Perry Chafe's Closer by Sea is part mystery, part east coast coming-of-age story — read an excerpt now
CBC Books | Posted: January 4, 2023 3:00 PM | Last Updated: July 10, 2023
Closer by Sea is a thriller about a boy facing the hard realities of growing up
Perry Chafe is a TV writer producer and songwriter from St. John's. Perry co-created and was head writer and showrunner of CBC TV series Republic of Doyle. He is currently a writer and producer on the CBC series Son of a Critch. Season two of the hit comedy premieres on CBC TV and CBC Gem on Jan. 3, 2023.
Chafe's debut novel Closer by Sea is a coming-of-age story set in a small island community dealing with a local fishing industry on the brink of collapse. It's the early 1990s and 12-year-old Pierce Jacobs is struggling to come to terms with his fisherman father's death at sea. He's determined to save up enough to fix his dad's boat and take it out to sea himself.
When the community is hit hard by the disappearance of a teenaged girl named Anna, Pierce and a group of friends embark on an epic journey to find her. Along the way, they encounter merciless bullies, brutal storms and magnificent sea creatures.
As the mystery unravels, Pierce is forced to abandon his childlike innocence and face the harsh realities of growing up.
Closer by Sea is on the CBC Books summer reading list.
Read an excerpt of Closer by Sea below.
"You coming or going?" a female voice called down from above.
I looked up to see her standing there. She stepped closer, blocking the glare from the sun.
Anna Tessier. Twelve years old to my nine.
"I don't know what I'm doing," I replied.
"You don't know if you're coming or going?" She chuckled. "Boys."
"I might go. Or I might stay," I said, my knuckles white from gripping the rungs so tightly.
Anna knelt down and extended her hand to me.
"Come back up. You can decide the rest later."
I released one hand from the ladder and grabbed hers. It was warm and surprisingly strong. On her wrist was a wide silver cuff bracelet that reflected light into my eyes, causing me to squint a little.
I was face-to-face with her, with Anna. Her deep blue eyes studied me carefully under the brilliant sun until a smile formed on her full lips. I smiled back, until my foot slipped off the final rung.
With her help, I began my ascent. At the top of the ladder, I stopped. I was face-to-face with her, with Anna. Her deep blue eyes studied me carefully under the brilliant sun until a smile formed on her full lips. I smiled back, until my foot slipped off the final rung.
"Easy now," Anna said as she held me fast, her slender frame much stronger than mine.
"You don't want to go swimming in that."
We peered down to the dark, churning water. Back then, undesired parts of the fish, the guts and organs, found their way into the harbour as the fishermen processed their catch. You could see pieces rotting away in the water. If the gulls or rats didn't consume the flesh, the maggots would make short work of it all. There was also a layer of sludge from some of the boats' diesel engines. It gave the water a slick, ominous hue. Needless to say, it was not a place anyone would want to fall in. I felt relieved when Anna held on to my arm as I climbed back up to the wharf.
Of course, I knew who she was and she kind of knew who I was. But being three years older meant that she went to the school in a larger town across the way on the main island of Newfoundland, or the mainland as we called it, so we'd never spoken before.
"Pierce, right?" she asked as she brushed back her jet-black hair from her lightly freckled face. "Sorry about your dad."
"They didn't find him," I said, looking down at my feet. "They gave up."
"So you were going to go look for him yourself?" she asked. Her face tightened, causing her high cheekbones to become even more pronounced. I didn't respond.
"I get it," she said as she adjusted her sky-blue hiking backpack that had an oversized spiral notebook sticking out the top. "I'd probably do the same if it was my dad." She pointed to the fluffy, cumulus clouds above the horizon. "Oh my. Dark clouds. There's a storm coming."
"It looks pretty clear to me," I replied. I knew what storm clouds looked like. Everyone living here did, including Anna.
"Those clouds are definitely gray," she said, doubling down on the lie. "You might wanna wait a couple of days."
"Probably a good idea," I replied, relieved.
She caught me staring at the small yellow button on her jacket. At first glance, it looked like one of those happy-face images I'd seen on T-shirts. But this one was different. It had the same two black dots for eyes, but it sported a frown instead of a smile. I'd never seen one like it before.
I began to wonder what she was doing at the wharf on that quiet Sunday afternoon. I would find out the next time we crossed paths. I would see Anna twice more before she too would go missing.
Anna climbed down the ladder into the boat, retrieved my backpack, and shot back up as quickly as she went down.
"Don't forget this," she said, handing me my bag. Then she turned and started walking away. But after a few steps she turned again and walked back toward me.
She took off the frowny-face button from her coat and pinned it to my blue windbreaker.
"Here," she said. "Hold on to this for me."
She turned once more and really did walk away. I began to wonder what she was doing at the wharf on that quiet Sunday afternoon. I would find out the next time we crossed paths. I would see Anna twice more before she too would go missing.
Excerpted from Closer By Sea. Copyright © 2023 by Perry Chafe. Excerpted by permission of Scribner Canada, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.