The Solitary Friend

A Joanne Kilbourn Mystery, Book 23

By: Gail Bowen

Narrated by: Marcia Johnson

Amateur sleuth Joanne Shreve finds herself caught in the middle when her friend Vera Wang, the owner of a discreet escort service, The Right Woman, calls in a favor. Howard Dowhanuik, another long-time friend of Joanne’s and the former premier of Saskatchewan, has been a loyal client for years. That is until he started badgering Vera’s employees, trying to discourage them from performing their “meaningless” work. Given his recent verbal attacks against any and all opponents on his podcast, Joanne knows his erratic behavior must be part of a larger issue. Can Joanne talk Howard down and make him see sense before he goes too far?

To complicate matters, the release of scandalous photos with threatening demands targets both Howard and Calista Wallace. Having quit the escort service, Calista is now engaged to Noah Wainberg, a close member of Joanne’s inner circle, but the past could put their future together in jeopardy. Is this hate mail from a heartbroken ex-client or a disgruntled listener of Howard’s podcast? Or worse, could the culprit be someone closer to home? With her loved ones’ happiness—and their very lives—at stake, Joanne races to find the source of the mysterious messages before they make good on their menacing ultimatum.

©2025 Gail Bowen (P)2025 ECW Press

Critic reviews

“Reading a new Gail Bowen book is like attending a reunion of family and friends, with every bit of warm familiarity, chilling dysfunction, love, lies, and laughter mixed with tears you’d expect. The Solitary Friend is a finely balanced portrayal of family dynamics, political intrigue, social consciousness, and the brutal consequences of tragedy.”—Anthony Bidulka, author of Going to Beautiful and the Merry Bell Mysteries