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Great news! The Beggar's Opera  won Best Mystery/Thriller in the 2012 CBC Bookie Awards! Thanks so much to those of you who posted, blogged, tweeted, shared, and most importantly, voted!

There has also been a recent flurry of media activity, including a really great article in the April 2012 edition of Ottawa Magazine  by Mark Bourrie on how I got lucky in a U.K. bar and landed a book deal. You can find it (and links to all the other press I've been so fortunate to receive) on the News page. 

Lawyers Weekly will be running a feature story next week about how a number of criminal defence lawyers, including me, have turned their hand to mystery writing. And it looks like I'll be on CBC's The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers sometime in May or June. To top it all off, The Beggar's Opera has been getting fantastic book reviews!  Here’s a sample:  

“An impressive debut novel from Peggy Blair. The book itself unfolds with an artless ease: the investigation and its developments are both compelling and convincing, a genuinely mysterious mystery that manages to both surprise and maintain its internal integrity.” The National Post

“An impressive police procedural, one that is as much about a detective facing his own dementia-induced demons as a country in the midst of political turmoil. The Beggar’s Opera was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association’s Debut Dagger Award, and it’s easy to see why.”  Quill & Quire

"Old school or new, the essential test for any mystery novel is that it read downhill, forcing us to keep turning the pages faster as we come to the end. The Beggar’s Opera does this... It’s a great start for the series." The Toronto Star

“Ricardo Ramirez, head of the major crimes unit of the Cuban National Revolutionary Police, could easily invade and captivate international crime television.... There are enough strong characters, dazzling locations and subplots in Blair's book to sustain more than one season of thrillers.”  The Winnipeg Free Press

“Canadian author Peggy Blair has written a fast-paced, well-plotted mystery ... One can only hope Blair, a lawyer for 30 years and former member of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal, continues her career as a crime writer as well as she has begun.” The Vancouver Sun

"Full of atmosphere, The Beggar’s Opera is a debut novel with a twisted climax, revealing dialogue and astute social observation on how far apart we are from Cuba and yet how close.” The Hamilton Spectator

“A nuanced account of the struggles of two men to comprehend the sudden and unexpected turns in their complex lives....a whodunit full of twists and turns. Readers can look forward to following the further exploits of the enigmatic Cuban police detective.”  The Sherbrooke Record

"A splendid fictional debut. Blair’s riveting, gritty tale is so realistic, it may give readers nightmares about landing in legal trouble while in another country.” The Chronicle Herald

"A gritty, absorbing read. Peggy Blair has a future ahead of her as a mystery writer but topping this book will be a challenge." The Millstone 

"Does not disappoint. It's fast-paced, atmospheric, has unusual characters and delivers surprises right to the final pages." The Ottawa Citizen