On 7 September 2004, wrote:
: So - in the spirit of the upcoming Bouchercon - could
anyone please
: recommend some of Toronto's crime fiction? It would be nice
if we could
: come up with a nice little reading list. Despite it's size,
T.O. doesn't
: seem to have a body of hardboiled or noir writing
comparable to even
: medium-sized American cities... or am a wrong?
You're right, but when you consider Toronto's history and
reputation as a clean, upright, Protestant city where liquor
was a sin, it's not too surprising. We've had crime, but not
like Montreal. There's a fair bit of crime and mystery
writing set here, but most is fairly cozy. The two things I'd
recommend are the Inspector McDumont series by Hugh
Garner
(including DEATH IN DON MILLS, a title that always makes me
laugh) and the Charlie Salter series by Eric Wright. Both are
police procedurals, but Garner's are much stricter, while
Wright's are more casual and have a lot of Salter's personal
life. I'd say Salter is sort of medium-boiled and McDumont's
one tough egg. Both series go all over the city and cover
lots of neighbourhoods and their history and culture.
For bookstores, don't miss Jamie Frasier's place at 427A
Queen Street West
(above a restaurant called Tortilla Flats), which has lots of
paperbacks and some pulps, and The Sleuth of Baker Street at
1600 Bayview Avenue, which is the only mystery bookstore in
town. I find I have to rely on special orders and online
stores for a lot of new releases, though, including small
presses Point Blank and Hard Case.
Bill
-- William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.
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