Reviews

"Inspired by his own experiences in Algonquin as well as his acute historical intuition, Geoff Taylor's book presents a truly novel version of events surrounding the mystery of Tom Thomson's death. Taylor reveals a time and place reeling from the psychic and physical trauma of the Great War still raging in Europe. With the passing of the great age of lumber, a way of life in the Canadian north was ending. His characters (all historical) are vivid, painted in broad, colourful strokes by his meticulously informed insight into each. Some would not be out of place in a Mark Twain novel. The book is in part a memorial to a complex and controversial icon of Canadian history but also a lens into a culture and time forgotten, a dark and riveting era of Canada's past, now woken into life again by Taylor's story"

"A good story has the power to bring people together. To think, discuss and even argue. Tom Thomson is Canada's greatest mystery and in this story Taylor unearths and dissects many intriguing questions about his life and his end. Answers are easy, even lazy but good questions? They can make you lose yourself forever."

“Art, wilderness and passion are provocative bed partners; Taylor knits the three together beautifully. A paddler’s perspective of Algonquin Park’s enduring mystery.”

“A great read to pull out of a canoe pack.”

“No one owns the Tom Thomson story.  Nor does anyone truly know what happened among the several intertwined mysteries.  I like to think the mystery is Canada’s to play with and be forever entertained.  Geoff Taylor’s Tom Thomson’s Last Bonfire is a welcome new addition to the family of Tom mysteries.  It’s a fine read that raised some intriguing possibilities.”