Linwood Barclay, Uzma Jalaluddin and Eliza Reid among authors at the Motive Crime & Mystery Festival
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Linwood Barclay, Uzma Jalaluddin and Eliza Reid are among the authors at this year's Motive Crime & Mystery Festival.
Presented by the Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA), Motive is a festival focused on crime and mystery literature; this year's event takes place June 27-29, 2025 at the University of Toronto.
Canada Reads 2025 contestant and bestselling author Linwood Barclay will be there to discuss his most recent novel, Whistle, which dips into the horror genre as a train set comes to life with sinister motives.
In Whistle, Annie moves to a charming town in upstate New York with her young son. She's reeling from the sudden death of her husband in an accident and the fact that one of the children's books she authored and illustrated ignited a major scandal.
Linwood Barclay's latest novel, Whistle, is a spooky tale about an evil toy train set — read an excerpt now
When her son, Charlie, finds an old train set in a locked shed on their property, he's thrilled, but there's something eerie about the toy. As weird things start happening in the neighbourhood, Annie can't help but feel that she's walked out of one nightmare and right into another.
Barclay has written over 20 books, including thrillers I Will Ruin You, Find You First, Broken Promise and Elevator Pitch and the middle-grade novels Escape and Chase. Many of Barclay's books have been optioned for film and television, and he wrote the screenplay for the movie Never Saw It Coming, adapted from his novel of the same name.
His books The Accident and No Time for Goodbye were made into a television series in France. Barclay lives near Toronto. He championed the memoir Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston on Canada Reads 2025.
Linwood Barclay and Wayne Johnston dish on Canada Reads strategy — and the magic of writing a life's story
Jalaluddin will also be at the festival. A romance writer making her debut when it comes to cozy mystery, she'll be discussing her latest book, Detective Aunty. In Detective Aunty, when recently widowed Kausar Khan hears that her daughter has been accused of murdering the landlord of her clothing boutique, nothing can hold her back to help figure out who is the true culprit. But even Kausar is unprepared for the secrets, lies and betrayals that she'll uncover along the way.
Uzma Jalaluddin explains how writing about love is similar to writing about murder
Jalaluddin is a teacher, parenting columnist and author based in Ontario. Her previous works include the novels Ayesha At Last, Hana Khan Carries On, Much Ado About Nada and Three Holidays and a Wedding.
Reid will be attending Motive to discuss her debut novel Death on the Island, a mystery set in Vestmannaeyjar (the Westman Islands) during a diplomatic dinner party. When the deputy ambassador of Canada dies suddenly, her boss, the Canadian ambassador, is quickly thrown under suspicion, and his wife must figure out everyone's secrets to clear his name and save her crumbling marriage.
Reid is the writer of Secrets of the Sprakkar: Iceland's Extraordinary Women and How They Are Changing the World. Born in Canada but currently living in Iceland, Reid served the unofficial role of First Lady while her husband was President of Iceland from 2016-2024.
You can see the full program on the Motive Crime & Mystery Festival website.
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