Retired RCMP veteran's first novel draws on 33-year career in organized crime and national security
Shane Tuckey, who lives in Tsawwassen, says his book is not an autobiography, though readers from the North Shore may recognize some historical events in its pages.
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The opening of Shane Tuckey's new novel, "The North Shore Murders", is a murder: the elderly neighbours of Insp. Steve Tucker are killed on their front lawn. The retired RCMP officer says the book is not an autobiography, but readers from the North Shore may recognize some of the historical events in it.
The book is a crime thriller set in a fictional city called "North Shore" that takes elements of both North and West Vancouver. Its story moves through organized crime, surveillance, informants and undercover police operations, with mountains and mansions as the backdrop.
Tuckey spent 33 years in policing. His career included several years with the North Vancouver RCMP, assignments in organized crime, drug enforcement and national security, and five years as a police liaison officer at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi. He says those postings give the book an insider's view of Canadian policing.
"I've been writing as things happened in my career, some traumatic, some not so traumatic, but some very worthy of news," Tuckey said. "So I've been writing my memoirs for years. Then I realized that it'd be kind of easy to actually go off and write something different."
He put the memoirs aside and turned his experience into fiction instead. He hopes the book could be the first in a crime trilogy. It is heavy on police procedure, including undercover techniques and informant handling, and some readers may find parts of it gory or disturbing.
The novel is Tuckey's first attempt at fiction. "The first edit I had done, it was like a kick in the teeth," he said with a laugh. It took him about six months to absorb the first editor's feedback, let alone work out how to fix it. Years of revisions followed.
He also said the writing was emotional. "I cried when I wrote certain scenes in this," Tuckey said. "It was an emotional time. I've seen a lot."
"The North Shore Murders" is available in paperback through shanetuckey.com.
The details
Where can readers buy 'The North Shore Murders'?
'The North Shore Murders' is available in paperback through shanetuckey.com. The novel is Shane Tuckey's first book of fiction.
Who wrote 'The North Shore Murders'?
Shane Tuckey, a retired RCMP officer who lives in Tsawwassen, wrote 'The North
