The Bulldog and the Helix
A investigative reporter traces the role of DNA evidence in two groundbreaking murder cases involving young girls killed two decades apart in the same town.
In 1977, the industrial town of Port Alberni was shaken by the brutal murder of twelve-year-old Carolyn Lee, who had been abducted while walking home from her dance class. In 1996, the town was …
Explore the Rocky Shore with Sam and Crystal
A lavishly illustrated story that teaches children about the marine ecosystems of coastal Pacific rocky shores.
Siblings Crystal and Sam and their Aunt Kate and Uncle Charlie explore the tide pools of Eagle Cove, a sheltered inlet on the Northwest Pacific Coast. The children discover that you don’t have to go far to encounter a great variety of re …
In Too Deep
Three trouble-prone friends become pawns in a criminal cover-up after they discover an old bronze statue in a local pond.
When Cody and Eric are denied permission to pick up golf balls from the ponds at their local golf course, they decide to trespass on the property at night. But they end up finding a lot more than just golf balls in the murky wat …
The Law and the Lawless
At the end of the nineteenth century, Canada’s prairies were still sparsely populated. Crimes such as horse theft, random murders, and prison escapes were the order of the day, and the North West Mounted Police continued to rely on their horses, their contacts, and their wits to apprehend the culprits. By the mid-1930s, a sea change in technology …
Innocence on Trial
In early-1980s Vancouver, Ivan Henry was an ex-convict still adjusting to civilian life when he was detained on a break-and-enter charge. A short time later he found himself on trial for ten charges of sexual assault—crimes he vehemently denied committing. Henry spent twenty-seven years in prison before a 2010 DNA test proved his innocence and se …
Smugglers of the West
Do you think the smuggling of drugs and people is a new phenomenon in Canada’s west? Think again! Between the mid-19th and mid-20th centuries, many daring smugglers carried contraband goods and people into western Canada across the US–Canada border or into BC from Asia. Smugglers of the West tells the dramatic tales of the bold criminals who sm …
The Death of Albert Johnson
Albert Johnson was a loner, a deadly shot, who in 1932 triggered a gruelling manhunt that has become an Arctic legend. For over six weeks, amid blizzards and numbing cold, he eluded a posse of trappers, First Nations and RCMP, who for the very first time used a two-way radio and an airplane in their search.
Johnson was involved in four shoot-outs, …
Dirty Thirties Desperadoes
In October 1935, three Doukhobor farm boys embarked on a violent trail of robbery and murder that stretched from Manitoba to Alberta. By the time the spree ended near Banff, seven people were dead, including the fugitives and four law-enforcement officers. For the next 70 years, these "farm-boy killers" held the distinction of being the RCMP's dead …
CSI Alberta
Ten gripping tales of murder and missing persons show how skulls and skeletons reveal their secrets to forensic investigators. A skull is found on a scree slope high above the mirror-calm waters of Spray Lakes. Bones rumoured for years to be buried in a Medicine Hat backyard are finally dug up. The trussed and tortured skeletal remains of an unknow …
Reena
Shortlisted for the 2009 George Ryga Award.
This is the story of an average family that has never been the same . . . since its eldest child was swarmed and killed by her peers on a moonlit night, November 14, 1997 . . . It is the story of what sudden and horrific violence can do to a family, and how a family somehow remains intact in the face of …
Rescue Dogs
These stories of crime and rescue, by retired park warden and dog trainer Dale Portman, highlight the vital role dogs play in saving lives, upholding the law and recovering bodies. Portman describes the escapades of Canadian Rockies park warden Alfie Burstrom and his canine partner, Ginger—the first certified avalanche search team in North Americ …
Prairie Murders
These eight true tales explore the dark side of 20th-century prairie history. A Saskatchewan farmhouse is burned to the ground to conceal the brutal murders of a family of seven. A German prisoner-of-war camp in Medicine Hat is the scene of savage Nazi killings. A convicted killer is given a day pass out of prison for his birthday, only to escape a …
British Columbia Murders
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 …
Jade Fever
Beautiful, translucent and indestructible, jade has a mystique that's captivated people since Neolithic times. Stan Leaming, Canada's leading jade geologist, was fascinated by this unusual gem; he is credited with pioneering the emergence of the jade industry in British Columbia. Leaming shares his unique insight into the science and magic of jade …
Stolen Horses
Dorothy Pedersen sheds light on the world of equine crime in Canada. The horse-rustling business is alive and thriving, and dates to the 1800s. This collection of true stories is an intriguing look inside the nefarious aspect of the horse world and an account of the valiant people who track down stolen horses.
The Death of Albert Johnson
Albert Johnson was a loner, a deadly shot, who in 1932 triggered a gruelling manhunt that has become an Arctic legend. For over six weeks, amid blizzards and numbing cold, he eluded a posse of trappers, First Nations and RCMP, who for the very first time used a two-way radio and an airplane in their search.
Johnson was involved in four shoot-outs, …
