Murder by the Book - Regina Public Library’s mystery discussion group
Canadian Mysteries II
Since Murder By the Book last did a session on Canadian murder mysteries in 2005 (Canadian
Mysteries I), Canadian crime fiction has come of age with a vengeance ! This list has more
than twice as many authors on it as our first one did, and the detectives (both professional and
amateur) are a much more diverse group of operatives, with locations ranging from sea to sea.
Because of the increased number of choices we had this time, we have limited this list to titles
published in 2000 or after, and to books or series not only written by Canadian authors but
which are also set in Canada. Where a series begins before 2000, we included only those titles
published in 2000 or later. The date restriction also meant leaving off the list some of the
early classics of Canadian mystery writing, so if one or more of those are still your favourites,
feel free to bring one of those to talk about.
Allin, Lou (realtor Belle Palmer, Sudbury area)
- Northern Winters are Murder (2000)
- Blackflies are Murder (2002)
- Bush Poodles Are Murder (2003)
- Murder, Eh?: (2006)
- Memories are Murder (2007)
Allin, Lou (Holly Martin, RCMP, set in B.C.)
- And on the Surface Die: a Holly Martin Mystery (2008) on order
Armstrong, Kelley - Exit Strategy (2007) Nadia Stafford, a cop-turned-hitwoman; set at a nature lodge in rural Ontario
Aubert, Rosemary (Ellis Portal, homeless, once a judge) First book: Free Reign
(1997)
- The Ferryman Will Be There (2001)
- Leave Me By Dying (2003)
- The Red Mass (2005)
Ballem, John Bishop - A Victim of Convenience (2006) Detective Chris Crane is
on the trail of a serial killer in Calgary
Benison, C.C. - Death in Cold Type (2005) Winnipeg report Leo Fabian looks
into the murder of a respected philanthropist
Bidulka, Anthony (Russell Quant, an ex-farmboy, half-Ukrainian, half-Irish, gay
private detective, in Saskatoon)
- Amuse Bouche (2003)
- Flight of Aquavit (2004)
- Tapas on the Ramblas (2005)
- Stain of the Berry (2007)
- Sundowner Ubuntu (2008)
Blair, Michael (Tom McCall, photographer and amateur sleuth; Vancouver)
- If Looks Could Kill: A Granville Island mystery (2001)
- Overexposed: A Granville Island mystery (2006)
- Depth of Field: A Granville Island mystery (2009) on order
Blair, Michael (Joe Schumacher “Joe Shoe” an ex-cop wrestler security guard
in Toronto)
- The Dells, a Joe Shoe mystery (2007)
Blechta, Rick (non-series)
- Shooting Straight in the Dark (2001) after Kit’s friends put an ad in
the personal column of a Toronto paper, one of them is murdered.
- When Hell Freezes Over (2006) it all starts when a woman jumps
into Michael’s car while he’s stopped at a light
- A Case of You (2008) when a jazz trio takes on a new vocalist,
things begin to go wrong
Blunt, Giles (John Cardinal, a police detective near Algonquin Bay, Ontario)
- Forty Words for Sorrow (2000)
- The Delicate Storm (2003)
- Black Fly Season (2005)
- By the Time You Read This (2006)
Boswell, Joan (social historian and amateur sleuth Hollis Grant, Ontario)
- Cut off his Tale (2005)
- Cut to the Quick (2007)
Bowen, Gail (Joanne Kilbourn, professor, Regina) First book: Deadly
Appearances (1990)
- Burying Ariel (2001)
- The Glass Coffin (2003)
- The Last Good Day (2004)
- The Endless Knot (2006)
- The Brutal Heart (2008)
Bradshaw, Mel - Quarrel with the Foe (2005) police detective Paul Shenstone
investigates the murder of a prominent industrialist, set in Toronto in
the Roaring 1920s
Capponi, Pat (Dana Leoni, a traumatized woman who has retreated from life to a
rough rooming house in Toronto)
- Last Stop Sunnyside (2006)
- The Corpse Will Keep (2008)
Carpenter, J.D. (homicide detective Campbell Young, Toronto) First book: The
Devil in Me (2001)
- Bright's Kill (2005)
- 74 Miles Away (2006)
- Twelve Trees (2008)
Carroll, Terry (small-town detective Carl North, newly promoted to sergeant,
St. Thomas, Ontario) First book: Body Contact (2006)
- Snow Candy (2007)
Chudley, Ron (non-series)
- Old Bones (2005) an ancient auto wreck is discovered in a remote
lake. Inside are the half-century-old remains of a traveler
- Stolen (2007) John Quarry is on a desperate search for his young
son who disappeared during an overnight stop in the Fraser
Canyon.
Curran, Thomas Rendell (Inspector Eric Stride of the Newfoundland
Constabulary, set in the late 1940s)
- Undertow (2002)
- The Rossiter File (2005)
Darion, R.F. (RCMP Staff Sargeant Dan Laurenson in the small town of St.
Michael) First book: Tip of the Halo (2000)
- Tao of Laurenson (2006)
De Houg, Adriane - Borderless Deceit (2007) a virus destroys the
communication network of the Canadian diplomatic service; the action
takes place in a world where privacy has disappeared, where hackers
circle each other in cyberspace, and where a mouse click can
orchestrate deceit in faraway places.
Delany, Vicki (Constable Molly Smith, in the fictional town of Trafalgar, B.C.)
- In the Shadow of the Glacier (2007)
Deverell, William - Mind Games (2003) Psychiatrist Dr. Tim Dare’s life is falling
apart: his wife has just left him, he’s being hauled before a
disciplinary committee, and now someone’s threatening to kill him
Deverell, William (Arthur Beauchamp, a scholarly, self-doubting lawyer retired
as a hobbyist farmer on Garibaldi Island, off the coast of British
Columbia)
- April Fool (2005)
- Kill All the Judges (2008)
Donaldson-Yarmey, Joan - Illegally Dead (2007) travel writer Elizabeth Oliver
gets involved when a human skeleton is found near the Crowsnest
Highway
Dudley, Karen (Robyn Devara, field biologist, Calgary) First book: Hoot to Kill
(1998)
- Ptarmageddon (2006)
Dwyer, Liam D. (Inspector Ian Murdoch in the Muskoka Murder Mystery
series; Ontario)
- Murder in Muskoka (2004)
- Gold & Greed (2005)
- Muskoka Cross & Double Cross (2006)
- Muskoka Death & Diamonds (2007)
Easton, Don (Jack Taggart, R.C.M.P. undercover intelligence officer)
- Loose Ends (2005)
- Above Ground (2007)
- Angel in the Full Moon (2008)
Emery, Ann (Halifax lawyer and blues musician Monty Collins, and his best
friend, a Catholic priest named Brennan Burke)
- Sign of the Cross (2006)
- Obit (2007)
- Barrington Street Blues (2008)
Engel, Howard (Benny Cooperman, private investigator, Ontario) First book:
The Suicide Murders (1980)
- The Cooperman Variations (2001)
- My Brother's Keeper (Eric Wright & Howard Engel) (2002)
- East of Suez (2008)
- Murder Sees the Light (2008) on order
Evans, Stanley (Coast Salish Aboriginal detective Silas Seaweed)
- Seaweed on the Street (2005)
- Seaweed on Ice (2006)
- Seaweed Under Water (2007)
Fielding, Joy - Lost (2003) a young woman disappears during Toronto’s
international film festival
Fielding, Joy - Puppet (2005) defense attorney Amanda Travis must face her
past after she finds out that her mother has shot and killed a
stranger in a Toronto hotel
Fradkin, Barbara (police inspector Michael Green, Ottawa)
- Do or Die (2000)
- Once upon a Time (2001)
- Mist Walker (2003)
- Fifth Son (2004)
- Honour Among Men (2006)
- Dream Chasers (2007)
Froese, Gayleen - Touch (2005) after a woman was drowned in the pool of
Anna's hotel, Anna lied to protect her own secrets and wound up part
of the murder investigation.
Gough, Laurence (Jack Willows and Claire Parker, police detectives in
Vancouver) First book: The Goldfish Bowl (1987)
- Funny Money (2000)
- Cloud of Suspects (2003)
Gutteridge, Don (Lieutenant Marc Edwards, in Toronto in the 1830s)
- Solemn Vows (2003)
- Turncoat (2003)
Hamilton, Lyn (Lara McClintock, an antiquities dealer and shop owner in
Toronto. Note: often the books don’t take place in Canada) First
book: The Xibalba Murders (1997)
- The Celtic Riddle (2000)
Several in-between
- The Chinese Alchemist (2007)
Harlick, R.J. (Meg Harris, an escapee from Toronto and a failed marriage who
retreats to the remote wilderness of West Quebec, where she fights
any injustice)
- Death’s Golden Whisper (2004)
- Red Ice for a Shroud (2006)
- The River Runs Orange (2008)
Harrison, Mike (Eddie Dancer, an ex-cop private investigator in Calgary)
- All Shook Up (2005)
- Wild Thing (2006)
- Ruby Tuesday (2007)
Hugelschaffer, Dave - Day into Night (2006) Porter Cassell, ex-Forest Ranger
turned professional fire investigator, Alberta
Hunter, Catherine (non-series)
- The Dead of Midnight (2001) Members of the book club at the
Mystery Au Lait Cafe are getting nervous as events from their
favorite murder mysteries start to come true.
- Queen of Diamonds (2006) reviewingtheevidence.com: Lorelei's
successful séances hinge on the talents of her sister, who has a
gift for creative dirt digging on Lorelei's desperate, and often
wealthy, clientele
Innes, Roy (RCMP Corporal Paul Blakemore, B.C.)
- Murder in the Monashees (2005)
- West End Murders (2008)
Jennings, Maureen (William Murdoch, a police detective in 1890s Toronto) First
book: Except the Dying (1997)
- Poor Tom is Cold (2001)
- Let Loose the Dogs (2003)
- Night’s Child (2005)
- Vices of my Blood (2006)
- A Journeyman to Grief (2007)
Jennings, Maureen (Christine Morris, forensic profiler)
- Does Your Mother Know? (2006)
- The K Handshape (2008)
Kingsmill, Suzanne - Forever Dead (2007) zoology professor Cordi O’Callaghan
is pulled into a nightmare when she discovers a bear-ravaged body
while on a whitewater canoe trip.
Levine, Allan (detective Sam Klein, a Jewish immigrant in Winnipeg’s North End
in the early 1900s)
- Sins of the Suffragette (2000)
- The Bolshevik’s Revenge (2002)
Lindquist, N.J. (Toronto police detectives Paul Manziak and Jacqueline Ryan;
he’s a white veteran, she’s a black rookie)
- Shaded Light (2000)
- Glitter of Diamonds (2007)
Mackay, Scott (Toronto homicide detectives Barry Gilbert and Joe Lombardo)
- Fall Guy (2001)
- Old Scores (2003)
Maffini, Mary Jane (lawyer/victims advocate Camilla MacPhee, Ottawa) First
book: Speak Ill of the Dead (1999)
- The Icing on the Corpse (2001)
- Little Boy Blues (2002)
- The Devil’s in the Details (2004)
- The Dead Don’t Get Out Much (2005)
Maffini, Mary Jane (failed romance writer and amateur sleuth Fiona Silk,
Quebec)
- Lament for a Lounge Lizard (2003)
- Too Hot to Handle (2007)
Malton, H. Mel (Polly Deacon, puppetmaker in Northern Ontario cottage
country) First book: Down in the Dumps (1998)
- Dead Cow in Aisle Three (2001)
- One Large Coffin to Go (2003)
McFetridge, John (not a series, though both are set in Toronto and have some
of the same characters; from the Quill & Quire review: “they
seamlessly mix police procedural with perp procedural”)
- Dirty Sweet (2006)
- Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (2008)
Miller, Jeffrey (Amicus Curiae, a cat who lives in the Toronto Law Society
Library)
- Murder at Osgoode Hall (2004)
- Murder’s Out of Tune (2005)
Miller, Scott Gregory - Silence invites the Dead (2005) journalist Myles
Sterling investigates the murder of Colonel John McTaggart, a man
he met in Rwanda during the genocide, set in Candle Lake,
Saskatchewan
Moss, John - Still Waters (2008) Toronto police detectives Miranda Quin and
David Morgan investigate the case of the corpse found floating in an
ornamental pond in Rosedale
Moss, Tara (Makedde Vanderwall, working as a model to put herself through
forensic psychology school in Vancouver; most of the series takes
place in Australia) First book: Fetish (2001)
- Split (2002) set in Vancouver
Nichol, James W. (Walker Devereaux, cab driver, Toronto)
- Midnight Cab (2002)
Nicholson, Deborah (Calgary theatre manager Kate Carpenter)
- Sins of the Mother (2005)
- Flirting with Disaster (2005)
- Liar, Liar (2006)
Owad, Stephen (non-series)
- Bodycheck (2005) someone is trying to kill an aging hockey player in
Alberta
- Brother’s Keeper (2007) journalist Vince Maguire has to return
from an assignment in Poland after his estranged brother gets
into a dangerous predicament in the Alberta oilsands
Penny, Louise (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache; Three Pines, Quebec)
- Still Life (2005)
- A Fatal Grace (2006)
- The Cruellest Month (2007)
- The Murder Stone (2008)
Reichs, Kathy (forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who works as a
consultant for the Montreal coroner’s office; not all of the series
takes place in Quebec, but the titles below do)
- Deadly Decisions (2000)
- Monday Morning (2004)
- Cross Bones (2005)
- Bones to Ashes (2007)
- Devil Bones (2008)
Rowse, Sharon - The Silk Train Murder (2007) John Granville and Sam Scott
are hired to guard a silk train bound for New York, but after a body
is discovered on the train, Sam is accused of murder; set in British
Columbia in the 1890s
Russell, David - Deadly Lessons (2006) teacher Winston Patrick gets involved
after a student at his school is murdered and another teacher is
accused of the killing
Ruttan, Sandra - What Burns Within (2008) three Vancouver cops are forced
to team up again after the traumatic case of child abduction which
almost destroyed them a year before is reopened
Ryan, Garry (Calgary police detective Lane)
- Queen’s Park (2004)
- The Lucky Elephant Restaurant (2006)
- A Hummingbird Dance (2008)
Schaffter, Peter - The Schumann Proof (2004) Toronto pianist Vikkan Lantry
is drawn into the investigation of a grisly double homicide that seems
to be connected to the discovery of a new song cycle by Robert
Schumann
Shrier, Howard - Buffalo Jump (2008) Toronto private investigator Jonah
Geller is approached for help by a contract killer who is having second
thoughts about his assignment to wipe out an entire family, including a
five-year-old boy
Soles, Caro (non-series)
- The Tangled Boy (2002) a gay teenager starts to receive threats
after he witnesses a murder
- Drag Queen in the Court of Death (2007) gay history professor
Michael Dunn-Barten is cleaning out his former lover’s apartment
when he discovers a mummified corpse in a trunk
Southin, Gwendolyn (middle-aged Margaret Spencer leaves a bad marriage and
decides to become an apprentice private investigator; set in
Vancouver in the 1950s)
- Death in a Family Way (2000, reprinted2008)
- In the Shadow of Death (2003, reprinted2008)
- Death on a Short Leash (2008)
Stewart, Kay & Chris Bullock - A Deadly Little List (2006) constable Danutia
Dranchuk investigates murder at a theatre festival on Salt Spring
Island, B.C.
Strange, Marc - Sucker Punch (2007) ex-boxer Joe Grundy is working as chief
of security for a Vancouver hotel when the heir to a million-dollar
fortune is killed there
Tardif, Cheryl Kaye - Divine Intervention (2004) Jasmine McLellan works for a
secret police unit investigating crime by means of psychic abilities;
set in Vancouver in 2021
Vargas, Fred (Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg of the French national
police is forced to hide out from the RCMP after he’s framed for a
murder while in Canada for DNA training) The rest of the series is
set in France. First book: The Chalk Circle Man
- Wash This Blood Clean from My Hand (2007)
Waddell, Ian - A Thirst to Die For (2002) B.C. Member of Parliament Clayton
Greene investigates a murder connected to illegal water exports, and
the trail seems to lead straight to the Prime Minister’s Office
Wolfe, Inger Ash - The Calling (2008) Detective-Inspector Hazel Micallef
investigates the puzzling murder of a terminally-ill woman; Port
Dundas, Ontario
Wright, Eric (part-time English professor Joe Barley, who moonlights as a
private investigator)
- The Kidnapping of Rosie Dawn (2000)
- The Hemingway Caper (2003)
Wright, Eric – A Killing Climate: the Collected Mystery Stories of Eric Wright
(2003)
Short Story Collections:
Bone Dance: A Collection of Musical Mysteries (2003)
Blood on the Holly: An Anthology of Christmas Crime (2007)
Bloody Words: The Anthology (2003)
Dead in the Water: An Anthology of Canadian Mystery Fiction (2006)
Going Out with a Bang: A Crime and Mystery Collection (2008)
Hard-Boiled Love: An Anthology of Noir Love (2003)
Mystery Ink : an Anthology of Mystery Stories by Ontario Writers (2007)
When Boomers Go Bad: A Crime and Mystery Collection (2005)
Credit to the Stop You’re Killing Me! website for some of the series descriptions.
January 2009