Sitting in my darkened office (bad for the eyes, I know), I just had a “wandering moment,” and started searching out other cold cases that won’t appear in my new book. It always amazes me how quickly word spreads on the Internet about an upcoming book, and my new collection of unsolved cases is no exception. Over the past two years, I have received a number of calls and emails from people asking if I knew about a particular case, and if I was intending on including it in Unsolved: True Canadian Cold Cases. In a few instances, I was able to write chapters about crimes about murders and disappearances I hadn’t thought of initially. In other cases, there simply weren’t enough resources available (information from police, lack of response from family members) to include the stories.

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting excerpts from the new book, and look forward to hearing your comments.

http://www.amazon.ca/Unsolved-True-Canadian-Cold-Cases/dp/1554887399

This book is radically different from the traditional “anthology” unsolved books. While my bookshelves are lined with many of these books – and I continue to read and enjoy them – they usually contain short, matter of fact pieces about the crimes, and are often out of date reprints of old newspaper articles, cobbled together and re-packaged as a book.

Unsolved: True Canadian Cold Cases is quite the opposite.

A number of cases in the book, such as the murder of Sharin’ Morningstar Keenan, weigh-in at over 10,000 words. I have made every effort to interview family members, police officers, lawyers, private investigators, and anyone I could possibly find to bring the cases as up to date as possible. Likewise, there is a great deal of information about how new forensic technology, such as DNA and 3-D facial reconstructions, are helping to solve older cases.

Another difference: the oldest case in my book goes back to 1967, and is still open. I deliberately chose a dozen cases (murders and disappearances) that are open, and still solvable.

I will write more soon, and post excerpts from the book in the hopes that someone out there has information that will finally close a number of these cold cases, and bring some comfort to family and friends who have waited decades for an answer.

Director Roman Polanski has been arrested with regard to his 1977 rape of an underage girl in the U.S. Many stories cite the piece I wrote on him back in 1996 in Gstaad, Switzerland, which was published in Menz magazine.

When I met Polanski, he did not show any concerns about being arrested – far from it. In the tiny village of Gstaad, he was surrounded by people who knew and respected him. Europe was his home, as it had been for decades, and he was eager to talk about his latest film, Death and the Maiden. His life was about looking forward, not back. He was attending Cinemusic, a film festival dedicated to film music, and appeared on the program, and attended many screenings, including the movie Farinelli.

For the record, Polanski was anything but elusive, as I ran into him numerous times that week, either walking around the village by himself, or with his wife, Emmanuelle. Articles that make it sound like police were setting a trap for Polanski are complete rubbish! It is well-known that Polanski owns a chalet in Gstaad, and goes to the area often to ski the Diabelerts glacier, something he has done for decades. If the long arm of the law tried to “capture” Polanski over the years, they certainly weren’t trying very hard.

For the record, my article is under The Vault section of this website, at http://www.truecrimecanada.com/?page_id=9

I was just tipped off to this review of The Last to Die. It comes from the prestigious publication, the British Journal of Canadian Studies (Vol. 21, No, 1, 2008). Thanks to Ged Martin in West Waterford, UK for his outstanding review.

Cheers,

Robert

I’ve added a number of articles to The Vault section, and will continue adding other pieces over the coming weeks. Enjoy! I look forward to your comments.

“There’s really only one good reason to read this book: it’s a fascinating story told by a great storyteller. Robert Hoshowsky has masterfully reconstructed the lurid tale of the two low-lifes who became the last two criminals hanged in Canada. The devil is in the details, and he digs them out fearlessly, including much new information that reveals new and unexpected nuances about the crimes.”