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A combination of plot and Mestern's proven talents is bound to produce another first-rate novel with a strong local character and appeal. Pat writes best about things she loves best. This choice brings with it a sure touch, a confidence and a fidelity that strengthen her novels.
Jim Rohman, Book Reviewer Radio Journalist: CBC, CKWR
Patricia Mattaini Mestern is one of Canada's most talented writers. Her books are full of memorable characters and rich landscapes in historical settings. I don't believe that Canadians know what a national treasure Fergus, Ontario possesses. Like many other devotees, I traveled hundreds of miles to meet a woman that I consider to be Canada's late 20th century's equivalent of Lucy Maude Montgomery. Pat laughed heartily when I mentioned LMM and said that she had a long way to go before considering herself equal to the woman. I don't believe that Canadians know what a national treasure Fergus possesses. Her books are full of memorable characters and rich landscapes in historical settings that beg for exploration.
Janis B. MacDonald, Joplin, Missouri
Freelance writer
Pat's talents are displayed best in her works of fiction. She has a knack for breathing life into a story through her vibrant settings and believable characters. Readers quickly become immersed in the hopes, dreams, failures and successes of some of the most poignant people to ever grace the pages of books.
Gerald Beirnes, Bookseller
 
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Magdalena's Song is a charming book, very well, written, with wonderful characterizations and an absolutely stunning cover.
Jamie Ross of CFOS Radio, Owen Sound, Ontario
Ghosts . . . Gypsies . . . Prejudices . . . Small town scandals. Who knew Fergus, Ontario, was filled with such intrigue? Okay, this book isn't really set in Fergus, and to be honest I don't believe it's a hotbed of deceit, but the village of Millbrook certainly is!
Fergus author Pat Mestern has written a highly entertaining novel of small town dreams and lies and the strange man who stirs things up during the autumn of 1947. The mysterious Count Cudzinski comes to Millbrook, spinning tales of his life but revealing nothing of his past. What he does reveal are the various secrets of the inhabitants of the small Ontario village (that is NOT Fergus, nudge-nudge).
The stranger-who-comes-to-town theme is a familiar one and Mestern could have fallen into a trap of relying on worn cliches. Thankfully that trap is avoided and Magdalena's Song is a very decent read with a few twists and turns thrown in for good measure.
I spoke with the author who was thrilled that Magdalena's Song is the first Canadian-written book published by the North Carolina publishing house High Country Publishers. It's safe to say that Southern Ontario writing has been given a great boost down in the U.S. with the release of Pat Mestern's work.
1460 CJOY
Bruce's Book Depository
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