Hearts may freeze or thaw, but love never dies.

In December 2013, an ice storm buries Toronto as realtor Laura Keys prepares to sell a one-of-a-kind house on behalf of its comatose owner. Haunting Laura, and longing to be invited in, is a mysterious teenage girl with a Scottish terrier tucked into her coat.

As Laura readies the house for showing, she learns more about its owner, Edna “Eddie” Ferguson. Leading up to the Great Snowstorm of 1944, Eddie, a brickmaker, enters into a passionate yet ill-fated affair with her boss’s daughter. While uncovering the past, Laura navigates both the death of her mother and a troubled marriage straining under the weight of her infertility.

Across two paralyzing winter storms, set nearly seventy years apart and connected by a house and a murder, Semi-Detached contends with living after loss, love, and the meaning of home.

Insightful and evocative, emotionally intelligent and propulsive, this is a novel from a writer at the top of her game.

Elizabeth Ruth is a writer, editor, creative writing instructor and mother living in Toronto, Canada. Her first novel, Ten Good Seconds of Silence was a finalist for the Writers' Trust of Canada Fiction Prize, the Amazon.ca Best First Novel Award and the City of Toronto Book Award. Her critically acclaimed second novel, Smoke, was chosen for the 2007 One Book One Community program. Elizabeth Ruth's third novel - about a female bullfighter - will be published in Canada in fall 2012 by Cormorant Books. 

Elizabeth is well known for her mentorship of aspiring writers. She teaches at the University of Toronto, and through the Humber School for Writers. In 2011 Elizabeth held the position of Writer-In-Residence at the Toronto Public Library. Elizabeth has also held the position of Writer-In-Residence at the Oshawa and Kitchener Public Libraries. In recent years, Elizabeth has mentored middle and high school English students through WIER, Writers in Electronic Residence. In 2011 she delivered workshops and offered manuscript evaluations to writers across northern Ontario. In 2012, together with Ann Douglas, Elizabeth Ruth was hired by The Writer's Union of Canada (TWUC) to deliver professional development workshops to writers across the country. She is a long-standing member of TWUC and the current chair of the author's advisory committee of the Writers' Trust of Canada. 

Elizabeth Ruth has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Counselling Psychology, both from the University of Toronto. She is also a graduate of the Humber School of Writers

Elizabeth Ruth's profile page

"Semi-Detached is elegantly constructed and often beautifully written."

Quill & Quire

“If you’re looking for a novel that reads like an old-fashioned love story, but that also features some decidedly modern elements (including the fact that this is a dual-timeline queer romance), this will definitely be your kind of book.”

Quill & Quire

“Semi-Detached will cast a spell over you. Elizabeth Ruth has crafted a beautiful and tender tale of the shelters we all need to house our love and our yearning. Sheer magic and a joy to read.”

Lynne Kutsukake, author of <i>The Translation of Love</i>

“Part love story, part ghost story, part murder mystery — Elizabeth Ruth’s Semi-Detached is all heart. Fiercely compelling and beautifully nuanced. A modern novel for the ages. Just brilliant.”

Helen Humphreys, author of <i>Leaving Earth</i> and <i>Rabbit Foot Bill</i>