The first draft manuscript of my second book, Little Blue Pills: Canadian Noir vol. 2 is now complete. I read through the full thing and I feel like this is my best work.

In this entry, we continue the stories of RCMP Cpl Rob Monroe and Globe and Mail journalist Alex Carson. When Monroe comes across a young man struck dead by a train one night just days before Christmas, he launches his own investigation into what happened. The victim was attending an underground rave party at a nearby warehouse that night, and the rave was hosted by someone going by the street name “Cyrus”. Monroe discovers that the victim had ecstasy in his system at the time of death, but the toxicology screening also finds something else in his bloodwork that can’t be identified. Monroe suspects there are some bad pills going around and they need to be taken off the street before more people die.

At the same time, Alex is completing her Masters in Criminology at U of T and is becoming more interested in criminal investigations. She and Monroe have remained friends since the Snake River case. After Monroe tells her about the new case he’s working on, she offers valuable insight and becomes an asset in the investigation.

Later in the story, a string of mysterious homeless deaths happen downtown and people report seeing what appears to be a ghost lurking the city at night. Metro Toronto Police Detective Sergeant Colin Arsenault leads the investigation into the killings, but the murder weapon and motive behind the killings are bizarre, and difficult to explain.

Meanwhile, in a secret lab somewhere in the city, a scientist named Spencer Rosenthal is developing a substance meant to increase the abilities of the human mind. The drug is very powerful, but after decades of research and development, it has become unstable and the effects when combined with other drugs can be profound and dangerous. It’s his life’s work, and he has given up everything to complete the project.

All these things converge on New Years Eve in a fantastic climax where the truth is uncovered, and justice is served. Little Blue Pills is a hallucinatory journey into human ambition set in Toronto’s underground rave scene in the 1996 holiday season. You can expect the same psychological, noirish atmosphere of Snake River, but the writing is more literary and audacious.

While my first novel was self published on Amazon, this time I’ll be sending it out to small presses in Canada. I feel that the traditional route is going to be the better way from now on.

I’m very excited to have completed this work, and look forward to the chance to share it with the world. Further updates to come as I seek publishing for this outstanding work of fiction.