by Mel Bradshaw
Acknowledgements
It’s a great happiness to be able once again to thank Carol Jackson for her love, friendship, and timely advice over many years and, more particularly, during the gestation of this book. The work has also benefited from the professional skills of Lesley Mann, an editor who sees both the forest and the trees. Many corrections were made as a result of consulting Crown Counsel Ian D. Scott, who generously read and critiqued an early draft. He can in no way be blamed for any court details I still have wrong. Writing a realistic novel with a contemporary setting has presented research problems for an author whose previous mysteries have been historical. The information I needed was not all to be found in libraries or on the Internet. Many thanks to Constable Kathy Weylie of the Media Relations office of the Peel Regional Police. I’d also like to express my gratitude to the following friends and relations, who allowed themselves to be quizzed on subjects touched on in the preceding pages: Lisa Armstrong, Doug Childs, Peter Duivesteyn, Liz Estall, Neil Forsyth, Ric Jackson, Ron Langevin, Shing-kan Lee, Stephen McCann, John Pepall, and Miranda Sorensen. Daniel Camball not only advised me on motorcycle lore, but allowed his Kawasaki Ninja to be photographed for the cover. Thanks lastly and hugely to Publisher Sylvia McConnell, Editor Allister Thompson, and Graphic Designer Vasiliki Lenis at Napoleon & Company; no writer could have finer folk to work with.
Photo by Brett Newsome
Victorian Canada provided the setting for Mel Bradshaw’s first crime novel. Death in the Age of Steam was shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award and was ForeWord magazine’s choice as best mystery novel of the year. His second historical mystery, Quarrel with the Foe, featured Toronto in the Roaring Twenties. Various journals have published Mel’s short stories. He has also written on military history for The Canadian Forum.
Mel was born and grew up in Toronto, where he took his B.A. and was film editor of The Varsity. He holds a postgraduate degree in philosophy from Oxford University. His non-writing career is teaching English, which he has done in Canada and Southeast Asia. Currently, he lives in his native town.