Hot on the heels of her US tour, the lovely and dedicated audience at the Globe and Mail/Ben McNally Books and Brunch was treated to a visit by Alex Von Tunzelmann, the author of Red Heat: Conspiracy, Murder and The Cold War in the Carribbean. Early copies of Red Heat were available at the brunch for eager attendees, even though it’s not officially on-sale until tomorrow.

Did you know that April marks the 50th anniversary of the Bay of Pigs Invasion? (It took place on April 17, 1961) Alex related that event to the situation in Haiti and what’s happening throughout the Middle East and Africa: people are pressing for democracy, making this book is more timely than ever. But the brunch wasn’t all doom and gloom. Alex captivated the audience with conspiracy theories (Apparently JFK and his top staff had dinner with the creator of the James Bond series and he offered some suggestions how to creatively get rid of enemies. The next day, the CIA asked the author to lunch) and thoughts on who killed JFK. Alex told the crowd that she didn’t know who killed Kennedy - if she did, then she would have been speaking to us from her yacht in the Caribbean! This drew a hearty laugh from the crowd. She ended her talk by saying “sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction.”

Thrilled that she could add Toronto to her already hectic schedule, Alex mentioned that when she comes to Toronto again (she really likes it here) that I have to include a visit Niagara Falls. Alex was so happy with the books and brunch event that she is going to discuss the idea with some of her book store mates in London and see if they can do something similar.