There are a few worlds that come to mind when you think murder mystery, but one that rarely comes up is Hutterite colonies -- until Don Macdonald’s new novel came along. McDonald, a former Montreal Gazette and Canadian Press reporter, sets The Faithful in Winnipeg and a rural Manitoba, where Macdonald’s detective Michael Shelter travels to explore “the closed world of a Hutterite colony,” Macdonald wrote in an email to CTV News. “As he investigates, Shelter uncovers secrets, conflicts and smouldering resentment toward the Hutterites in the surrounding farming community.” Macdonald grew up in Winnipeg in the 1970s and 80s and noticed Hutterites--at the mall. “I was always curious about Hutterites from when I was young and would see them in Winnipeg on shopping trips,” he says." I began to research them and learned about their fascinating history and way of life. I also learned about their relations with surrounding rural communities, which on the surface are mostly cordial but can also become conflictual, especially over the acquisition of land, the essential ingredient in farming. “There are over 40,000 Hutterites living on some 400 colonies across the prairies provinces. They own huge swaths of farmland and are an important part of Canada’s rural economy and social fabric. I decided all these elements made rich material for my second novel.” Bouchercon Mystery Convention Macdonald is in Calgary this week alongside thousands of mystery fans, authors, publishers, editors, agents and booksellers who are gathering at a variety of locations for Bouchercon 2026, a mystery convention that puts the who in the whodunnit business. The attendees range from superstars of the genre such as Louise Penny and Kathy Reichs who were both white-hatted along with Bones television series creator -- and mystery novelist (The Driver, The Seminarian and the upcoming The Venice Flats in 2027) -- Hart Hanson onstage Thursday night. Drunk Fiction Over at the James Joyce Pub on Stephen Avenue, one part of the pub was occupied by a group of mystery novelists who were reading from their work as part of Drunk Fiction, a reading series hosted by noir authors Hope Thompson and Emily A.Weedon. Thompson has a new collection of noir short stories called Dark Thoughts and Other Stories. Thompson, who has a background in theatre, film, and television. She spent time as a story editor on the CBC comedy Baroness Von Sketch Show and the podcasts Crime Hub and Whereabouts Unknown. She’s also a licensed private investigator (PI). The impulse for Dark Thoughts and Other Stories came out of a Toronto reading series that Thompson hosted. “I used to be the host of Noir at the Bar, a quarterly reading series in Toronto,” she said. “At each event, the hosts read excerpts of their stories, and after fiver years of hosting, I had pile of stories.” The collection was published by a new publisher, DarkWinter Press in January of 2026. Thompson’s crime writing icon is Cornell Woolrich, author of The Bride Wore Black, Deadline at Dawn and Waltz Into Darkness, among many others. “I’ve always loved the writing of Cornell Woolrich,” she says. “He’s sometimes called the ‘grandfather of noir’--and while he did write novels, short stories were his forte. He wrote hundreds of strange tales about men and women trapped in desperate situations, and I thought I would kind of ‘imitate’ my hero with my own collection. Isn’t imitation of form of flattery?” She said the essence of the appeal of noir is probably the thing that draws readers to mysteries. “Characters caught at a crossroads where they’re doomed no matter what choice they make,” she says. “That never goes out of style, in my opinion. When I was more involved in filmmaking, I was drawn to the style and tropes of noir -- tough guys and femme fatales and re-imagining those roles through a queer gaze. “Now, I am drawn to noir because of its themes of alienation, entrapment, fear, desire and its sense of doom,” she adds. “I think it remains popular because it speaks to the human experience, for me anyway.” Digging deeper For Macdonald, The Faithful is his second novel (the first was Omand Creek) featuring Det. Michael Shelter, giving the author a chance to dig a little deeper. “The more you write about a character, the more you discover about them,” Macdonald says. “In the case of Shelter, he’s a great detective and can be tough, but he’s not hard-boiled. He has self-doubt and questions whether he can solve this complex case. “I like that about him because I think it’s true to the way people really are. We also see his sensitivity in his care for the feelings of the families of victims and in his personal life where his relationship with his girlfriend is crumbling.” It’s not for everyone, but Macdonald has a sense of why so many people love murder mysteries. “Mysteries trigger our curiosity and deep desire to solve puzzles while allowing us to experience the pleasure of surprising twists and turns in the plot. We also vicariously experience danger and violence and discover how other humans navigate difficult challenges. “This is why the best mysteries produce such a deep emotional response in readers,” he adds. “The genre is also expansive enough to deal with complex social issues.” Macdonald, who drove across Canada from Montreal with a trunk full of copies of The Faithful doing book readings at an assortment of venues, is working on a third Michael Shelter mystery. “I can’t say too much about it, except it will be set in winter. Omand’s Creek was set in late spring, The Faithful takes place during the harvest. “I don’t think you can call yourself a true Canadian author without tackling winter.” Thompson is appearing on a Bouchercon -- it’s named after Anthony Boucher, a mystery author, editor and critic -- Saturday morning at 9 a.m. on a panel at the Telus Centre with authors Polly Stewart and M.H. Callway. Her next book is a true crime story about an Ontario missing persons cold case. “While working on PI television series, I met real-life PI Ellen White of Wherabouts Unknown,” she says. “She specializes in missing persons cases, and we decided to co-write on the book, which comes out May 2027.” Bouchercon continues through Sunday. For more information, go here. For more information about The Faithful, go here. For more information about Dark Thoughts, go here.
