Oh, the Places She’ll Go

How, other than through clandestine sex, does a married woman of a certain age find excitement in midtown Toronto during a record-breaking heat wave? That is the dilemma that Don Gillmor, an accomplished journalist and winner of a Governor General’s Award for non-fiction, sets himself in telling the story of Beatrice Billings.

Back in the day when magazines proliferated in this country, Gillmor was one of the best freelance contributors around. Many of the skills he developed then are showcased in his latest novel, Breaking and Entering, especially the way he sketches backgrounds, subtly introduces themes, and keeps the narrative clipping along. I don’t know why he chose to write from a female perspective or to use unlawful entry as a narrative device, but the more I read, the clearer the analogy between journalism and thievery became. What does a journalist do, particularly a...