It’s a pleasure to showcase Crimeucopia Presents: Canadian Chronicles from Murderous Ink Press. This lively collection brings together distinctive Canadian voices in stories that vary widely in setting, tone, and approach to crime. From the quietly unsettling to the darkly humorous, the anthology offers a glimpse at just how broad and inventive Canadian crime fiction can be.
So, let’s take a closer look at a few of the stories included in the collection.
Susan Daly: Borderline Illegal
Susan Daly takes that most Canadian of settings, the cottage weekend, and gives it a nicely mischievous criminal edge.
A group of women relaxing on the dock with Prosecco and Cheezies begin sharing stories about the questionable things they did when they were younger. What starts as friendly reminiscing, Borderline Illegal carries the delicious suggestion that one confession may be considerably more serious than the others.
Daly has a knack for finding darkness beneath ordinary, comfortable lives, and the contrast between the relaxed cottage atmosphere and youthful wrongdoing makes this an especially appealing premise. A light touch, an unmistakably Canadian setting, and just enough unease to keep the reader thinking about those border crossings.
JW Connor: The Comedian
Here we have a diamond heist with choices around the known and unknow within the dark, criminal underbelly. It delivers a compelling and atmospheric exercise in localized noir. There’s sense of isolation, balanced by the author’s sharp, cynical wit and tight pacing in this story.
The title plays cleverly into the structure as Connors maneuvers the plot with a dark, cynical wit. The Comedian relies on the kind of gallows humor that leaves you feeling a bit uneasy about why you’re smiling, and where turn-about is always fair play.
David Jón Fuller: Not Fit to Print
One of the more unusual selections in the anthology, David Jón Fuller’s Not Fit to Print blends crime fiction with the supernatural. Set in 1960s Winnipeg, the story introduces Marion Greyeyes, a working-class First Nations woman who also happens to be a werewolf.
No gimmicks here, Fuller uses the supernatural elements alongside questions of class, prejudice and personal conflict, creating a mystery that feels grounded even when its characters most definitely are not. Strange, and imaginative, and healing… that becomes something unexpected.
SPECIAL MENTION – Rosemary McCracken
McCracken’s contribution is an appealing choice for a collection designed to show just how varied Canadian crime fiction can be. One of her strengths is her ability to take ordinary people and place them in situations that gradually become anything but ordinary.
I won’t say too much about The Millennium Project, except this: everyone has dreams, and sometimes those dreams result in unexpected actions. Read it to discover exactly what I’m alluding to.
In the meantime, if you haven’t yet discovered McCracken’s excellent Pat Tierney series, you can learn more about it here.
~ June Lorraine Roberts
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