Chris Laing books

Chris Laing is a Canadian mystery author known for the Max Dexter Mystery series, four hardboiled detective novels set in post-WWII Toronto.

Collections

Title Published Buy on Amazon
West End Kid: Tales from the Forties 2004 Buy

Max Dexter Mystery Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
A Private Man 2012 Buy
A Deadly Venture 2014 Buy
A Family Matter 2017 Buy
A Devious Dame 2019 Buy

Chris Laing writes mystery fiction set in the decades after World War II. His Max Dexter Mystery series follows a Toronto private investigator through four cases published between 2012 and 2019, using the Canadian post-war setting to create noir atmosphere in a city more often associated with politeness than crime.

Laing also published West End Kid: Tales from the Forties, a 2004 collection that draws on the same mid-century period. His work offers a Canadian take on the hardboiled detective tradition, with Toronto standing in for the mean streets usually associated with American cities.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Chris Laing written?

Chris Laing has written five books across two series.

What was Chris Laing's first book?

Chris Laing’s first book is West End Kid: Tales from the Forties, published in 2004.

What is Chris Laing known for?

Laing is known for the Max Dexter Mystery series, four novels following a private investigator in 1940s-50s Toronto. The books — A Private Man, A Deadly Venture, A Family Matter, and A Devious Dame — use the post-war Canadian setting to create hardboiled mysteries with a distinctly northern flavor.

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