What happens when survival comes at the cost of those you love? Join bestselling thriller queen Hannah Mary McKinnon and former First Lady of Iceland and dazzling author, Eliza Reid as they pull back the curtain on two gripping tales of betrayal, ambition and murder. From a snowbound cabin with a doomed rock band in […]
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Cold-blooded. Untouchable. Unravelled. Yves “Apache” Trudeau was a legend among killers – an assassin for the Hells Angels whose brutal efficiency made him a weapon for hire across Montreal’s warring underworlds. But when a failed hit sent him into rehab, Trudeau shocked the country by turning informant, only to bring chaos to the courts with […]
Uzma Jalaluddin‘s hugely popular romance novels have won many hearts. Now she turns to crime and introduces Detective Aunty, the first in a new cozy detective series that sees Kausar, newly widowed, returning to Toronto to help her daughter, who is suspected of murder. Jonathan Whitelaw returns to MOTIVE with the fourth instalment of his […]
Growing, growing, gone… Penrith, in the heart of the Lake District, is not the kind of place you can easily vanish. Certainly not when the members of the Penrith Bingo Club are trying to track you down. But even stalwart sleuth, Amita Khatri, and her son in law, Jason, are foxed this time when a […]
In quiet towns and wide open spaces, danger waits just below the surface in two atmospheric thrillers. In Broken Fields, Marcie R. Rendon returns to 1970s Minnesota, where Cash Blackbear finds herself drawn into the mystery of a murdered farmer, a missing couple and a terrified child. As she races to uncover the truth, she […]
Hard-boiled or cool-headed? World-weary or quietly relentless? Why do these archetypes of the classic detective still shape contemporary crime fiction? In this compelling conversation, two titans of Tartan Noir examine the influence of two iconic figures from the golden age of mystery: Raymond Chandler’s Philip Marlowe and Georges Simenon’s Inspector Maigret. Denise Mina returned to […]
From small-town secrets to icy psychological thrillers, Canadian crime fiction has carved out a distinctive identity—one that is both globally resonant and unmistakably homegrown. In this wide-ranging conversation, join our panel, including international bestseller Shari Lapena and veteran Globe and Mail crime critic Margaret Cannon in conversation with Steven Beattie as they dig into what […]
Fresh from contesting Canada Reads 2025, MOTIVE festival favourite Linwood Barclay invites you to journey off familiar tracks and into uncharted territory with his chilling supernatural thriller, Whistle. This haunting tale centres on a mother and son whose fresh start in a small town derails into terror when they discover a mysterious train set with […]
“Terrific.”— Stephen King on Whistle New York Times bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed. […]
Every great story pulses with tension. It propels readers forward, keeping them on the edge of their seats, eager to find out what happens next. Learn from master storyteller Denise Mina the essential techniques for introducing and maintaining tension, while mastering the art of pacing to captivate your audience from beginning to end. MOTIVE’s Creative […]
Step into the upper crust of high society in 1930’s England with “A Murder Most Proper”, an Immersive Murder Mystery where the only thing more scandalous than a sudden death could be the impropriety of it all. The funeral of Margaret Elwood, a young London socialite, soon unravels into an evening of scandal, secrets, and […]
Join Bob and Phil, retired Toronto detectives, for a wild ride through the city’s crime history! With 30+ years of police experience, they’ll dish out jaw-dropping tales from Toronto’s underbelly. From shocking scandals to downright bizarre incidents, discover how crime shaped the city over 300 years. This event showcases stories handpicked from their walking tours, […]
Why do we have fingerprints? Where do they go once collected? Do I have the same prints as my twin? Join Murray Clayton, the Forensic Science Program Officer from the University of Toronto, for an exploration of fingerprint identification, and discover some of the different techniques investigators use not only to reveal hidden prints, but […]
Calling aspiring authors! Join our panel of experts from across the publishing industry in Canada, UK and the US, for a conversation filled with insights and advice from these who have the hard-won knowledge and experience of successfully getting a book from idea to print to reader. Get valuable tips and tricks on effectively pitching […]
What happens when a crime writer turns to love—and a romance writer turns to murder? Join bestselling authors Hannah Mary McKinnon and Uzma Jalaluddin as they cross genre lines in unexpected (and wildly entertaining) ways. McKinnon, known for her twisty psychological thrillers, is capturing hearts with her romance novels written as Holly Cassidy. Meanwhile, Jalaluddin, […]
At once deeply rooted in Korean society and universally resonant, Korean crime fiction is capturing the imagination of readers around the world. In this compelling panel, bestselling authors Mi-Ae Seo (The Only Child) and You-jeoung Jeong (Seven Years of Darkness and The Good Son) join literary influencer and #BookTok champion Jinwoo Park to explore the […]
Moderated by Jass Aujla (author of Next Of Twin and Regional Director for Crime Writers of Canada), and joined by panelists C. Fitton (author of Her Dead Boyfriend), Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson (author of The Road to Heaven), Steve Urszenyi (author of Perfect Shot), and Angela Van Breemen (author of Past Life’s Revenge), hear first-hand from debut […]
Red herrings. Hard-boiled loners. Remote mansions, closed circles, final twists. Mystery fiction is full of familiar setups – but it’s what writers and publishers do with those tropes that keeps readers hooked. We bring together three experts, Globe and Mail crime and mystery reviewer Margaret Cannon, Orenda Books publisher Karen Sullivan and bestselling author Gregg […]
From bumbling amateur sleuths and wisecracking sidekicks to farcical mishaps and perfectly timed one-liners, comedy has long had a home in the mystery genre. In this entertaining panel, authors Jonathan Whitelaw, Catherine Mack and Sue Hincenbergs dive into the art of writing crime fiction that’s as funny as it is suspenseful. They’ll discuss the delicate […]
Join case-active forensic anthropologist Gregory Grace-Alcock, as she details the day-to-day tasks of missing person searches and recovery, as well as the complications or considerations that are a part of human remain recovery. From trauma to taphonomy, participants will be able to engage with, and better understand how professionals ensure the ethical recovery and treatment […]
Join case-active forensic anthropologist Gregory Grace-Alcock, as she details the day-to-day tasks of missing person searches and recovery, as well as the methods and techniques used to give an individual their identity back after death. From trauma to taphonomy, participants will be able to engage with the professionals who ensure professional recovery and ethical treatment […]
Join two authors who prove that murder can be a laughing matter and that true crime and true love don’t always mix. All served with tea, coffee and a slice of cake! In No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding, Catherine Mack returns with her bestselling author-turned-amateur-sleuth Eleanor Dash to a glamorous island […]
Could you keep a deadly secret for twenty years? Would you know the truth if it stared you in the face? We are delighted to welcome acclaimed British author Jane Corry as she deconstructs her riveting psychological thriller, I Died on A Tuesday, where three different stories collide around one shocking crime two decades after […]
