This story is published in A Capital Mystery II, a second Ottawa-based mystery anthology featuring contributions from 23 authors including Brenda Chapman and Mike Martin. Two Ottawa Police detectives are forced to overcome personal differences to solve the bizarre murder of a denturist in his clinic. The crime does not make sense. And the more they learn, the more mysterious the circumstances become.

This story is published in the best-selling mystery anthology titled A Capital Mystery.

Detective Constable Isabelle Paradis’ first assignment in plain clothes looks like a straightforward smash-and-grab at Bytown Books. Not much was taken from the shop, just a book describing the construction of the Rideau Canal and less than a hundred dollars in cash.

Isabelle finds physical evidence, corroborated by an eye witness, identifying a likely suspect. But her new boss, Detective Sergeant Devan Brown, isn’t convinced. He believes the suspect is innocent, and that the cash was only stolen to distract investigators from the true motive for the crime—the book. So to avoid arresting a man for a crime he didn’t commit, they need to figure out why someone would want to steal a book about building the Rideau Canal in the 1800’s.

My first published short story, Leaves in a Forest, is now available in the January 2023 addition of Mystery Magazine. 

In this police procedural, the main the character is ordered to take charge of a homicide on his first shift as a detective, for a crime scene that makes no sense. And just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, he meets his new partner.