Sam Wiebe has no claim to be a prophet of doom for White Rock.
And although his crime novel Ocean Drive (Harbour Publishing, 2024) is set here 含羞草研究社� and offers a darker view of 含羞草研究社極ur City by the Sea含羞草研究社� than civic boosters might care for 含羞草研究社� it should be understood the type of violence he describes is vastly dissimilar to this April含羞草研究社檚 tragic stabbing incidents on the waterfront.
As Wiebe, author of the popular Vancouver-set Wakeland series of private detective novels, is quick to affirm, 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 a work of fiction 含羞草研究社� just entertainment.含羞草研究社�
But he is writing from a standpoint of personal knowledge, he acknowledges. Although now a resident of New Westminster, Wiebe grew up in White Rock and attended Semiahmoo Secondary.
含羞草研究社淚 graduated in 2000,含羞草研究社� he said.
含羞草研究社淢y mom still lives here, so I含羞草研究社檓 out here quite a lot,含羞草研究社� he added, while noting that, observing the current vista of highrises whenever he ventures across North Bluff Road, he含羞草研究社檚 always struck by how much the city has changed since it was his regular stamping ground.
Meeting recently for coffee at White Rock含羞草研究社檚 iconic Five Corners Cafe, Wiebe, a large but gentle man casually attired in slacks and plaid shirt, turns out to be far less imposing in person than his brooding author head shots might suggest 含羞草研究社� or his Toronto Star description, quoted on the back cover of Ocean Drive, as 含羞草研究社淰ancouver含羞草研究社檚 terse poet of a city in decline.含羞草研究社�
含羞草研究社淭hat含羞草研究社檚 flattering, of course,含羞草研究社� the soft-spoken writer admitted, while being quick to acknowledge that such characterizations have never prompted him to adopt a James Ellroy-like tough guy persona to promote his brand.
It含羞草研究社檚 a brand that含羞草研究社檚 doing very well, thank you, for the prolific Wiebe, whose most recent Wakeland novel, Sunset and Jericho, was shortlisted for the 2024 Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing, and who is developing a growing following south of the border which is seeing him in demand for such events as the Left Coast Crime mystery convention in Seattle.
含羞草研究社淚含羞草研究社檓 just an ordinary guy who has a cat and drives a Civic,含羞草研究社� he said, adding that he and his wife Carly 含羞草研究社� an aficionado of classic pulp fiction 含羞草研究社� live a life of mostly quiet domesticity with said feline, a female named Ennio, who Wiebe describes, turning proud cat parent, as 含羞草研究社渁 masked tabby with snow paws and a white bib."
The author said that while it含羞草研究社檚 likely that Carly has read more of the classic historic detective novels than he has 含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社渟he含羞草研究社檚 always recommending I read this and that含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社� he does acknowledge familiarity with such masters as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
含羞草研究社淲hen I was growing up, my parents had a complete set of John D. Macdonald含羞草研究社檚 Travis McGee novels, and there were Hammett books like Red Harvest and The Thin Man lying around. I think those were the first adult novels I read.含羞草研究社�
While these classics have undoubtedly been an influence on him, Wiebe said, he has had no desire to emulate their style by writing period pieces.
Instead he has specialized in being a keen observer of the street-level language and sensibilities of the present day 含羞草研究社� and incorporating them in his writing in a very relatable way that has resonated with a growing legion of fans across Canada and in the U.S.
含羞草研究社淲ith the Wakeland novels, the 含羞草研究社榲oice含羞草研究社� is the strongest part of my private eye. And I felt that I didn含羞草研究社檛 want my characters walking around and speaking like gun molls and hep cats of the 含羞草研究社�40s,含羞草研究社� he said.
Perhaps the strongest link he has to the crime and mystery traditions is in being an interpreter of his own city landscape, just as Chandler has been identified with Los Angeles, in a much later era, Ian Rankin with Edinburgh.
It含羞草研究社檚 evident, and Wiebe freely admits, that his interest 含羞草研究社� more than posing intricate whodunnit puzzles or revelling in scenes of violence just for their own sake 含羞草研究社� is exploring the social realities of his subject communities and the notion of dark things happening in places that can seem very nice on the surface.
So it is with Ocean Drive, in which Wiebe explores the very real potential for violence in the White Rock and South Surrey community, due to gang warfare in the illicit drug trade.
Anyone who has any doubts about the real-life impact of such crime only has to run a brief search for news stories of shooting incidents in the area over the last few years, Wiebe noted.
He cited, in particular, the recent incident 含羞草研究社� captured in security camera footage 含羞草研究社� of semi-automatic gunfire sprayed at vans in the driveway of a house on Roper Avenue in the early morning of Feb. 22, which left four people wounded.
In Wiebe's compelling, hard-boiled narrative, 29-year-old Cameron Shaw has been paroled after serving seven years for the manslaughter of wealthy White Rock resident Roger Garrick. Cameron, through his uncle, had been doing casual handyman work for Garrick but snapped when the older man, drunk and spouting accusations, physically attacked him, with a steel trim guard used for painting.
The beating death of Garrick 含羞草研究社� in front of the man含羞草研究社檚 pregnant wife, Liz 含羞草研究社� has given Cameron an unenviable reputation for violence that he struggles to live down, and his jail time has obviously scarred him on the inside.
An unexpected, but hard to decline, job offer brings him back into the orbit of criminal associates, drawing him into a twilight world of ambitious gang members jockeying for position 含羞草研究社� in Wiebe's fiction the 'Heaven's Exiles' motorcycle gang, the related 'League of Nations' and the rival 'Vipers' 含羞草研究社� and a series of drug-smuggling conspiracies, and rip-offs, that threaten not only his freedom, but his life.
Among intriguing characters he encounters are flirtatious but hard-nosed Sukhi Kaur, sister of a League of Nations drug dealer, but with other more powerful connections that put her close to the heart of the criminal milieu. 含羞草研究社�
At the same time, RCMP Staff Sgt. Meghan Quick 含羞草研究社� White Rock detachment commander 含羞草研究社� is struggling to trace the full ramifications, and true culpability, in the murder-by-arson of recently orphaned college student Alexa Reed.
As with all such tales, appearances are deceptive and seemingly unconnected incidents are manifestations of deeper, and darker connections. And for Quick, what she discovers during the investigation shatters her previously comfortable notions of her community.含羞草研究社�
What, for example, are the true roles of Liz Garrick, an increasingly influential woman among the movers and shakers of the community, and Bob Sutter, retired detachment commander and now a White Rock council member, both of whom are involved in a controversial casino development proposal? 含羞草研究社�
Longtime Semiahmoo Peninsula residents may quibble over some geographical anomalies in Wiebe's story, while others may point out that in the real world of police investigation 含羞草研究社� rather than one officer, like Quick, being saddled with the responsibility of solving a series of murders 含羞草研究社� the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) would soon take over the reins of such a complex case.
But this is fiction, after all, and Wiebe does get a lot of things right. The fact, for instance, that 含羞草研究社� aside from opportunistic petty offences 含羞草研究社� entrenched crime in White Rock and South Surrey is not simply about the influx of new money, and new immigrants, to the area, but also about the ways that longtime residents have accommodated, and turned a blind eye to criminal groups and enterprises, even back when it was a far simpler and less populous community.
And that alone should make Ocean Drive a fascinating, and provocative, read for many locals. 含羞草研究社�
