The Lightning Bottles by Marissa Stapley

Jane Pyre was once one half of one of the most famous rock 'n' roll duos in the world, The Lightning Bottles. Years later, she's perhaps the most hated (and least understood) woman in music. She was never as popular with fans as her bandmate (and soulmate) Elijaheven if Jane was the one who wrote the songs that catapulted The Lightning Bottles to instant, dizzying fame, first in the Seattle grunge scene, and then around the world.

But then Elijah disappeared and everything came crashing down. Even now, years after Elijah vanished, Jane is universally blamed and reviled by the public. In an attempt to get some peace and quiet, Jane rents a house in a remote part of Germany where she knows she won't be disturbed.

But on the day she arrives, she's confronted by her new next-door neighbour, a sullen teenaged girl named Hen who just so happens to be a Lightning Bottles superfanand who claims to have a piece of information that might solve the mystery of what happened to Elijah, and whether he is, in fact, still alive and leaving messages for Jane after all these years.

A cross-continent road trip about two misunderstood outsiders brought together by their shared love of music, interwoven with flashbacks to the beginnings of Jane and Elijah's love story and meteoric rise,The Lightning Bottlesis a love story, a celebration of rock 'n' roll, and a searing portrait of the cost of fame. (From Simon & Schuster Canada)

• 64 works of Canadian fiction to read in fall 2024
• Marissa Stapley's latest book takes readers on a cross-country road trip to solve a rock 'n' roll mystery

Marissa Stapley is a Toronto writer, journalist and author of romance, thrillers and romantic comedies. Her books includeMating for Life,Things To Do When It's Raining,The Last Resort,LuckyandThe Holiday Swap, which was co-written by Karma Brown under the pen-name Maggie Knox.