John McFetridge Books In Order

Publication Order of Eddie Dougherty Mystery Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Akashic Noir Books

Publication Order of Gordon Stewart Mystery Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Author John McFetridge was born on November 16, 1959 in Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada.

He graduated in the year 1990 from Concordia University with a major in English Literature and minors in both Creative Writing and History.

He writes mystery and thriller novels, and the first novel McFetridge had published was called “Below the Line” (which was co-written with Scott Albert) and was it released in the year 2003. He has written the “Eddie Dougherty Mystery” series, and has written novels, radio plays, screenplays, and short stories.

His fascination with crime began at the age of twelve when he went to a murder trial with his brother, who is a police officer.

He says that he does plan his stories out before hand, and he does not outline. The books he writes are ongoing crimes, and he works from theme and character. He gets a hold of characters that he likes and puts them in different situations (ones he finds interesting) and then sees what they do as a result. Then he sees what happens next, and by the 250 page mark he starts to think about how that character either will or will not get out of the pickle they find themselves in.

John has stated that “Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere” looks at how did I end up in this situation? Whereas, “Dirty Sweet” is about opportunity; as some people are able to see opportunity all over the place and some never see it.

“Black Rock” is the first novel in the “Eddie Dougherty Mystery” series and was released in the year 2013. Montreal in the year 1970, and the Vampire Killer has killed three women with a fourth gone missing. Bombs go off in the stock exchange, houses located in Westmount, and at McGill University. There are riots breaking out during the St. Jean Baptiste parade, as well as at the Sir George Williams University. The Canadian army moves onto Montreal’s streets after James Cross and Pierre Laporte get kidnapped.

There is a young beat cop that is just about hunting the killer by himself, while the rest of the force working from Station Ten focuses on FLQ crisis. His name is Constable Eddie Dougherty, and he is the son of an Irish-Canadian dad and a French mom. He takes things into his own hands and is going to catch the killer before he is able to kill again.

John does a great job of taking readers back into Montreal during the year 1970 in this novel. Fans of the novel enjoyed reading this atmospheric story, set against a backdrop of historic events. This novel has human like characters, driven and spare prose. Some like the historic aspect to the novel, finding that it is a very accurate depiction, both of the setting and the realities of being a part of a police force.

“A Little More Free” is the second novel in the “Eddie Dougherty Mystery” series and was released in the year 2015. Labor Day weekend in the year 1972 in Montreal. The city is just about to host the inaugural match in the legendary Summit Series that will be between the USSR and Canada. When three guys set a nightclub on fire, Eddie sees 37 people die as a result. Two million dollars’ worth of paintings are taken from the Museum of Fine Arts.

Against this historic backdrop, Eddie finds a young man’s body after he was killed on Mount Royal. He attempts to show that he has what it takes to be a detective. For his trouble, he gets pulled into American deserters and draft dodgers, as well as organized crime and class politics.

Some felt that this is one of this author’s best works, and a must read for those who like mystery novels. This novel held some captive while they were reading it, it is simply that good. John is an unsung hero of Canadian crime fiction, and this entire series is the proof of that. He does a great job of developing the characters found in it amid all the political issues and even hockey. Fans of the novel like the protagonist that John has created in this series, and this does a great job describing life in the seventies. There is even a well plotted story and a good mystery to boot.

“One or the Other” is the third novel in the “Eddie Dougherty Mystery” series and was released in the year 2016. The Montreal police are looking to avoid a disaster like the one in Munich during the 1972 Olympic games. This comes as Montreal is hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics, and they decide to tighten up their security. It is not tough enough, however, to stop three million dollars from being stolen during a bold daytime robbery of a Brink’s truck.

The heist gains a high profile and it baffles the cops. Eddie gets a shot to prove himself as a detective when he gets assigned to help out the Longueil force in their investigation of two teenagers dying. They were coming back from a rock concert and died crossing the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Was it a murder suicide or were they robbed and thrown over the bridge?

Tensions run high in Montreal and Eddie’s detective career is at stake, all the while, he sees the limits that come with the force and his own ability as a cop. He has to figure out when to just settle and at what times justice is the only thing that has to be obeyed.

John does his research when writing these books, and the historical aspect is one of the strong points of reading the book. Fans of the novel enjoy the way that the book has the hero look at the tropes in police procedural novels and toss them out the window. This series is one that refutes the hero cop idea soundly in this one. The novels pick up speed as they go on, and become hard to put down by the later parts of the book.