.

What is your favorite vacation spot?
Anywhere in nature, especially close to water.

Are you a morning or night person?
Morning.

What is your idea of a really fun time?
I can’t cook but I love spicy food with a nice bottle of wine.

If you were to write a memoir, what would you call it?
Hanging on for Dear Life.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Amateur, with help from my business partner Matthew, a former journalist who can find out anything.

What is a typical day in your life like?
There isn’t one. I move around the country planning and carrying out wilderness adventure tours, so every day is different.


Wreck Bay, An Amanda Doucette Mystery #5
Genre: Traditional
Release: January 2023
Format: Digital and Print US, February 23
Purchase Link

Amanda Doucette pursues the connection between a reclusive artist and the wealthy surfer who turned up dead on a remote island in Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim in a wilderness-infused mystery perfect for fans of Jane Harper or Louise Penny.

While exploring the rugged landscape of Vancouver Island’s Pacific coast, Amanda Doucette is drawn to a reclusive old artist known only as Luke, who lives off the grid on a remote island. His vivid paintings hint at a traumatic secret from his past that brings to mind her own struggles with PTSD, and they begin to bond.

But when the body of a surfer washes up on the beach, Luke flees deep into the interior. What is the connection between the victim and Luke, and what does it have to do with Vietnam and a hippie commune from fifty years ago? Fearing Luke might do something desperate, Amanda searches for answers and races to find him before the police or the victim’s family get to him first.


About the author
Barbara Fradkin is a retired child psychologist with a fascination for why we turn bad, and her work has provided much of the insight and inspiration for her fiction. Over the past twenty-five years, she has published at least thirty short stories and fifteen novels, as well as four Rapid Reads short novels. Many of her works have been shortlisted or won Best Novel Awards from Crime Writers of Canada. Her Amanda Doucette series features a foreign aid worker who battles her own trauma to help people in trouble. The fifth in that series, Wreck Bay, was recently published by Dundurn Press on January 24, 2023.

Visit Barbara on her website at barbarafradkin.com and on Facebook.

All comments are welcomed.