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 害羞草研究所� and offers a darker view of 害羞草研究所極ur City by the Sea害羞草研究所� than civic boosters might care for 害羞草研究所� it should be understood the type of violence he describes is vastly dissimilar to this April害羞草研究所檚 tragic stabbing incidents on the waterfront.
As Wiebe, author of the popular Vancouver-set Wakeland series of private detective novels, is quick to affirm, 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a work of fiction 害羞草研究所� just entertainment.害羞草研究所�
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.
害羞草研究所淚 graduated in 2000,害羞草研究所� he said.
害羞草研究所淢y mom still lives here, so I害羞草研究所檓 out here quite a lot,害羞草研究所� he added, while noting that, observing the current vista of highrises whenever he ventures across North Bluff Road, he害羞草研究所檚 always struck by how much the city has changed since it was his regular stamping ground.
Meeting recently for coffee at White Rock害羞草研究所檚 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 害羞草研究所� or his Toronto Star description, quoted on the back cover of Ocean Drive, as 害羞草研究所淰ancouver害羞草研究所檚 terse poet of a city in decline.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 flattering, of course,害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 a brand that害羞草研究所檚 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.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 just an ordinary guy who has a cat and drives a Civic,害羞草研究所� he said, adding that he and his wife Carly 害羞草研究所� an aficionado of classic pulp fiction 害羞草研究所� live a life of mostly quiet domesticity with said feline, a female named Ennio, who Wiebe describes, turning proud cat parent, as 害羞草研究所渁 masked tabby with snow paws and a white bib."
The author said that while it害羞草研究所檚 likely that Carly has read more of the classic historic detective novels than he has 害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所渟he害羞草研究所檚 always recommending I read this and that害羞草研究所� 害羞草研究所� he does acknowledge familiarity with such masters as Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
害羞草研究所淲hen I was growing up, my parents had a complete set of John D. Macdonald害羞草研究所檚 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.害羞草研究所�
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 害羞草研究所� 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.
害羞草研究所淲ith the Wakeland novels, the 害羞草研究所榲oice害羞草研究所� is the strongest part of my private eye. And I felt that I didn害羞草研究所檛 want my characters walking around and speaking like gun molls and hep cats of the 害羞草研究所�40s,害羞草研究所� 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害羞草研究所檚 evident, and Wiebe freely admits, that his interest 害羞草研究所� more than posing intricate whodunnit puzzles or revelling in scenes of violence just for their own sake 害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所� captured in security camera footage 害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所� in front of the man害羞草研究所檚 pregnant wife, Liz 害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所� in Wiebe's fiction the 'Heaven's Exiles' motorcycle gang, the related 'League of Nations' and the rival 'Vipers' 害羞草研究所� 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. 害羞草研究所�
At the same time, RCMP Staff Sgt. Meghan Quick 害羞草研究所� White Rock detachment commander 害羞草研究所� 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.害羞草研究所�
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? 害羞草研究所�
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 害羞草研究所� rather than one officer, like Quick, being saddled with the responsibility of solving a series of murders 害羞草研究所� 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 害羞草研究所� aside from opportunistic petty offences 害羞草研究所� 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. 害羞草研究所�
