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Dana Leoni Mystery
The Corpse Will Keep: A Dana Leoni Mystery
Fresh from the success of solving the murder of a roommate, Private Investigator Dana Leoni and her unlikely crew of misfit sleuths have opened a detective agency in the run-down Delta Court rooming house. Genuine clients are hard to come by until a friend from Dana’s past contacts her for help. He suspects his wealthy mother is being bilked in her charitable efforts to help the homeless. Though Dana is reluctant to reconnect with her past, she knows this world well—the church basements and halls where the indigent seek shelter and a hot meal. On the hunt for information, Dana soon falls in with a darkly charismatic church volunteer who is much more dangerous than he first appears. Set in two contrasting neighbourhoods—seedy Parkdale and posh Rosedale—the story’s events vault from extortion to kidnapping to murder. Dana must rely on the underrated skills of her housemates to help her catch a ruthless killer.
With her skilful portrayal of characters who may be down but are never out, Pat Capponi once again brings to life a world few of us know. In Dana Leoni, Capponi has created one of the most likeable—and vulnerable—investigators in crime fiction.
With her skilful portrayal of characters who may be down but are never out, Pat Capponi once again brings to life a world few of us know. In Dana Leoni, Capponi has created one of the most likeable—and vulnerable—investigators in crime fiction.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2008
8 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Pat Capponi
14 books9 followersPat Capponi (born 1949) is a Canadian author and an advocate for mental health issues and poverty issues in Canada. She lives in Toronto. Her works include several nonfiction titles and a mystery novel series.
She has also served as a board member at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and as a member of the Advocacy Commission in Ontario.
She has also served as a board member at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and as a member of the Advocacy Commission in Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 30, 2008
I preferred the first book in this series for one simple fact: it contained much more information on the streets of Toronto. This second book in the series could have been played out anywhere, and I really enjoyed envisioning where the last book took place. Other than that, it was a good mystery but I really would have preferred more name calling.
April 16, 2023
I read this in a single sitting. I hadn't had the chance to do that in more than a year. It was so satisfying.
I truly enjoyed this second, and sadly last, instalment in the Dana Leoni mystery series. Dana's a great character and I love that a band of scrappy psych survivors and an elderly gay theatre actor are way better at solving a big mystery and basically busting open the Toronto criminal underground than the actual cops.
The plot grabbed me and I thought that it was a little faster paced than Last Stop Sunnyside. I felt like Capponi tipped off who the baddie was a bit early? And I'm not sure if that was intentional or not.
I appreciated the way, as with Sunnyside, Capponi uses the story to bring up issues that psychiatric survivors and people experiencing houselessness are facing in Toronto without being too heavyhanded or compromising telling a plot-driven story. That said, it is odd/conspicuous to me that she barely mentions racism (I think she mentions it once) and basically all the psych survivors and houseless folks in the book are white-coded. This is not representative of many people experiencing poverty, criminalization, and aversive pathways through the mental health system. Surely Capponi, as a person with lived experience, knew this, but unfortunately racialized people or commentary on how racism ties into the other problems she describes do not make it into her novels.
Some of the cast of characters from Dana's boarding house got a little sidelined in this volume and I wished they got a bit more play/development, but all-in-all, this was still a thoroughly enjoyable mystery.
I truly enjoyed this second, and sadly last, instalment in the Dana Leoni mystery series. Dana's a great character and I love that a band of scrappy psych survivors and an elderly gay theatre actor are way better at solving a big mystery and basically busting open the Toronto criminal underground than the actual cops.
The plot grabbed me and I thought that it was a little faster paced than Last Stop Sunnyside. I felt like Capponi tipped off who the baddie was a bit early? And I'm not sure if that was intentional or not.
I appreciated the way, as with Sunnyside, Capponi uses the story to bring up issues that psychiatric survivors and people experiencing houselessness are facing in Toronto without being too heavyhanded or compromising telling a plot-driven story. That said, it is odd/conspicuous to me that she barely mentions racism (I think she mentions it once) and basically all the psych survivors and houseless folks in the book are white-coded. This is not representative of many people experiencing poverty, criminalization, and aversive pathways through the mental health system. Surely Capponi, as a person with lived experience, knew this, but unfortunately racialized people or commentary on how racism ties into the other problems she describes do not make it into her novels.
Some of the cast of characters from Dana's boarding house got a little sidelined in this volume and I wished they got a bit more play/development, but all-in-all, this was still a thoroughly enjoyable mystery.
March 19, 2018
I really liked this book. I preferred the first but it was a nice continuing story and would like to see another in this series.
April 1, 2018
Another winner
Pat Capponi writes a darn good story. I love the dialogue, the characters and Dana’s mental dialogue is golden Very engaging read.
Pat Capponi writes a darn good story. I love the dialogue, the characters and Dana’s mental dialogue is golden Very engaging read.
May 14, 2018
The corpse will keep
I got lost from the very beginning, never to make heads nor tail of this book, was there a plot, I think maybe. Poor bringing it all together.
I got lost from the very beginning, never to make heads nor tail of this book, was there a plot, I think maybe. Poor bringing it all together.
April 1, 2015
Very good, I'd like another.
I agree with another reviewer, I preferred the first book as there was more name-dropping of specific places in Parkdale that I could picture as I used to live there. I loved the street name references and comments on locations I've been to.
Another great feature in the first book was giving voice to the marginalized in society and I felt there was a little less of that here. The poor were poorer and we heard more about people who sleep on the street but not really any specific people, they were more referred to as a group.
Still the story and characters were enjoyable, the plot was a bit over the top in terms of scope. I have encountered very few evil organizations in my life. Still it was a fun light read.
I agree with another reviewer, I preferred the first book as there was more name-dropping of specific places in Parkdale that I could picture as I used to live there. I loved the street name references and comments on locations I've been to.
Another great feature in the first book was giving voice to the marginalized in society and I felt there was a little less of that here. The poor were poorer and we heard more about people who sleep on the street but not really any specific people, they were more referred to as a group.
Still the story and characters were enjoyable, the plot was a bit over the top in terms of scope. I have encountered very few evil organizations in my life. Still it was a fun light read.
November 26, 2008
Dana Leoni Mystery--Dana Leoni and her crew of amateur detectives are trying to go pro. They are asked to look into strange goings on involving the motehr of one of Danas college friends. The group gets in pretty deep as they try to uncover the mystery. Follow the crew as they get involved with The Out Of the Cold program and Boarding houses for the homeless and Mentally ill.
No one takes on the plight of homeless and marginalized like Pat Capponi does. Even though it's a work of fiction, the story does reflect Toronto's seedy street life and the things that can happento folks who are disadvantaged.
No one takes on the plight of homeless and marginalized like Pat Capponi does. Even though it's a work of fiction, the story does reflect Toronto's seedy street life and the things that can happento folks who are disadvantaged.
July 4, 2012
I finished the first book in the series on Saturday and enjoyed it ... and I enjoyed this one more.
It seemed to be more focused and solid. It was more substantial and on par with other mysteries out there. The cases that Dana was working on were interesting.
Though it's set in Toronto, there was less of an emphasis on letting us know all the details and more on the story.
If a third one in the series comes out, I'll read it.
It seemed to be more focused and solid. It was more substantial and on par with other mysteries out there. The cases that Dana was working on were interesting.
Though it's set in Toronto, there was less of an emphasis on letting us know all the details and more on the story.
If a third one in the series comes out, I'll read it.
July 21, 2013
Unabashedly Torontonian, this enjoyable mystery embodies the "Canadian" ideal of activism. A very enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews