Capital Crime Writers Presents: A Capital Mystery (Volume 2): Twenty-Three Page-Turning Mysteries And a City Full of Secrets

by Mike Martin, Bernadette Cox (Editor)

308 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2026

About the author

Mike Martin is a freelance writer and workplace wellness consultant. He has written and published thousands of articles about workplace issues for magazines and publications in Canada, the United States and New Zealand. He has worked in human resources for over thirty years and has experience both as a senior manager and a union representative. For the past fifteen years he has worked with dozens of small, medium and large organizations in the areas of workplace intervention and conflict management.

Reviews

[Sally]

A Capital Mystery Volume 2 (Capital Crime Writers Presents Twenty-Three Page-Turning Mysteries And a City Full of Secrets) picks right up where the first volume, published in 2025, left off and is every bit as engrossing and enjoyable. Once again Editors Mike Martin and Bernadette Cox have done an amazing job of assembling and presenting a variety of original short stories full of mystery, suspense and surprising twists for your reading pleasure.

Short stories are hit and miss; they can keep you riveted with so much action compressed into a short form. On the other hand, not all authors can pull it off and sometimes it feels like the story just dropped off; feels rushed or is more like an unremarkable anecdote. Not so with this collection. Each story will capture your full attention. Yes, sometimes the ending will feel unresolved but it’s perfectly unresolved and causes you to keep thinking after THE END. All stories are centered in Ottawa, but Ottawa is composed of many people, places and things – all uniquely different. The stories span time, class, occupation, historical events.

Tropes are varied, interesting and often unusual, including accidental sleuth, amateur sleuth, cozy spin, isolated setting/closed room mystery and unreliable narrator. There’s something for everyone.

Take a look at the list of authors and titles and tell me you’re not intrigued:

1. MIKE MARTIN – Loved to Death
2. BRENDA CHAPMAN – Stormy, Stormy Night
3. CHRISTINA SPENCER - Operation on Thin Ice
4. GARY COFFIN – The Blockade
5. JENNIFER GEENS – We Shall Not Sleep
6. ELIZABETH HOSANG – The Long Legs of the Law
7. BERNADETTE HENDRICKX – Stargazer
8. MICHAEL J. MCCANN – The Paul Clancy Case
9. KATHY MACLELLAN – The Mer Bleue Bog Body
10. JENNIFER JORGENSEN - Place
11. KIM BLANCHE – Murder at the Market
12. LEIGH THERRIAULT – Starfall
13. RUBY URLOCKER – The Death of Innocence
14. SUZAN MANDLA – Irony
15. ELENA FORTIN – Escape Countdown
16. JAGJEET SHARMA – The Window Across
17. A. E. PITTMAN – When You Have Eliminated the Impossible . . .
18. GLENDA STEWART – Once Bitten, Twice Dead
19. MATT DODGE – Dead Man’s Bouquet
20. MAYA VALENZUELA – The Secrets We Keep
21. ROSS DAVID WILSON – Skip Tracer
22. SYLVIA DAVIES – The House
23. ANDREW KOHUT – Trouble with Numbers

I received an advance copy of A Capital Mystery Volume 2 from editor Mike Martin, who just so happens to be a favorite author of mine. This book provided many hours of reading pleasure. You can read a story or two at a time or go straight on through. Both will leave you satisfied and hoping for a Volume 3 in the near future. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

[James Terry]

A Capital Mystery Volume 2 celebrates the storytellers who know Ottawa best—its rhythms, its contradictions, its quiet corners, and iconic landmarks. This second anthology brings together a remarkable range of crime fiction voices, from seasoned Ottawa authors to emerging writers discovering the thrill of the genre for the first time.
These stories travel the full sweep of our nation’s capital: the rural edges where long memories linger, the bustling downtown core, and the distinct communities stretching from Orléans to Kanata. Each tale captures a facet of the city’s beating heart, inviting readers into neighbourhoods they know and love, and revealing the mysteries that might unfold just beyond the Peace Tower or along the frozen curve of the Rideau Canal.
In a time when supporting local creators matters more than ever, A Capital Mystery Volume 2 stands as a testament to the strength, imagination, and diversity of the Ottawa writing community. This collection showcases tremendous Canadian talent and reminds us why stories rooted in our own soil resonate so deeply.
Whether you’re a long-time mystery reader or simply curious about the shadows that flicker across familiar streets, this anthology offers a rich, compelling journey through Ottawa’s most intriguing fictional crimes—crafted by the writers who call this city home.

[Kelly Young]

Building on the success of the first collection of stories set in Canada's capital city of Ottawa, A Capital Mystery Volume 2 features more crime stories to thrill readers, no matter what flavour of crime writing they enjoy.
Compiled and edited by Mike Martin and Bernadette Cox, with 23 stories set in Ottawa and the surrounding areas, this anthology is perfect for summer reading. Those familiar with the area will enjoy seeing locations they recognize as the settings, and for those who've only visited or would like to some day, these stories provide a look into locations the locals call home.
I particularly enjoyed the story The Blockade by Gary Coffin, which looked at the time in recent history when a protest took over the city for weeks, and other tales set in historic Ottawa.
The collection runs the gamut of the sub-genres of crime - cozy, historical, police procedural, thriller, and more. These are well-written bites of crime fiction that are perfect for stolen reading moments throughout the busy summer season.
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC of this collection. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to all mystery lovers out there!

[Grady]

Mysteries across the border! A timely visit to Canada

Canadian author Mike Martin, a Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, serves as both writer and co-editor with Bernadette Cox for this superb anthology of mysteries set in Ottawa, Canada’s capital, as depicted by twenty-three high quality mystery authors – members of Crime Writers of Canada and Capital Crime Writers.

The themes of these mysteries vary in crime creation, yet the uniting thread is the fascinating city of Ottawa. As the editors state, ‘From Kanata to Orléans, from Britannia Beach to the Mer Bleue Bog, these lawyers, piano teachers, photographers and puppeteers uncover mischief, mayhem and even murder in modern-day Ottawa. They also bring us back to our collective past to recall the live music at Le Hibou or to imagine the awe felt as new carillon bells rang out from Parliament Hill after the Great War. Enter this collection of fiction and experience the community, vibrancy and mysterious soul defining our nation’s capital.’

This is a very fine mystery anthology, just the sort of book (or laptop!) to keep at the bedside for several satisfying evenings’ read. Highly recommended

[Margot Kinberg]

This anthology kept my interest from start to finish. It’s an engaging collection of 23 well written short stories, all featuring Ottawa. The stories are richly varied, from lighter to noir, and each one gives the reader a strong sense of Ottawa. From its high-end suburbs to down-and-out bars, the city is a main character in terms of its physical setting, culture, and more. I very much felt I was there as I read.

Each story explores the lives of the different people who call Ottawa home. Some stories are historical; many take place in the present day. But all of them look at the way people are impacted when there’s a crime. Dark secrets come out, people’s pasts catch up with them, and people have to come to terms with things they’d rather not face. The stories are all wonderfully human stories. They invite readers to care about the characters as they deal with family relationships, love, friendship, and, of course, crimes like murder. It’s an outstanding collection of stories, each with its own perspective on one of Canada’s largest cities. Highly recommended.

[Denise Zendel]

This compilation features the work of 23 Canadian authors with a wide range of short story mysteries set in Ottawa, Canada, edited by Bernadette Cox and Mike Martin, author of the Sgt. Windflower RCMP mysteries. The stories include accidental sleuths, amateur sleuths, private investigators, isolated settings, cozy happenings, and closed room mysteries.

This was a fun read. I got to sample a bunch of new-to-me authors, as well as a non-Sgt. Windflower entry from Martin, one of my favorite Canadians and writers. The stories are perfect for waiting on line, being on hold, or just taking a quick break between appointments. I appreciated the wide variety of writing styles and situations. If you’re looking for quick entertainment, or an easy way to sample different authors, give this one a go.

[Lisa Nikolits]

An excellent anthology: A Capital Mystery Volume 2 is a richly original and distinctly Canadian anthology. The collection is especially rewarding for its insightful and poignant glimpses into the spirit of Ottawa as well as the broader fabric of Canadiana. Each story introduces a memorable cast of characters with remarkable depth and resonance. Thematically rich and beautifully balanced, the anthology ranges from noir and literary fiction to cozy mysteries. The stories unfold with effortless grace, like a camera following strangers along a city street, only to reveal the secrets, lies, and dangers hidden just beneath the surface. Full review to follow.

[Katie Tallo]

There’s nothing like gathering together a bunch of mystery writers and letting them cook up some delicious stories about their hometown—in this case, Ottawa. The result is "A Capital Mystery" (Volume 2)—a dark and twisty smorgasbord of delightful offerings from the tight and tense prose of Mike Martin’s story, Loved to Death, to the cheeky and darkly funny tale of domestic strife in Suzan Mandla’s Irony. There are stories of abandoned places, terrifying highway nightmares, and bodies disappeared in bottomless bogs. All of them together are truly a feast to be savoured, but perhaps not for the faint of heart.

[Jo Ann]

I received this as an ebook from Mike Martin and I thank him for thinking of me.

This is a collection of short stories that take place in and around Ottawa. The adventures give the reader multiple interesting pictures of life in Canada's capital city, both now and historically. As with many such collections, the stories are varied. Many are excellent. Each author brings their unique approach and style to storytelling. Some of the cases have very intriguing premises and could easily be first chapters to longer works.

I look forward to future collections from the Capital Crime Writers.

[Mike Martin]

A Capital Mystery Volume 2 is another great addition to the pantheon of short mystery stories set in Ottawa, Canada's capital city. It weaves a web of intrigue from Parliament Hill to Kanata. Ottawa residents will recognize familiar locations as the setting for strange deeds while visitors to Ottawa will get a behind the scenes view of a city that may be quiet, but is never boring.

[Bernadette Cox]

From suspense to psychological thriller to old-fashioned gumshoe whodunnits, A Capital Mystery Volume 2 maintains interest from the opening line to the last. Twenty-three of Canada’s finest fiction mystery writers collaborate to reveal, each in their own unique style, the many facets—good and bad, glamorous and gloomy, whimsical and deadly serious—of our nation’s capital city.

[Witches Kilt]

Love the short story mystery format as I never have time to read an entire novel these days. The authors have done a great job of setting scenes in Ottawa and there is a wide variety of themes. Perfect book for the person on your gift list that is hard to buy for as this book will appeal to everyone.

[Steve Foster]

As an avid reader and driving enthusiast, I like my books how I like my roads: full of twists, turns, and the unexpected. "Capital Crime Writers Presents: A Capital Mystery (Volume 2)" did not disappoint. Its wide variety of short mysteries - packed with familiar Ottawa-area locations, businesses, and landmarks - took me down some wonderfully unpredictable roads.

[Cora Murphy]

An excellent read. A Capital Mystery Volume 2 has mysteries from old friends and new authors, each one a delightful experience in different Ottawa locales. Such a treat. I am already looking forward to Volume 3.

[Rick Currie]

An eclectic collection of quick reads. I enjoy that the stories are all set in Ottawa, making it possible for anyone familiar with the city to be able to imagine exactly where the action is taking place. Also like that the stories take place in all different periods of history.

[Joanne Hurley]

Another fine bijou collection of short stories and mysteries from some of Ottawa - and Canada’s best and brightest. Highly recommended.

[Andy Kohut]

As an Ottawa resident, it was very interesting and fun to read stories about local neighbourhoods. I also enjoyed the range of stories, from clever to scary to funny.

[Ann MacDonald]

I recommend this collection of smart, witty, occasionally scary stories. Who knew there were so many secrets and dark impulses beneath Ottawa’s placid surface?

Ann MacDonald

[Kathy Bolton]

What an entertaining read! I loved all the Ottawa landmarks. I'm looking forward to Volume 3!

[M. Wade]

I do enjoy short stories and this is a good collection. I loved the police work in Loved To Death and would like to read more cases solved by Orson Carver the lead PI in The Blockade.