New Max Dexter by Chris Laing gets high praise from the Globe & Mail and CBC

Hi, Brian.

Unhappily for me, my former publisher, Seraphim Editions, is no longer producing new books. So my wife (the computer-literate one in the family) and I decided to publish my new Max Dexter mystery, A Devious Dame, as an e-book. In fact, all four books in the series are now available as e-books on Amazon and Kobo world-wide.

God knows how, but out of the blue, Margaret Cannon wrote a terrific review of A Devious Dame in the Globe and Mail.

I suppose my experience may be a sign of the times, but painful as losing my publisher was, my stories may now reach a wider audience. And I remain grateful to you for your wise advice ever since you helped me with my first book, A Private Man.

Cheers

Chris Laing

https://chrislaing.ca/

P.S. In addition, Shelagh Rogers included A Devious Dame on her latest CBC Radio The Next Chapter mystery panel. Here’s what P.K Rangachari says:

“It’s set in Hamilton in 1947 and it’s very nicely written. It’s set within walking distance of where I live – the streets are there and so on. It makes me feel terribly nostalgic because when I moved to Hamilton in 1981, much of what he describes was there at the time. It’s a breezy story. It’s an easy read. It’s very old-fashioned but great fun.”

You can listen to the broadcast here.

The review in the G&M is behind a pay wall, but dear reader, I’ve copied if for you. ~Brian. Here it is:

A Devious Dame, Chris Laing (Amazon ebook) I couldn’t find a print edition of this terrific little historical mystery but fans shouldn’t sniff at the e-book. The year is 1948 and the place is Hamilton, Ont. The world is buzzing with postwar prosperity and private detective Max Dexter and his partner, Isabel O’Brien, are busy with divorces and searches when an abandoned boy turns up. Can the couple find the kid’s mother?

Laing has a deft ear for forties lingo and a great eye for the small details that make a historical novel truly great. Anyone from Hamilton will get a kick out of the old places and names along with the really solid historical feel. If you like this one, there are three more earlier Max Dexters also available from Amazon {here}.

Margaret Cannon in the Globe and Mail

Get your copies: The first three of Chris’s Max Dexter novels are available in Indigo/Chapters stores and online and the fourth as an ebook here.

See Brian Henry’s schedule here, including writing workshops, weekly writing classes, and weekend retreats in, Bolton, Barrie, Brampton, Burlington, Caledon, Collingwood, Georgetown, Georgina, Guelph, Hamilton, Jackson’s Point, Kingston, Kitchener-Waterloo, London, Midland, Mississauga, Oakville, Ottawa, Peterborough, St. Catharines, Southampton, Sudbury, Toronto, Windsor, Woodstock, Halton, Muskoka, Peel, Simcoe, York Region, the GTA, Ontario and beyond.