October 19, 2026
Who By His Own Hand, by Greg Rhyno
I actually read an advanced copy of this novel this spring for a blurb (“I love everything about the Dame Polara series—the heart, the humour, the vivid and sometimes gritty Toronto setting. But most of all, I love Dame, lockpicker extraordinaire, and in Who By His Own Hand, she’s as forthright, messy and indomitable as ever. Greg Rhyno has penned another winner.”) and read it again last week in anticipation of interviewing Greg at his Toronto book event tomorrow night, Tuesday October 20, at Ben McNally Books from 5-7pm. If you haven’t yet discovered Dame Polara, I’d recommend starting with the first book in the trilogy, Who by Fire, and getting brought up to speed. Witty, clever, and compellingly Toronto-set, these stories of a reluctant sleuth—the daughter of a famed PI who learned the tricks of the trade early (along with an affinity for strong coffee)—whose personal life keeps dragging her back to detection never miss a beat. In this third instalment, the stakes have never been higher as Dame’s young daughter is missing after a kidnapping by an unhinged municipal bureaucrat holding a murderous decades-long grudge.
Oh so funny (the bumbling detectives on the case are called Hall and Oates), but also incredibly moving (“Parenthood, Dame had learned, was an unrelenting series of terrors. No one could truly defend their child against the cold chaos of an indifferent universe. Instead, she used those three little words that were every mother’s poor substitute for control: ‘You be careful.'”), in addition to the facts of the case and the journey to cracking it (never actually my primary concern when it comes to detective fiction to be honest), this novel—like the two that preceded it—is such feast of rich delights.
