This is Pat Capponi’s world. No tourist on the mean streets of Toronto’s once prosperous Parkdale neighbourhood, Capponi—a psychiatric survivor who has chronicled her experiences in several bestselling non-fiction titles—has lived there. Now, in this compelling debut novel, Capponi turns her authentic voice and imagination to a gripping murder mystery. Dana Leoni is Capponi’s heroine, a traumatized woman who has retreated from life to a rough rooming house. Surrounded by the marginalized and the mad, she is devastated when one of her housemates turns up dead. When, despite the disappearance of another neighbourhood woman, the police reach a dead end, Dana and her rag-tag posse of housemates—inspired by the novels of Janet Evanovich—decide to go detective and take matters into their own hands. The result is a terrific mystery read, peopled with authentic characters and evocative in its gritty portrayal of a world few of us know. Infused with compassion and wit, Last Stop Sunnyside marks the beginning of a bound-for-bestseller series. --- from the publisher Critical Praise
"A touching, funny, riveting story about the most unlikely and endearing sleuths on the planet."
--June Callwood
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