Adult Psychological Mystery slowly being solved by a man who is losing his memory. Ex-wife's younger husband disappeared from cabin by lake in Canadian wilderness. The solution comes in the last page. Read in 2000's. Spoiler alert.

[E.G.D.Tuddenham]

Psychological mystery novel in which a writer who is losing his mind to Alzheimer's or a similar neurodegenerative disease, tries to work out what happened to his ex-wife's younger husband, who disappeared from a cabin by a lake in the Canadian wilderness, possibly near Montreal. The gradual loss of mental capacity is well described. When the protagonist finally works out why and how the man who took his wife disappeared he has lost the plot. I thought the novel was by Mordecai Richler, but a careful study of his oeuvre contains no such novel - unless I have missed it. I read the book in the noughties but subsequently lost it in a house move. Plot spoiler alert - -
the solution is that the man who disappeared was swimming in the lake when a forest fire fighting plan scooped him up in its water scoop and dumped him out with the water onto a forest fire.

[Capn]

Not familiar with it myself, but have heard 'the punchline' often enough... hmm.

Some lists to scroll though:

Alzheimer's in Fiction:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Dementia:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...

Quebec:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Montreal specifically:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Ontario... because, you know, centre of universe and all...:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...

Was it definitely a Canadian author? Can you remember if it won a GG or other award?

[Kris]

E.G.D., what are the main characters' jobs? What type of writer is the man?

How did the main characters first meet?