Uncivilized

Three years after a series of violent solar flares tore humanity from the comfort of civilization, Simone Hardy hunts the windswept bluffs of Assumption Valley for food. Instead, she finds Grace. Simone, a former wildlife enforcement officer, is better suited to survive in the hostile remnants of society than most. She and her ailing mother live in Elwood's Compound, sheltering and cooperating with a ragtag group of eccentric survivors. It's to Elwood's that Simone takes Grace, a young woman who lost her family to violence. After a warning of impending brutality comes to the compound, Simone and Grace are forced to take a dangerous journey. Joined by a smooth talking tradesman and a gruff rancher, they soon discover that not everyone mourns the loss of culture and stability. The cruel, the violent, and the psychopathic had no place in the old world, but they appear to be thriving in the new.

Catherine Williams earned a BA in psychology from Queen's University and a master's degree in criminological research from the University of Cambridge. She wrote her thesis on the emotional intelligence of psychopaths and drew on this knowledge when writing Uncivilized. Williams currently lives in Edmonton, Alberta, with her husband and dog. This is her first novel.