Series: Russell Quant Mysteries | Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Everyone has their boogeyman. But who—or what—is scaring Saskatoon locals to death? Private Detective Russell Quant is roused from sleep only to fall into a nightmare case when the family of a suicide victim hires him to uncover the real cause of death. But what is real and what is imaginary? Quant works to narrow his list of suspects only to find the number of victims growing. He is mystified as the trail of fear connects him to a vast landscape of people, including an elegant potash miner, dubious trailer park denizens, reticent farm folk, the Pink Gopher choir, and a gaseous psychiatrist.
Compounding Quant’s bewilderment is the complete and perfect disappearance of his once very real friend, Sereena, who has become a ghost he simply can’t find. With the boogeyman always a few paces ahead, Quant struggles to keep the hounds of failure from baying. Traveling from Saskatchewan’s summer storms to the menacing Lotus Land of Vancouver, he finally touches down in the Canadian Arctic, where tragic hope resides. He returns home to bully attacks, a desperate chase through midnight woods, and a sadistic abduction. As Quant penetrates the truth of the boogeyman, he finds himself on a perilous suspension bridge between idyllic childhood and grown-up violence.
Anthony Bidulka is an avid traveler, party-giver, and sun-worshipper. One of his favorite sayings is: “Life may be short, but it can be wide.” He lives in Saskatoon and invites you to visit his website at www.anthonybidulka.com. This is the fourth book in his Russell Quant mystery series.
"Bidulka is skilled at juggling a number of balls, keeping the plot and subplots spinning until the end, prompting the greedy reader to demand: "Where's the next one?"." --Lavender Magazine (Minnesota)
"Bidulka is at his finest in his depictions of ordinary life..." --Lambda Book Report (New York)
"...a mainstream mystery with an engaging protagonist and an exceptionally well drawn cast of characters that intrigue and captivate the reader." --Spinetingler Magazine
"Quant...makes for a riveting hero...the kind of friend you want to have--unless you're a killer." --Mystery Scene Magazine (New York)
"Bidulka is clear evidence that writing in the mystery genre does not automatically preclude character development or emotional connection with the reader." --Wayves (Halifax)
About the Author
Anthony Bidulka is an avid traveller and party-giver. He lives in Saskatoon. This is the fourth book in his Russell Quant mystery series.
I was raised on a farm near the small town of Prudhomme, Saskatchewan, Canada with two siblings, sisters, and many cats and dogs and chickens and cows.
After spending my youth as a tow-headed farm boy who dutifully milked cows, worked the fields and graduated from high school, I moved to Saskatoon to discover my future. From 1980 to 1983 I attended the University of Saskatchewan (UofS) with the original intent of becoming an Optometrist. During these years I supplemented meagre student loans by taking on a plethora of odd jobs, including one dreadful summer working in a uranium mine in Northern Saskatchewan as a bull cook. According to Websters dictionary a bull cook is a person who performs various chores in a logging camp. Close enough. I did everything from scouring pots to cleaning bunkhouses (yech) to pushing a broom to making cinnamon buns in the middle of the night. I toughed it out, learned a lot about different kinds of people, developed friendships, some lasting to this day, and made some cash. The next summer I took a job as a waiter in a nice, quiet, biker bar.
Having changed my major from optometry to social work to psychology I received a rather varied-discipline Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree (with distinction) in 1983. This gave me the credentials to get yet another job as a waiter. I returned to the UofS the following year and took shockingly few classes which allowed me to become a teacher. My father was a teacher, my brother-in-law was a teacher, I was a smart guy with a BA with no career prospects, it just made sense.
Hated it.
Eventually I ran screaming back to Saskatoon and buried myself in a few years of professional rebellion and introspection - if it is possible to do both at the same time. During this time I worked in retail - shoe stores were my favourite choice (beginning a lifelong love of footwear)and restaurants and bars, oftentimes holding down two or three jobs at a time, getting off work at midnight or 1 am then heading out to the clubs and after hours bars with my friends. Ah, youth.
I met some awesome people, had a lot of fun, learned life lessons, danced a lot, smoked and drank, was broke, had a few marvelously tortuous romances and ultimately, came to know who I was. Now it was time to figure out who I wanted to become.
I returned to the University of Saskatchewan a little older, a little wiser and with the idea that it was time to make some serious money, wear a suit, carry a briefcase and have people call me mister. So of course I decided to become an accountant.
1991 was a big year for me. I had been hired by the international audit and accounting firm of Ernst & Young, I wrote the grueling four-day Uniform Final Exam (UFE) with the hopes of qualifying for the Chartered Accountant (CA) designation, I began my current day relationship with my partner and received two more university degrees: a Bachelor of Education (BEd) and a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) (with distinction).
I was successful in my UFE and received my CA designation in 1993 and continued on the path to become the best darn accountant I could be.
As a CA, I was working many hours, weekends and evenings, which left little time for creative writing. But I always knew or at least dreamed that I would someday become a writer. And so one day I quit my job and did it. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but it has worked out okay for me - with the support of a very wonderful spouse.
One of my favourite sayings is: Life is short, but it can be wide. I try to remember to do whatever I can to make my life wide, wide with people and places and extraordinary experiences. And I am grateful for every second of it so far and every second of it yet to come.
This review is from: Stain of the Berry: A Russell Quant Mystery (Russell Quant Mysteries) (Paperback)
Anthony Bidulka is back with the fourth installment in the Russell Quant series and returns to the simpler form of the first two mysteries, eschewing the over-the-top style of the third, Tapas on the Ramblas. With one exception. In the middle of Stain, Bidulka takes a sharp left turn and devotes a chapter to not one, but two fantastically unbelievable yarns, one involving friend Sereena's background and the other involving Russell's uncle. Unnecessary. Otherwise, this is a good story about PI Quant's efforts to solve the death of a young woman: suicide or murder and how does this relate to strange happenings elsewhere in western Canada? The characters, recurring and new, are engaging and the descriptions of Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Vancouver and elsewhere greatly add to the enjoyment of the book. Bidulka leaves two dangling questions at the end: one about Jared and another about Russell and Alex and this reader hopes that he will be back with installment number five to answer them.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Stain of the Berry: A Russell Quant Mystery (Russell Quant Mysteries) (Paperback)
I just finished this fourth book I've read in the series. They have all been different and this one was another step in the author's growth as a writer. I was enthralled. and sometimes disturbed. But I can't wait for his next one to be published, (in October) even though he has said on his website that the next book he is working on will not be a Russell Quant mystery. I hope that doesn't mean the end of the series. I know Russell and want to continue getting to know him in future books. Whatever, I will read any of Anthony's books.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
This review is from: Stain of the Berry: A Russell Quant Mystery (Russell Quant Mysteries) (Paperback)
Stain of the Berry is an excellent mystery that is really about the mystery of Russell Quant - his life, loves, career. And, it is wholly enchanting. From the beginnings that lead us into a case that involve the Boogeyman, the Pink Gopher Choir, a tragedy in Delhi, an Artic hideaway, a Grace Jones lookalike and a Shakespearean actor...yes, all in one book...one can barely imagine all these parts making a wonderful whole. But that they most certainly do. In spadess. Highly recommended.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
