Crime Writers of Canada's Podcast

Erik D’Souza speaks with author Melodie Campbell about her Merry Widow Murders series set in the 1920s. Melodie discusses her latest book, The Pharaoh’s Cursed Murders (published by Cormorant Books), which features her protagonist, Lady Revelstoke, solving a murder aboard a cruise ship bound for Egypt while exploring themes of women’s rights and the ethics of archaeological digs. She explains how she incorporates ...

Erik D’Souza interviews Vicki Grant, discussing her book, Death by Whoopi Cushion (published byTundra Books), which is nominated for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book, sponsored by Superior Shores Press. They examine Vicki's writing approach for reluctant readers, her character Manya Brown, and the humor-mystery-science balance in the book, and briefly touch on Vicki's adult mystery novel, These Are the Fireworks. 

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  Erik D’Souza interviews Lorna Poplak about her book, On the Lamb, Great and Not-So-Great Escapes from Prison" (published by Dundurn Press), which is nominated for The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book, sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton). Lorna discusses fascinating prison escape stories and her research methods. Lorna describes her book's focus on both the prison systems and the human...

Erik D’Souza interviews Angela Douglas, whose debut novel, Every Fall (published by EOB Publishing), is nominated for Best Crime Novel Set in Canada, sponsored by Shaftesbury.  They discuss the book's plot, which follows a police officer and his wife as they move to a new house and experience strange phenomena, told from both characters' perspectives. Angela explains how the story is set in fictional Canadian cities and ...

Erik D'Souza interviews Barbara Stokes, discussing her nomination for Best Unpublished Crime Novel manuscript written by an unpublished author, sponsored by ECW Press, for her manuscript, Death Scent. Barbara discusses her character Doc, a retired Black Lab cadaver dog, and the protagonist Em, a former RCMP officer turned private detective. Barbara explained that her writing takes a gritty approach with a feminist agenda, and she i...

Cette entrevue en français a eu lieu entre Francisca Bullock et Steve Laflamme, finaliste du Prix d'excellence 2026 de Crime Writers of Canada dans la catégorie Meilleur livre policier en langue française, commandité par Carrick Publishing, pour son roman La mémoire du labyrinthe (publié chez Libre Expression).

 Bio

 Steve Laflamme enseigne la littérature (policière, entre autres) au Cégep de Sainte-Foy, à Québec. Il est l&...

Erik D'Souza interviews Jan Field about her novel, Yesterday Lies (published by La Cloche Publishing), which has been nominated for Best Crime First Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell. They discuss the novel's 1994 Northern Ontario setting, the unique crime scene involving a body in a tree, and the importance of family in the story. Jan explains her decision to keep the story in the 1990s era and describes her upcoming second boo...

Erik D'Souza interviews Kathleen Lippa, discussing her book, The Arctic Predator: The Crimes of Edward Horn Against Children in Canada's North (published by Dundurn Press), nominated for the Brass Knuckles Award for Best Non-Fiction Crime Book, sponsored by David Reid Simpson Law Firm (Hamilton). Kathleen explains that Ed Horn was a school teacher and principal who sexually abused Inuit children in the Canadian Arctic from 1971 to ...

Erik D'Souza interviews Rick Mofina, the recipient of the 2026 Grand Master Award from Crime Writers of Canada, to discuss his career and new book, One Second Away. Rick explains that his latest thriller represents a departure from his recent work, combining elements of global techno-thrillers with domestic suspense, featuring an ordinary family caught up in extraordinary circumstances when their child goes missing during an airlin...

Erik D'Souza interviews C.S. Porter, discussing his nominated novel, Salt on Her Tongue (published by Vagrant Press), for the Best Novel Set in Canada Award, sponsored by Shaftesbury. They discuss Porter's detective character, Kes Morris, who has taken a leave of absence and is given what's intended to be an easy missing person. The conversation covered the unique setting of the Bay of Fundy, which Porter describes as dangerous and...

Erik D'Souza interviews A.L. Wahdel about his nomination for Best First Crime Novel, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, for his debut book, Too Dark for the Light (published by Butterfly 80 Publishing ). Wahdel, a police officer with two decades of experience, discusses his writing process, his decision to set the story in Toronto, and his approach to authentic police-procedural elements while maintaining entertainment value. They disc...

Erik D'Souza speaks with Shelley Adina about her nomination for the Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery for, The Engineer's Nemesis (published by Moonshell Books). Shelley discusses her steampunk mystery series featuring Lady Georgia Brunel and her aunt Millicent, in which the women solve cases while traveling on an airship. She explains her writing process, including her decision to write mysteries alongside her successful...

Erik D'Souza interviews Ray Critch, a lawyer from St. John's, Newfoundland, who has been nominated for the Best First Crime Novel Award, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, for his book, The Beltane Massacre (published by Breakwater Books). They explore Ray's approach to writing about grief and high-stakes mystery, his experience with public speaking, and his plans to continue writing while maintaining his legal career. Ray also shared ...

Erik D’Souza interviews Tamara L. Miller, a nominee for the Peter Robinson Award for Best Crime Novel for her debut book, Into the Fall (published by Thomas and Mercer). They discuss how Miller's camping trip in Ontario inspired the novel's premise about a woman stranded in the wilderness after her husband disappears. Miller shares her background, her transition from academic and government policy writing to crime fiction, an...

Erik D’Souza interviews Laury Silvers, discussing her nomination for the Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery sponsored by Jane Doe, for her book, Some Justice. The interview covers Silvers' background as a retired professor of early Islam and Sufism, her decision to set her novels in Baghdad in 1912, and the evolution of writing styles from her Sufi Mysteries Quartet to the new Ghazi Amar Medieval Mysteries series. Th...

Erik D’Souza interviews Alice Fitzpatrick about her nomination for the Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery, sponsored by Jane Doe, for her novel A Dark Death (Published by Stonehouse Publishing. She explains her writing process of A Dark Death, which features archaeological elements and explores the motivations of seemingly ordinary people to commit murder. The conversation also covers her upcoming Christmas-themed my...

Erik D’Souza interviews Barbara Fradkin about the nomination of her story, Cold Shock, which appears in A Capital Mystery Anthology, published by Ottawa Press and Publishing. They explored Barbara's fascination with why ordinary people resort to desperate actions, her creation of tension and atmosphere in beautiful settings such as the Rideau River, and her long-running Inspector Green series set in Ottawa. 

Bio

Barbara Fr...

Erik D’Souza interviews Madeleine Harris-Callway, discussing her nomination for the story, The Lost Diner (published in Pulp Literature issue 47) in the Best Crime Short Stories category, sponsored by Crime Writers of Canada. Madeleine explains her story about a 62-year-old woman driving cars across the border for a criminal organization, sharing her character's background as a former repo specialist. Madeleine also updates u...

Erik D'Souza interviews Iona Whishaw, whose novel, The Cost of a Hostage (Published by TouchWood Editions), is nominated for the Whodunit Award for Best Traditional Mystery, sponsored by Jane Doe. They discuss her Lane Winslow mystery series set in 1940s British Columbia. They explored how Lane's character evolved from being inspired by Iona's mother to developing her own distinct personality. 

Bio

Iona Whishaw is a Canadian aut...