Description
The Red Chesterfield by Wayne Arthurson, a writer of Cree and French Canadian descent, is the story of M who is a bylaw officer. He lives with his brothers, in their parent’s old house. On his way to investigate a suspicious yard sale, he discovers a red chesterfield sitting in a ditch. Looking closer, he finds a running shoe-and a severed foot. Now M is involved in a murder investigation. Meanwhile, older brother K’s work for a new political party begins to seem suspicious, while younger brother J, navigates the complicated world of young-adulthood, and boss Rhonda demands more and more attention, M must navigate a world of Russian gangsters and neglected wives, biker gangs and suspicious coincidences. On top of everything else, M is determined to track down the owner of that red chesterfield and make sure they get a ticket. The Red Chesterfield is an unusual novella that upends the tropes and traditions of crime fiction while asking how far one person is willing to go to solve a crime, be it murder or the abandonment of a piece of furniture. Short listed for the Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing for Best Crime Novella 2020.