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?Montreal is such a fascinating place,? Peter Kirby says, ?and part of its fascination is its raw side, its dark side.?
Photograph by: Marie-France Coallier , The Gazette
MONTREAL - Peter Kirby has fashioned a gripping work of fiction with his first novel, The Dead of Winter, a crime thriller set in his adopted hometown of Montreal.
Clearly, it didn?t take the author long to grasp the darkness that can overtake this city in the dead of winter. The book touches on all the murky elements of city life as a dispirited police detective investigates the murders of five homeless people over the Christmas holidays. His trail leads him through back alleys and corporate boardrooms and even into the hallowed halls of the Catholic Church.
All compelling stuff, and no doubt there will be follow-up thrillers to come, featuring Kirby?s anti-hero cop Inspector Luc Vanier. And a bestselling crime writer has been born ? in his late 50s. But Kirby?s own story is almost as compelling as that of his novel. He took what has to be one of the most circuitous paths imaginable to get to this point.
Born in Cork, Ireland, Kirby grew up on the hardscrabble streets of Brixton, the South London ?hood where it didn?t take much for a ?mouthy Irish kid with glasses? to get the stuffing beat out of him by local bruisers. He hadn?t contemplated university because his grades were hardly up to snuff, so, at 17, instead he embarked on what he hoped would be a new life in North America.
He worked as a cook for a spell in Boston, New York and Toronto before arriving in Montreal several years later in 1982. He began at the bottom here as a busboy at a Howard Johnson?s and eventually worked his way up to assistant chef. He also did time as a smoked-meat cutter at Ben?s. Then he heard about Concordia?s mature student program, which would admit him regardless of his past education history.
To cut to the chase, Kirby did well enough studying at night at Concordia to gain admission to McGill?s law program, from which he later graduated ? all the while toiling as a breakfast cook from 5:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. before his classes.
Kirby currently practises international law with Fasken Martineau, one of the largest firms in the country. This year, American Lawyer listed him as one of Canada?s leading lawyers. His fort? is international arbitration and his work has brought him into disputes from here to the Balkans.
Kirby apparently found the time to ?scribble? fiction when he was a teen and has kept at it ever since.
?Part of the thrill of being able to write fiction is that you would get fed up writing pleadings for court with the judge looking at you and saying this looks to be very creative ? but, by that, the judge is really saying that it?s a crock,? relates Kirby, over a beer at a downtown bistro. ?Now I can write fiction, and hopefully people will say it?s creative and it won?t be a criticism.?
Though Kirby still speaks with a strong Irish lilt, he has come to know Montreal as well as any native. In addition to some of the more unsavoury sorts who inhabit this town, The Dead of Winter is dotted with dozens of references to familiar places and restos, from all corners of the island and beyond.
?I?ll always be an outsider here,? Kirby says. ?But Montreal is such a fascinating place and part of its fascination is its raw side, its dark side. That?s part of its allure. And, really, nobody wants to live in a completely sterile environment.?
No worries ever about that here.
Kirby began writing The Dead of Winter five years ago. In 2010, he sent an earlier manuscript for consideration for the Unhanged Arthur Award for best unpublished work by the Crime Writers of Canada. It was shortlisted for the prize. Kirby pressed on for another two years to complete this expanded version of the original novel.
This isn?t Kirby?s first manuscript. In his early 20s, he painstakingly pounded out a novel on a typewriter, which he passed along to a friend. Alas, his buddy went out drinking and left the manuscript behind on a train ? never to be found again. ?But that was the best thing that could have happened to me. The thing was probably absolute crap. Since then, I had always been starting but never finishing books. But with this one, I made the conscious decision to finish and put words on paper that I would be proud of.?
Art somewhat imitates Kirby?s life at the beginning of The Dead of Winter. Like the book?s lead character, Vanier, Kirby found himself alone on Christmas Eve, ?drinking and thinking? about his lot.
?I was listening to some jazz, stuff to shoot yourself by,? says Kirby, the divorced father of two grown-up children. ?But rather than feel sorry for myself, I started writing on a yellow pad and this character just appeared. Sure there were problems. I was flying by the seat of my pants. I noticed one of my characters was still speaking two days after I killed her. That?s a problem. Still, it got me going until a first draft was complete.?
Then with the book finished, Kirby had an even more difficult task at hand: to find a publisher. ?Difficult is not the word I would use ? impossible is. Yes, I did find a publisher, but does this mean mine is better than any of the thousands of other manuscripts out there? It was so serendipitous. Hell, finding an agent these days is as difficult as finding a publisher,? says Kirby, who reveals that he has a three-book deal with Linda Leith Publishing.
?I was blessed, but I won?t be giving up the day-job. I actually love being a lawyer.?
The Dead of Winter (Linda Leith Publishing, $21.95) is now available at bookstores.
bbrownstein@montrealgazette.com
Twitter: @billbrownstein
? Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
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