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The Pickton File
Stevie Cameron turns her renowned analytical eye from the "crooks in suits" of her previous books to the case of Vancouver's missing women and the man who has been charged with killing 27 of them, who if convicted will have the horrific distinction of being the worst serial killer in Canadian history.
It's a shocking story that may not be over anytime soon. When the police moved in on Pickton's famous residence, the "pig farm" of Port Coquitlam, in February 2002, the entire 14-acre area was declared a crime scene -- the largest one in Canadian history. Well over 150 investigators and forensics experts were required, including 102 anthropology students from across the country called in to sift through the entire farm, one shovelful of dirt at a time.
A woman who is considered by many to be this country's best investigative journalist, Cameron has been thinking about the missing women of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside since 1998, when the occasional newspaper story ran about families and friends of some of the 63 missing women agitating for action -- and being ignored by police and politicians. Robert William "Willie" Pickton has been on her mind since his arrest, that February five years ago, for the murders of two of the women, Mona Wilson and Sereena Abotsway, both drug-addicted prostitutes from the impoverished neighbourhood where all the missing women had connections.
Living half-time in Vancouver for the last five years, Stevie Cameron has come to know many of the people involved in this case, from families of the missing women to the lawyers involved on both sides. She writes not only with tireless investigative curiosity, but also with enormous compassion for the women who are gone and the ones who still struggle to ply their trade on the Downtown Eastside.
"We had no idea [in 2002] how massive the investigation would be. We had no notion that the police would sift every inch of dirt on the Pickton farm, a process that lasted from the spring of 2002 to late 2004. We did not foresee the broad publication ban that would prevent any word printed or broadcast of what was being said in court in case it influenced a potential juror. We couldn't know that there would be, by 2006, 27 charges of first-degree murder against Pickton and that the police would continue to investigate him on suspicion of many other deaths. And we didn't know that the police and other personnel involved in the case, under threat of ruined careers, were forbidden to talk to reporters. In blissful ignorance, all I could do was begin…"
--Excerpt from The Pickton File
It's a shocking story that may not be over anytime soon. When the police moved in on Pickton's famous residence, the "pig farm" of Port Coquitlam, in February 2002, the entire 14-acre area was declared a crime scene -- the largest one in Canadian history. Well over 150 investigators and forensics experts were required, including 102 anthropology students from across the country called in to sift through the entire farm, one shovelful of dirt at a time.
A woman who is considered by many to be this country's best investigative journalist, Cameron has been thinking about the missing women of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside since 1998, when the occasional newspaper story ran about families and friends of some of the 63 missing women agitating for action -- and being ignored by police and politicians. Robert William "Willie" Pickton has been on her mind since his arrest, that February five years ago, for the murders of two of the women, Mona Wilson and Sereena Abotsway, both drug-addicted prostitutes from the impoverished neighbourhood where all the missing women had connections.
Living half-time in Vancouver for the last five years, Stevie Cameron has come to know many of the people involved in this case, from families of the missing women to the lawyers involved on both sides. She writes not only with tireless investigative curiosity, but also with enormous compassion for the women who are gone and the ones who still struggle to ply their trade on the Downtown Eastside.
"We had no idea [in 2002] how massive the investigation would be. We had no notion that the police would sift every inch of dirt on the Pickton farm, a process that lasted from the spring of 2002 to late 2004. We did not foresee the broad publication ban that would prevent any word printed or broadcast of what was being said in court in case it influenced a potential juror. We couldn't know that there would be, by 2006, 27 charges of first-degree murder against Pickton and that the police would continue to investigate him on suspicion of many other deaths. And we didn't know that the police and other personnel involved in the case, under threat of ruined careers, were forbidden to talk to reporters. In blissful ignorance, all I could do was begin…"
--Excerpt from The Pickton File
260 pages, Paperback
First published May 30, 2007
12 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Stevie Cameron
11 books25 followersStephanie Graham "Stevie" Cameron was a Canadian investigative journalist and author. She worked for various newspapers such as the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. She hosted a newsmagazine television show The Fifth Estate on CBC-TV in the 1990s. She was also an author of non-fiction books, including one from 1994 about former prime minister Brian Mulroney called On the Take. In 2013, she was honoured with membership into the Order of Canada. She died in Toronto on August 31, 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
July 10, 2013
This book is about writing this book. There are maybe 50 pages about Pickton and the rest are about things like the author's knee surgery, Internet service in Jerusalem and her daughters wedding. The book ends with the opening statements of the trial and the rest talks about the publicity ban. It is also painfully repetitive. Calling it "The Pickton File" was a massive stretch. I'm glad I didn't pay money for this and I am contemplating throwing it out so no one else wastes their time.
March 26, 2014
I really didn't enjoy this book. I thought I was going to get more details and insight to the crimes, the criminal, and the criminal justice system. What I really learned was the daily habits of Stevie Cameron and how slow and drawn out the Canadian legal system is. Apparently her book 'on the farm' gives more information to the Pickton crimes and trial but that only begs the question of why she wrote this book at all...
January 16, 2016
This was a very interesting read about everything happening around and behind the scenes of the sixteen-month-long preliminary exam in the Pickton Pig Farm murder case. The author, banned from publishing virtually anything about the evidence itself by court order, told us a great deal instead about the Downtown Eastside community, the women who were killed and the long, long wait by their friends and relatives to learn what happened to them. I cannot wait to read her next installment about this hideous case.
November 29, 2012
Stevie Cameron has written two important books about the Pickton case: this one and On The Farm. Both place particular emphasis on the women whom Pickton victimized. I'm puzzled by the number of reviewers who complain that The Pickton File lacks information about the trial. Surely this is not surprising, given that it was published shortly after the lengthy trial started. Those wanting courtroom details should pick up On The Farm.
August 21, 2021
This is going to be mean so apologies in advance but it’s like the publisher said, hey can you write an almost irrelevant book about the Pickton case and focus on things like your knee replacement? Why would you end the book at the first day of trial. Why would you publish before the publication ban is done. When you need to find content in your car troubles and trip to Israel you have likely jumped the shark in a book about a serial killer.
August 5, 2015
I was pretty disappointed in this book because it led me to believe that I was going to be reading about the Pickton trial, however, this book is just about her experiences writing a separate book on the case. I would like to look into Cameron's other novel on the case, but this one was just a flop for me.
August 16, 2008
A book that told me nothing I wanted to know. How irritating!
July 23, 2010
good book on the intricacies of being a journalist, but not much real info about the trial...
August 14, 2020
On The Farm by this author is my favourite Pickton book. This one is like a super condensed version of it and I think because of that there’s a lot missing which makes it a little...dry. What I love about the former, is the she really delves into the victims and their loved ones lives. Gives them a voice and it was easy to get lost in the story.
I felt like this one was more about the author’s journey gathering and investigating, it looked at things but not in any great detail.
What did you think?
I felt like this one was more about the author’s journey gathering and investigating, it looked at things but not in any great detail.
What did you think?
July 5, 2022
I picked this book up knowing it was going to be about Stevie Cameron’s process on starting her book ‘On The Farm’ (read my review on that book!). So that right there set the tone for this book - many readers weren’t aware of that and gave the book shitty reviews. It was a cool read if you want to learn more about her experience with starting her obsession with the Pickton story and court proceedings in Canada. As you see in the book, criminal cases are not black and white and take years to finally come to fruition.
January 20, 2024
It was on the news back in the day but never paid much attention to it and decided to read book to learn more. Lots of names which was confusing, and only people who are interested in this subject may want to read it.
I think I’d like to read the other book, ‘The Pig Farm’.
The writer went to all the court cases, but had a publishing ban so he wrote about some of the missing women.
I think I’d like to read the other book, ‘The Pig Farm’.
The writer went to all the court cases, but had a publishing ban so he wrote about some of the missing women.
March 6, 2024
Mind blowing! Someone from BC will understand references to landmarks and people, thus providing a bit more clarity, but anyone who has seen the two tiered legal system in action will understand what is happening here. The entire policing system needs an overhaul and this book serves as to a great explanation for that.
September 2, 2017
Interesting but wasn't as in depth about Pickton as I normally read in True Crime genre.
November 4, 2021
It had so much potential, and certain elements of the novel were good. However as it progressed I always felt like I wanted something more, it was very flat.
February 23, 2017
In my law class, we are doing case studies on some of Canada's notorious crimes and my group was assigned the Robert Pickton crimes. I first came across Cameron through her book "On the Farm", which I plan on reading next.
Due to the publication bans that were in place at the time of the novel, the specifics about the crimes and what happened on the Pickton farm are not available in this novel. Instead, it is more about the background facts of the case leading up to the trial. It is about the investigation as well as the people involved in the trials. There was also a chapter on Pickton and his life.
Cameron wrote a very good novel. From looking at the reviews and how mixed they were, I was a little nervous about this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This novel didn't drag at all and I quite enjoyed it (although saying that makes me feel a little weird). Through out the novel, Cameron documents the years that she spent on the case and it is quite obvious that she did a lot of research. All of the research really added to novel, especially the interviews. She was able to get most of the angles of the people involved; the families of the victims, the friends of Pickton, and the police. The dedication that Cameron had towards this novel was quite evident.
If you want information about the investigation and are not so interested in the details of the crimes, this is definitely a novel to check out. If you are interested in Pickton, then this is a good novel to get the legal side of the case, because that was a little confusing to me (Cameron cleared it all up for me). A very well written novel on one of the most horrific crimes in Canadian history.
Due to the publication bans that were in place at the time of the novel, the specifics about the crimes and what happened on the Pickton farm are not available in this novel. Instead, it is more about the background facts of the case leading up to the trial. It is about the investigation as well as the people involved in the trials. There was also a chapter on Pickton and his life.
Cameron wrote a very good novel. From looking at the reviews and how mixed they were, I was a little nervous about this book. However, I was pleasantly surprised. This novel didn't drag at all and I quite enjoyed it (although saying that makes me feel a little weird). Through out the novel, Cameron documents the years that she spent on the case and it is quite obvious that she did a lot of research. All of the research really added to novel, especially the interviews. She was able to get most of the angles of the people involved; the families of the victims, the friends of Pickton, and the police. The dedication that Cameron had towards this novel was quite evident.
If you want information about the investigation and are not so interested in the details of the crimes, this is definitely a novel to check out. If you are interested in Pickton, then this is a good novel to get the legal side of the case, because that was a little confusing to me (Cameron cleared it all up for me). A very well written novel on one of the most horrific crimes in Canadian history.
September 7, 2013
If you wanted actual crime scene or court case details, this isn't the book you're looking for. But it's a perfectly good memoir of the author during her process of researching the actual Pickton book. There are well done sections about the lives of the women (and the types of women) victimized, a delving into the underlying social problems that lead to situations like this one, and more than enough (seriously, way more) background information about all the lawyers and other professionals involved in the trial.
March 3, 2015
Like others have said already, this is not so much a book about the Picton case, as it is a book about writing a book on the Picton case. It's hard to admit that I liked a book on so grim a subject so much, but Stevie Cameron's writing is so eloquent, it's hard not to become interested and eventually engrossed. It was a bit of revelation how much blood, sweat and tears go into the research part of a well written true crime book, and Cameron certainly put her whole into it.
October 14, 2010
Very interesting, well written and well researched. I was afraid it would be overwhelming but that was not the case.
January 26, 2011
Well written and researched, but little information about the actual case due to publicity ban at the time.
Still interesting
Still interesting
January 29, 2015
interesting enough. but since its all prelim and technicalities a little boring. hopefully the next ones better - its certainly bigger
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews