Set in Halifax, Nova Scotia during WWI, this story of love and war by novelist and newsman McNeil opens with the explosion of a docked ship loaded with munitions that destroys the north end of Halifax on December 6, 1917. In the ensuing confusion, an intriguing diary is found by a clergyman, producing most interesting results. It's an intricate, suspenseful book.  (CND23, $25.95)