Things were feeling heavy this month, and I needed an escapist read. For some people, an escapist book might mean an other-worldly fantasy epic, or a beachy romantic romp, but for me this wilderness expedition from Canada's foremost explorer fit the bill.

If you've read any of his previous books, you know that author Adam Shoalts writes about his solo paddling adventures in Canada's most remote places. In his book Alone Against the North: An Expedition into the Unknown, Shoalts writes about his unrelenting mission to explore a previously unmapped river near the Hudson Bay Lowlands. In Beyond the Trees: A Journey Alone Across Canada's Arctic, we again follow "Canada's real-life Indiana Jones" on a solo paddling trip from Yukon Territory to Nunavut.

Shoalts' adventures are awe-inspiring and indulgent reads for any wilderness enthusiast. In his most recent book, The Whisper on the Night Wind: The True History of a Wilderness Legend, readers are once again treated to a recounting of a daunting trek - this time with a friend, Zach - with a driving purpose to unravel a historic legend about a mythical beast in Traverspine, a now-ghost town in Labrador.

This book tweaks Shoalts' previous formula in all the right ways - the addition of another person allows for cheeky banter to pepper the narrative, and the backbone of the expedition lying in Canadian historical records allows for Shoalts to interject with some real science and history in order to build his theory for debunking the legend of the Traverspine Gorilla. All this is couched in what you expect from Adam Shoalts' adventure books: an exciting wilderness expedition, which is capped off with a satisfying conclusion to the mystery that propels Adam and Zach on their journey.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down; I can only hope that Shoalts is already planning his next expedition and will deliver with another great book to delight his readers - both armchair adventurers and seasoned canoe trippers alike.