I'm off to Montreal in mid-March for a week. We've been doing some work on Canada and potential diaspora strategies and they're flying us over to present the findings and discuss them more fully. I like to try and read crime fiction set in the places I visit, but I'm not really aware of novels set in Montreal or Quebec more broadly. Since I probably need to think about ordering books now if I'm to have them in good time for when I travel, I thought I'd post to see if anyone had any recommendations? I'm interested in any crime sub-genre.Update:
My review of The Main by Trevanian is here.
My review of Still Life by Lousie Penny is here.
7 comments:
There's a database for crime fiction in Canada, but I don't know how specific (regionally) it is:
http://www.brocku.ca/crimefictioncanada/
And there is an issue of Mystery Readers' Journal dedicated to articles about Canadian crime fiction here:
http://www.mysteryreaders.org/Issues/canada.html
I enjoyed reading The Midnight Cab by James Nicholl, mainly set in Toronto.
http://petrona.typepad.com/petrona/2010/09/book-review-midnight-cab-by-james-w-nichol.html
several of Kathy Reichs' earlier novels take place in Montreal (her protagonist works half the year in Montreal and half the year in the US). But I can't remember which ones are which
Other than that I'm fresh out of ideas - none of the 11 books I've read so far for the Canadian challenge have been set in Montreal or Quebec in general - pity because it's the prettiest part of the country by far
There is a Crime Writers of Canada website, where books that were shortlisted for the 2010 Arthur Ellis prize are listed.
Also, the wonderful French writer, Fred Vargas, who writes a series about the disheveled, but brilliant Inspector Adamsberg, sets a substantial part of "Wash this Blood Clean from my Hands," in Montreal. The part set in Montreal contains a hilarious scene, won't say any more.
Not exactly Montreal, but Robert Rotenberg sets "Old City Hall," in Toronto. It's a police procedural sort of, with interesting characters.
Louise Penny's Inspector Gamache series is set in Quebec. I find it a little on the cozy side tbh though.
I read one of the Kathy Reichs books set in Montreal, Bones to Ashes (2007) -- reviewed here: http://www.howmysterious.com/2010/04/22/forensic-detectives-young-and-older/
Thanks everyone. I'll try one of Kathy Reichs - probably Death du Jour. John Farrow's City of Ice and Trevanian's The Main.
Rob, check out Vigilante Patsy, by Ronald Kent it is a Montreal Irish crime fiction based in Point St. Charles.
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