by donalee Moulton

• Cardinal is a paranormal mystery set in Nova Scotia — part of the Paranormal Canadiana Collection. It builds around the story of Catherine McIntosh, a little girl who died on April 23, 1889, one month short of her ninth birthday. Many believe Catherine is still with us today, and if you visit her grave in Pictou County, as I did, you will see the tumble of wonderful gifts people have left in her memory. Catherine introduced me to another world, and her story is the heartbeat of the book, my first paranormal mystery.
  
• Private Detective E.M. Montogomery also makes her first book-length appearance in Cardinal.  (Can you guess what E.M. stands for?) The Halifax-based investigator has previously appeared in eight short stories, which have been published in anthologies and magazines across Canada and the U.S. When I was thinking about a main character to interact with Catherine and find a missing flesh-and-blood woman, Em emerged as the frontrunner. Below she meets her client for the first time – and learns this case will not be business as usual.

Day One

Saturday, April 25^th

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Gord Gillis is 62. He’s a retired firefighter. He looks like a 62-year-old firefighter, I think. Now admittedly, I have no idea what a 62-year-old firefighter should look like. Except he should look like Gord Gillis.

It’s a circular argument, and it’s giving me a headache. This is the stage in the client interview where the private detective, that would be me, leans back, nods, makes soothing sounds, and shakes their head in sympathy. I learned this technique when I was a cop with the Halifax Regional Police, and it has served me well as sole owner and employee of Bold Pursuit, although, at the moment, there is no boldness or pursuing required. Just a lot of nodding.

Gord needs to get his fear out before he can move on to dealing with that fear. Which is why I am sitting at a table in the Easy Street Diner sipping a now-cold decaf coffee. And nodding. It’s time to move on. I lean forward and give Gord’s hand, the one hugging his mug for dear life, a sympathetic pat.

“Nell sounds wonderful,” I say.

“Ms. Montgomery, you have to believe me. She would never leave me.” Gord says this emphatically. A hint of spittle makes its way to the corner of his lips. A hint of uncertainty travels with it.

I give Gord’s hand another gentle pat. I tell him to call me Em, like we are old friends enjoying an early morning chat. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Tell me everything you know. Even the tiniest detail can be helpful.”

Gord has a lot of details, and in the end, very little information to help me locate his missing wife. Nell went to Pictou, about a two-hour drive from Halifax, on Monday. She’s trying to find a brother she didn’t know existed until her mother died a few months ago. The deal was Nell would visit the newspaper office, the library, and the genealogy centre. She also intended to talk to the locals to see if any of them knew anything about her brother. She was also going to have lunch with a former colleague from the RCMP.

“It was a long shot, but Nell felt she had to go.” Gord picks at his napkin, turns and looks out the window. “She said he was family. You don’t turn your back on family.”

“Someone did,” I point out softly.

Gord brings his eyes and his attention back to the table. “Nell’s mother died in January. MAID. She had stomach cancer and opted for an assisted death. That gave her time to get her affairs in order.”

I wait. Unburdening takes time. I also learned this when I was a cop. It’s Interrogation 101. Gord plucks at his napkin. He is reminding himself he is not sharing family secrets; he is helping to find his missing wife. “Nell’s father got a girl pregnant when they were both sixteen. We’re not sure what happened to the baby. All we know is the baby was a boy, and he was born in the spring of 1955.”

Gord returns to plucking the napkin, or what is left of it. “It sounds so silly when I say it out loud, but we thought that might be enough to find him. Pictou is small, like 3,000 people small. And Nell had to try.”

It’s clear I’m heading to Pictou, and I’d like to get under way as quickly as possible. Gord will have to be nudged. I reach over and take the napkin away from him. I wad it in a ball and toss it on my plate. “What makes you think Nell is missing?”

Gord reaches for what is left of his napkin. He looks down at the shredded paper. Finally, he looks up at me. “The ghost.”

By donalee Moulton

            Writers are always looking to get the word out about their latest book. Readers are always looking for information about their favorite authors and looking to discover new favorites. Media plays a key role in getting information into everyone’s hands.

            As a freelance journalist and a communications director, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make stories appealing to reporters. Now I find myself doing the same thing as a mystery writer. In part, that’s why a friend and I wrote Newsworthy: Media Relations Without the Spin (Business Expert Press). I thought I’d share some of what we discuss with you.

We talk about news as if it’s one thing. Did you hear the news? According to the news …. It was in the news. News isn’t one thing. It’s many things. In particular, it is two things: hard and soft.

Hard news is often what draws us in and keeps us reading, listening, and watching. You’ll find it on the front page, at the start of a newscast, and at the top of the hour. Hard news is big news: controversy and crisis. It is immediate, and it is important. It’s often called “breaking news.”

Soft news does not send us scrambling. It is the intersection between information and entertainment. It is not usually immediate—you can learn about the signs of stroke or how to make an easy apple pie without apples at any point in time—and it is increasingly about personalities, famous and otherwise.

Many companies have carved a niche in the soft news market. Dove, for example, is known for its “Real Beauty” campaign, which uses social media and other media platforms to promote body positivity and self-acceptance, going beyond traditional product marketing. Airbnb, Inc., uses social media and its blog to share stories about travel, local culture, and the experiences its platform facilitates, reinforcing its brand values and creating a sense of community.

To understand the distinction between hard and soft news, take a look at these headlines: 

Hard news:
20% Increase in Leafy Green Consumption Among Teens

Soft news:
Why Spinach Smoothies Are Suddenly Cool — Even for Picky Eaters

Hard news:
School Board Introduces Weight Limits for Student Backpacks

Soft news:
The Weirdest Things Teachers Have Found in Student Backpacks

Topics and timeliness are only two of the features that serve to classify news as hard or soft. How the story is told also differs. Hard news almost invariably starts up front with the “headline” then provides the details to flesh out the headline. Soft news has more options; it can be more creative and more flexible in its structure and content.

Kinda like a good mystery.

by donalee Moulton

My new book Melt is a mystery. It’s also a story about friendship. And more. I thought I’d share with you 10 fun facts about the people who populate these pages.

1. There is power in numbers.

In my previous books, there was a main character. In this book, there are three. Someone asked me which of the triad was the most important. The answer: no one. Each woman—Charlene, Lexie, and Woo Woo—is equally significant and plays a key role. They also, as friends, become greater than the individual sum of their parts.

2. There is power in PPT.

When you write a book, characters develop personality quirks you hadn’t anticipated. One character has a penchant for PowerPoint. Hint: It’s the auditor.

3. There is power in professionalism.

I did not do a detailed backstory for the three protagonists when they were first introduced in Bind. Much of how the characters evolved was organic. They seemed to tell me who they were—and what they did for a living. Can you guess who is the auditor, the comedian, the reflexologist?

4. There is power in having a puppy.

This is my first cast of characters that features a pet. Madoff is the auditor’s dog, but he becomes everyone’s favorite ball of fur, and everyone is active in his life: walking him, rubbing his belly, giving him well-deserved treats, and tucking him in when he stays up past his bedtime.

5. There is power in pasta.

As with the first book, food plays a central role in Melt. It brings the women and their friends together for pleasure, and for less-pleasurable activities. The food that is dished up also serves as a way of introducing readers to some favorite restaurants, bakeries, and delis in Halifax.

6. There is power in the pub.

In the first book, the two detectives meet for beer, burgers, and business in a pub. Pubs are part of the fabric of life in Nova Scotia. They are places to unwind, eat good food at good prices, and sip something hoppy (or otherwise). In Melt, the detectives continue to gather at the Dry Dock. In some cases, they’re joined by the three women who have also become part of the fabric of their lives.

7. There is power in a punchline.

To my surprise, and perhaps my chagrin, Melt is funny. I should be neither surprised nor chagrined by this because my writing often has an edge to it. I just didn’t see it turning up here. The characters knew better.

8. There is power in place.

I grew up and live in Nova Scotia. It made sense to locate Charlene, Lexie, Woo Woo, and their friends here. What I didn’t realize was how knowing a place well would transfer to the page. Many readers have told me how much they enjoy seeing where they live come to life. Many people  who don’t live here have told me they feel like they have come to know Nova Scotia as locals know it.

9. There is power in poetry.

For the first time, poetry makes its way into one of my mystery books. It’s an inside joke admittedly, but it is also a reminder that poetry isn’t something we learn in high school and leave behind. If we’re lucky, it’s something we take with us as life unfolds.

10. There is power in a provocative first line.

The first line for Melt came to me quickly. It made me chuckle, and it set the scene for the opening chapter. I second guessed myself though wondering if the line was too much. In the end, I ended up where I started. Happily. Let me know what you think.

by donalee Moulton

Last month we tried our hand at a fun quiz about watches—central to the mystery that unfolds in Bind.  Well, the questions keep coming; only this time the focus is on thievery.

Try your hand at these. Scroll down for the answers.

QUESTIONS:

#1: What is the largest theft in Canadian history?

A. The “Canadian Maple Syrup Heist” in 2011-2012
B. The “Pearson Airport Gold Heist” in 2023
C. The “Costco Cigarette Heist”in 2004

#2: Which Canadian city was once known as the bank robbery capital of North America?

A. Toronto (or T-Dot as the cool kids say)
B. Vancouver (or Raincity as the locals call it)
C. Montreal (the City of Saints, unofficially of course)

#3: Which Canadian criminal was known as the Flying Bandit?

A. Ken Leishman, convicted gold robber
B. Gilbert Galvan Jr., convicted bank robber
C. Johnson Aziga, convicted murderer

#4: Who is Canada’s most infamous female bank robber?

A. Machine Gun Molly (died after being shot by police)
B. The Church Lady Bandit (convicted of robbing 11 banks)
C. Ma Barker (matriarch of a bank robbing family)

ANSWERS:

Question #1: The answer is A. Over several months in 2011 & 2012, thieves stole nearly 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup from a storage facility in Quebec (value of about $30 million in 2024). The theft was featured in the Netflix documentary series Dirty Money  in 2018 (Season 1, Episode 5).

Question #2: The answer is C. From the 1950s to the 1970s, Montreal was the bank robbery capital of North America, with more bank robberies per year than even New York and Los Angeles. This was largely due to the light sentences handed down by Quebec courts—5 years in prison for convicted thieves compared to the 20 years in prison normally handed down by American courts.

Question #3: The answer is A & B. Canada had two Flying Bandits! The first was Kenny Leishman who masterminded the biggest gold heist in Canadian history—until the Pearson Airport Heist in 2023. He earned the nickname The Flying Bandit after he escaped from prison, stole a plane, and flew to the US where he was arrested. The second was Gilbert Galvan Jr., an American who escaped from a Michigan jail and fled to Canada where he robbed 59 banks and jewelry stores.  He was dubbed The Flying Bandit for his habit of flying from city to city to rob banks. He robbed banks in every Canadian province except PEI and Newfoundland. 

Johnson Aziga is the first person to be charged and convicted of first-degree murder in Canada for spreading HIV, after two women he had infected without their knowledge died.

Question #4: The answer is A. Monica Proietti, better known as Machine Gun Molly, was a Canadian bank robber from Montreal. She was suspected of masterminding at least 20 bank robberies during her short life. On September 19, 1967, she robbed a Montreal credit union with two accomplices. That set off a high-speed chase that ended with her being shot and killed by police. It’s been said that “If Al Capone had had a daughter, he would have wanted her to be Monique Proietti.”

I hope you were challenged by the questions and intrigued by the answers. Let me know how you did.

by donalee Moulton

I’ve been doing readings from the two books in my Lotus Detective Agency series, Bind and Melt. I’ve discovered one of the fun things about book readings is drawing participants into the subject matter—with a quiz. The quiz for Bind has 10 questions that focus on two of the book’s main topics: watches and theft. Below are the questions about watches. They’re timely.

Scroll down for the answers. Next month I’ll share the questions about theft.

QUESTIONS:

#1: When were the first portable timekeeping devices — in other words, the world’s first watches — first invented?

A. 16^th century (the Early Modern Age)
B. 18^th century (the Age of Enlightenment)
C. 20^th century (the Age when Bind’s characters were born)

#2: Who were wristwatches originally designed for?

A. Men, because men get everything first
B. Women, because they are the smarter sex
C. Police officers, because they carry guns

#3: When did wristwatches gain popularity among men?

A. During the Roaring Twenties
B. During the Industrial Revolution
C. During World War 1

#4: Which old Hollywood movie star’s watch shattered records when it sold at auction in 2017?

A. Clark Gable, The King of Hollywood
B. Archibald Alexander Leach (you probably know him as Cary Grant)
C. Paul Newman aka Cool Hand Luke

#5: From 2021 to 2022, luxury watch thefts rose by 65% in London. What happened as a result?

A. A petition to ban the sale of machetes
B. An ordinance prohibiting anyone wearing a luxury watch in public
C. A law forbidding anyone to take a photo of the Crown’s wristwatch

#6: If not for a Rolex watch, Albert Johnson Walker might not have served 26 years in prison. Where was he incarcerated?

A. England
B. Canada
C. St. Pierre

ANSWERS:

Question #1: The answer is A. German clockmaker Peter Henlein is credited with inventing the first watch around 1510. Because of its size (about 3 inches), it was best suited to be worn on a pendant or attached to a belt.  

Question #2: The answer is B. Wristwatches were originally created for women. They were seen as both elegant pieces of jewelry and functional timepieces. According to the Guinness World Records, Swiss watchmaker Patek Philippe made the first wristwatch in 1868 for a Hungarian Countess. Men preferred pocket watches at that time.

Question #3: The answer is C. During World War I, wristwatches became a necessity because soldiers needed to tell time quickly and easily. This translated to civilian life after the war. By the 1930s, wristwatch sales had surpassed pocket watch sales.

Question #4: The answer is C. Movie star and race car driver Paul Newman’s Rolex Daytona sold at auction for $17.8 million in 2017. The watch had been a gift from his wife actress Joanne Woodward—engraved with the words “Drive Carefully, Me.”

Question #5: The answer is A. A London councillor launched a petition to ban the sale of machetes after having his watch stolen by a machete-wielding thief in 2022. The petition got almost 140,000 signatures.

Question #6: The answer is both A & B. In 1996, British police used a Rolex watch to identify a body found in the English Channel. When they visited the home of Ronald Platt, they discovered his business partner, Canadian-born Albert Johnson Walker, pretending to be him.  In 1998, Walker was convicted of first-degree murder and incarcerated in England. In 2005, he was allowed to transfer to a Canadian prison where he was further convicted of embezzling millions from his Canadian clients. In 2024, he was still in prison in B.C.

I hope you were challenged by the questions and intrigued by the answers. Let me know how you did.