The history of Toronto is peppered with countless tales of scandals and murder. This fascinating collection of crime stories features six chilling incidents that plagued the city's residents in days gone by. Exploring deadly love affairs, mysterious disappearances, and public hangings, these true accounts will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Crimes of passion, brutal slayings, infanticide, and revenge: here are eight gruesome and often tragic stories of women accused of murder. Many are little known or long forgotten, such as Mary Osborn, the first woman to be hanged in Upper Canada, executed for poisoning her disappointing husband. Read about the crimes and subsequent trials of Mary a …

Edwin Boyd woke up, rolled out of bed, and got ready to rob his first bank. He began his preparations by disguising himself. He shoved wads of cotton into his cheeks and nostrils, smeared black mascara on his eyebrows, and rubbed rouge on his cheeks.

This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: history, biography, true cri …

Murder, the Mob, and a 1964 1/2 Mustang set the stage for this debut crime novel
Dominic DiPietro paints cars in his brother's auto body shop in Hamilton by day. By night, he moonlights chopping cars for a brutal Romanian mobster, Bela Nastasi. Painting wrecked cars is easy for Dominic, but his true passion lies in classic cars. So when a friend d …

According to Statistics Canada, all crime rates -- including violent crime -- have been trending downward over the last twenty years. Yet the Harper government continues to insist Canadians are in the midst of a crime epidemic. This is their rationale for spending billions on new prisons, and for legislation that will put thousands more behind bars …

On the night of June 23, 1990, teenage friends Kyle Unger and John Beckett made a last-minute decision to attend a music festival near Roseisle, Manitoba. They were loners, not the popular kids at school. But on this night they seemed to finally fit in. They had fun, played games, drank, and hung around bonfires with other people. The next morning, …

For as long as they've been friends, Elias has been relying on his buddy Jordan. It's Jordan's mom who takes him in when his own mother is on an alcoholic binge; it's Jordan who acts as the brother and role model that Elias doesn't have. But now they've gone too far, and a schoolyard fight has landed them both in jail. The judge gives them a warni …

When a black teen was murdered in a Sydney, Cape Breton park late one night, his young companion, Donald Marshall Jr., became a prime suspect. Sydney police coached two teens to testify against Donald which helped convict him of a murder he did not commit. He spent 11 years in prison until he finally got a lucky break. Not only was he eventually ac …

Victor Malarek is known to most Canadians as a tough investigative journalist who is willing to delve into stories revealing the worst side of human nature. His previous books investigate the clients of prostitutes, and the women who break the hearts of Canadians whom they marry only to gain citizenship.

In this classic book, Malarek turns his inves …

In 1991, nineteen-year-old Tammy Marquardt gave birth to a baby boy, Kenneth. Two years later he was dead. Tammy was convicted of his murder and sent to prison for life. Her conviction hinged largely on the evidence given by Dr. Charles Smith, the pediatric forensic pathologist at Toronto's famed Hospital for Sick Children. At the time, Dr. Smith w …

"...despite flying bullets and cannon shots, Ben had his crew hastily tossing evidence over the side of the boat. Bullet-riddled, the Maritimas finally came to a stop, but even then, the crew continued to throw the beer overboard." This book will be especially fascinating for all readers interested in: the history of crime or prohibition. It is saf …

This is the story of the notorious, unsolved murder of the richest baronet in the British Empire, Sir Harry Oakes. The millionaire miner made his fortune from the rich mines in Northern Ontario. His wealth and lifestyle gave many a motive for murder. Rumours surrounding the murder case as well as prime details about the three suspects (including hi …

David Milgaard was a troubled kid, and he got into lots of trouble. Unfortunately, that made it easy for the Saskatoon police to brand him as a murderer. At seventeen, David Milgaard was arrested, jailed, and convicted for the rape and murder of a young nursing assistant, Gail Miller. He was sent to adult prison for life.

Throughout his twenty-three …

At fourteen, Steve Truscott was a typical teenager in rural Ontario in the fifties, mainly concerned about going fishing, playing football, and racing bikes with his friends. One summer evening, his twelve-year-old classmate, Lynne Harper, asked for a lift to the nearby highway on his bicycle and Steve agreed. Unfortunately, that made Steve the las …

The human story behind Canada's worst chemical fire
"Why you leaving Stelco?" the friend asked the rookie firefighter.
"'Cause it's hot and dirty and I don't like shifts."
Enter the world of Hamilton's firefighters. Theirs is a smouldering, combustible workplace, and in the effort to save lives they routinely put their own on the line. They know t …

At twenty-five, Rob Baltovich lost the love of his life, Elizabeth Bain. That was bad enough. Then he was arrested, jailed, sent to trial for murder, convicted, and sent to prison -- for life.

Throughout his years in prison, Rob maintained that he was innocent, refusing to admit to a crime he didn't commit. The result was he was never granted parole …

Toronto was Boomtown in the 1960s. The city was growing quickly, gobbling up farmland for suburbs, pushing through expressways, knocking down neighbourhoods to make way for high-rise apartments.
With the rapidly growing population, there was huge demand for new housing. Toronto needed apartments, lots of them. It was a perfect market for a new kin …

The towns and villages of Canada's East Coast are home to countless tales of drama and intrigue, some of which do not end happily. This fascinating collection of crime stories features many chilling incidents that have scarred the history of the Atlantic Provinces. Exploring deadly love affairs, mysterious disappearances, and murderous mutinies at …

Todd Lerner's never been much of a student, but he's got plenty of street smarts and he's a mean poker player. Todd's always had a thing for Claire, the most beautiful girl in grade eleven -- but Claire likes nice things. If Todd wants to date her, he'll need cash and plenty of it. Soon, a weekly poker game turns into a costly and dangerous obsessi …

For the first time, here's a no-holds-barred inside account of life for criminal gang members in cities and towns across Canada.

Mark Totten has slowly gained the confidence of gang members in many Canadian cities and small towns, and he knows enough to get the real goods from these men and women. In this book he tells the life stories -- so far -- …

The story of the Reesers, a Jewish family who emigrated to Canada from Czechoslovakia on the eve of WWII. They fled the Nazis and left behind four valuable oil paintings. It would take years for the Reeser family, led by matriarch Mari Reeser, and then her son Karl, to retrieve them. Along the way they had help from two unlikely sources - a mid-lev …

When corporations misbehave the consequences are devastating. The monetary costs of the 2008 financial crisis, a direct result of financial mismanagement, were in the trillions, and yet none of those responsible were held to account. The monetary costs of Criminal Code theft pale in comparison, and yet our prisons are filled with people who commit …

Detective Mervin Pratt is enjoying a quiet dinner at his favorite Italian restaurant when he’s called in to assist at a murder scene at a popular downtown nightclub. The manager has been stabbed to death in his office. The lead investigator, Detective Gordon, no friend of Pratt’s, sees it as an open-and-shut case. He has the suspect, motive and …

In July 1924, Scottish nursemaid Janet Smith was murdered in Vancouver’s wealthy Shaughnessy Heights. Her killer was never apprehended, but the investigation had shocking consequences. Twenty years later, Molly Justice was stabbed to death in a Saanich park. Her murderer has never been charged, even though police were virtually certain of his ide …

In his heyday, Jacques Normand was France's Public Enemy Number One, a glamorous rogue who captured the imagination of the entire country. As he led the police on a merry chase, he also made the career of Commissaire Louis Moreau, former head of the Paris Anti-gangs unit...now the commander of a small Police Judiciare force in a sleepy border town. …

By the author of The Crime on Cotes des Neiges, this is the second title in the Véhicule Press Ricochet series of hard-boiled detective novels set in Montreal. Originally published in 1952, Murder Over Dorval follows the investigations of hard-drinking, seasoned private dick, Russell Teed.

First Edition back cover:

In one hand she held a plane tick …

Nominated for a Commonwealth Writers Prize (Canada and Caribbean region), a Toronto Book Award and a Books in Canada/Amazon.ca First Novel Award.

March 6, 1934. Hundreds gather outside City Hall to celebrate the Toronto Centenary. In the crowd, pickpocket Mona Kantor and her partner, Chesler, are ‘in the tip,’ finding easy pickings among the j …

A body is found on the side of a highway. Naked, throat slashed, no identification. It disappears from the back of a police van and begins a strange odyssey, making its way, over the course of one early winter night, all around the northern town of Sudbury and through the lives and dreams of eleven very different people.

These eleven people Â? from …

Winner of the Best of the Edinburgh Fringe Prize

Althea: Do you believe in your own death? Every moment you are alive is endless and the present goes on and on with you inside it. Of course the end is truly coming, but it’s so far off, and in the meantime the spring bulbs need bringing out of the dark and the windows must be cleaned. These distant …

"From an early age, lying came easily to her. Everything she did was a performance, a role she played to create an illusion." - From the story of Evelyn Dick. Six chilling stories of notorious Ontario murders are recounted in this spine-tingling collection. From the pretty but dangerous Evelyn Dick to the mysterious murder of one of the Fathers of …

When top Crown attorney Thomas Matthews, a victim of racial profiling himself, is assigned to prosecute the accused against a Left-leaning white attorney, tensions mount and personal politics bubble to the surface. Cutting deep into the lawyers' private lives, their families and foibles are richly portrayed as an integral part of Toronto's shifting …

"WHO ARE YOU?" Monsieur Pierre (the immigration official) poses his usual question, but Heinrich's unusual answer sets in motion a metaphysical rollercoaster. Why would a simple statement of name and profession bring so much attention to an unassuming clockmaker? Maybe because that's two more things than anyone else in this place remembers…? Soon …

Luc Malarmé was one of France’s most popular rock stars when he was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend, beloved film star Miri Monette. After nine years in prison, he has just been released and come to live at his country retreat near Saint-Brin — Inspector Aliette Nouvelle’s home and base of operations. All Malarmé wants is to tend …

Survivors of terrible events are often portrayed as unsung heroes or tragic victims but rarely as complex human beings whose lives extend beyond the stories they have told. The contributors to Beyond Testimony and Trauma consider other ways to engage with survivors and their accounts based on valuable insights gained from their work on long-term or …

Globe and Mail Best 100 Book of 2015
The secret world of Mauritian street-gangs is not for the faint of heart. Fraught with peril and mischief, its inner workings are a mystery to the daughter of one of its most valued members: Serge, the Grand Menteur. A liar of exceptional caliber whose sole responsibility is to purposefully confuse police with …

At twenty-four, Guy Paul Morin was considered a bit strange. He still lived at home, drove his parents' car, kept bees in the backyard, and grew flowers to encourage the hives. He played the saxophone and clarinet in three bands and loved the swing music of the 1940s.

In the small Ontario town where he lived, this meant Guy Paul stood out. So when t …

This great collection of stories strange but true is for every reader who loves history -- and mystery. Edward Butts weaves true tales -- the wreck of the Francis and the weird connection to Edward, Duke of Kent; the sea voyage of Charles Coghlan's coffin; Captain Jack Randell the rum-runner; Al Capone's gunman Bugs Moran and more!

This collection o …

For over three hundred years, lawlessness in Canada flourished off Canada's east coast. Pirates roamed the North Atlantic, and master storyteller Harold Horwood recounts their action-filled careers, crimes and violent deaths. Privateerslicenced by governments to harass the enemyaimed to capture enemy ships and plunder their cargo.
Among the charac …

Eye-catching headlines such as “Sixty people charged in child-porn crackdown” explode in the media with alarming frequency, giving the impression that our communities are awash with perverts. But what exactly do we know about these crimes and those who commit them? Who produces child cyberpornography? Who distributes it? Who consumes it? And is …

Inspector Luc Vanier is drinking his way through Christmas Eve when he is called out to investigage the murder of five homeless people. His investigation takes hin into the backrooms of the Catholic Church, the boardrooms of Montreal’s business elite and the soup kitchens and back alleys of street life in winter.

Inspector Luc Vanier is back, and Montreal's Hochelaga district is in the throes of gentrification. Its drug dealers and prostitutes are disappearing, and Vanier, investigating the brutal death of one, suspects the neighbourhood cleanup may involve murdering the unwanted. The local Police Commander sees only declining crime rates and his improving …

Business is slow for Burlington, Vermont, private investigator John “Hack” Loomis, so when Loomis’s assistant Connie Noble asks him to look into the disappearance of her friend Belle Ryerson, Loomis agrees. Belle went missing after attending a meeting of a local UFO group run by a charismatic psychiatrist who treats people who believe they’ …

A Guatemalan journalist is kidnapped, and the only message from her kidnappers is the murder of her lawyer. In a race against time, Luc Vanier sets about reconstructing her life, through the sordid world of human trafficking, the secretive underbelly of a multinational mining corporation, and the hiding places of desperate refugees. When Vanier is …

Canada’s current, punishment-oriented system for dealing with young offenders does not work; it simply ensures that we jail more youth than any other country, including the United States. Green and Healy argue that a new approach is needed and offer ample local and global evidence to make the case for a shift to restorative justice. Tough on Kids …

Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel
A CBC Bookie Award: Mystery and Thriller, Finalist
A Quill & Quire Book of the Year
An Amazon.ca Editors’ Pick

In the first electrifying book of the series, Ian Hamilton introduces us to Ava Lee — the smartest, most stylish heroine in crime fiction since Lisbeth Salandar.

Ava Lee is a y …

Ava is called upon to protect her family’s future in the latest installment of the acclaimed Ava Lee novels.

Ava’s half-brother Michael is desperate to pull out of a multi-million-dollar real-estate deal in the territory of Macau. The developers are threatening to halt construction unless Michael and his business partner put up another $80 mill …

Ava Lee uncovers the secret world of art fraud in the third book in the wildly popular and bestselling Ava Lee series.

Uncle and Ava are summoned by Wong Changxing, “The Emperor of Hubei” and one of the most powerful men in China, when he discovers that the Fauvist paintings he recently acquired are in fact forgeries.

Ava uncovers a ring of fraud …

The fifth installment in the wildly popular Ava Lee series exposes the dark world of money laundering and the Italian mob.

Ava begins an investigation into what she thinks is a Ponzi scheme. The trail leads her to a bank in Indonesia that is run by a Scot, but in actuality is a front for an elaborate money-laundering operation for Italian mobsters. …

The seventh novel in the Ava Lee series finds Ava caught up in the election for the chairmanship of the Triad Societies.

It’s been three months since Uncle’s passing, and Ava is finally ready to begin her new life as a partner with May Ling Wong and her sister-in-law Amanda in their Three Sisters venture capital firm. Ava travels to Shanghai to …

The eighth novel in the Ava Lee series finds Ava caught in a labyrinth of high-level political corruption.

Ava is in Shanghai for the launch of the PÖ clothing line. She has invited Xu, and over the course of the glitzy event and a late-night dinner, she detects a certain hesitancy in him. He later confides that the Tsai family, headed by Tsai Lia …