As a fan of Dateline, 48 Hours and Crime Junkie, I was engrossed in the author’s true crime stories of Canadian murders I’d never heard about. The book was interesting and I liked how each chapter recounted a different crime. I’d say the least compelling parts of the story were the author’s personal anecdotes or emotions about the crimes, which became a bit repetitive although I do appreciate how he really devoted himself to solving these horrendous crimes.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the publishers for this ARC. True crime has fascinated me for as long as I can remember; always watching and reading, and now listening to all things crime rested; Steve’s book takes you right inside more than just the crime. It peels back the layers allowing the reader to feel more. It took me a bit longer than normal to finish. That’s not to say I didn’t like it, I definitely did; but the stories touched me. Living in Ontario, reading about fairly local stories and families hit a little harder. Steve does a wonderful job at recounting his memory from his time as a detective and officer. I would definitely recommend, but definitely take your time.

I was sitting on the fence about a star rating for this book, 3 stars or 4, but then realized the thing that was making me lean more toward the 3 star rating was not something promised by the book description but by my own expectation. I had thought there would be more description of the step-by-step process of investigating these crimes and when it became obvious that wasn't going to happen, I began to be dissatisfied with the book. I finally worked that issue out and continued reading but if you have that same kind of expectation, be aware that that isn't the kind of book this is.

Steve Ryan retired from the Toronto police department, specifically from the homicide department as his last years of service. He has chosen six cases which had a powerful impact on him, and which continue to remain vivid in his recollections of cases. This book includes examples of how horribly inhumane people can be to one another. Readers of true crime may already be aware of the types of cases homicide detectives spend their days and nights investigating but we don't actually see the sights, smell the smells or deal with the survivors the way a true enforcer of the law does. This book takes you as close or closer than you will ever want to go. Steve Ryan had no choice but to deal with the situations.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dundurn Press for an e-galley of this book.

I love reading/watching true crime. As I write this, an episode of American Justice is on. I liked the book and was invested in finding out how the cases developed and how they ended. I was also interested to find out how the justice system in Canada differed from the US. I liked the book but thought it would include more information about Steve himself and his current family, but that was my own expectation. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

This was a very good read. The author pulls you into some cases that he investigated, and gives you enough detail to keep your interest. Some of the cases are very emotional, but well presented. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest thoughts. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

I am longtime fan of shows like "Law & Order" and frequently read true crime books. This book caught my attention since it was written by a real life Homicide Detective. Steve Ryan has written a compelling and heartfelt book focusing on his career in Toronto, especially six memorable cases that continue to haunt him. Several of these cases involve horrible abuses of children that will possibly haunt the reader as well.

Mr. Ryan not only talks about his feelings about these cases, he also shows a great deal of sympathy/empathy with the victims and their families. Few true crime books do this and I think that people involved in these types of cases and those of us who read about them often forget the ones left behind.

The author has done a great job in drawing the reader into these cases and you can feel the emotional toll that his career has had on him. I applaud Mr. Ryan for his work and hope that telling others of his memories might be a way for some of these ghosts to be laid to rest.

“The Ghosts That Haunt Me” is a memoir by retired Toronto homicide Detective Steve Ryan. It is an unblinking examination into six of the investigations that continue to haunt his dreams, the seven victims of which have left imprints on his very soul. This was an incredibly difficult book for Steve to pen, thinking daily as he does about each of these people, reliving each nightmare scenario. It is almost equally as difficult for his reader to ingest both the process and what the investigation, autopsy, and crime scenes reveal. It must seem an insurmountable task for any police personnel to visit a crime scene and collect the necessary evidence to convict the murderer. He also described the teamwork involved in all homicide cases, giving us a peek into the police “family” that is made by their reliance on each other. The loss and heartbreak caused by these despicable acts will last a lifetime. In the end, we see a tiny bit of hope that good overcomes evil in these cases, in the sense that the criminals involved are removed from the street, must answer for what they’ve done, are brought to justice, and will serve prison time, giving some closure to the grieving families.

Steve Ryan is one hell of a writer, with the ability to put the reader into his shoes, describing in detail the sights, sounds, smells, and aftereffects of each crime scene. His has an innate ability to humanize each of these seven people as they lived, not just portray them as victims. It must be very easy to become hard in his chosen profession as a means of self-preservation, but even at the end of the book it is abundantly clear that he has remained emotional and attached to each person. He expresses wishes to have known them in life as well as he knows them in death. I don’t believe his job ever got “easier” for him in any sense, and his dread for approaching each new case and each step involved is palpable. Even in “retirement” he works for a television station as an expert crime newscaster, where he analyzes the minds of the perpetrators and the detectives for the viewing audience. This is simply an incredible, heartbreaking memoir, and it is one I’ll never forget.

Trigger warnings: murder, child and domestic abuse, mention of suicide, and graphic details.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Steve Ryan, and Dundurn Press for the ability to read and review this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Ghosts that Haunt Me by Steve Ryan.

Steve Ryan is a retired detective in Toronto who worked some of most horrific crimes in that area during his thirty years on the force. In this memoir Ryan tells six stories of the cases that have haunted him the most, and how they impacted him and ultimately his decision as to whether or not he would stay on the job.

This is the kind of book that I hate to say I enjoyed. The whole thing is centered around really ugly true crime cases that will make your stomach curl. But, I will say that Ryan has a gift of drawing you in, giving you front row seats to these cases, and painting a very realistic picture of what it would be like to be there. I was NEVER bored. Every case had me on the edge of my seat, and it was just as batsh*t as a fictional true crime novel. I appreciated his willingness to share what that must have been like for him, and learning what it would be like to be a detective in the homicide unit.

This is a gripping and fascinating read. Imagine being inside the head of a cop who has worked the streets of Toronto and can share the most awful crimes that he has worked on. It's fascnating but sad at the same time and you can't help but think of the poor victims and families affected. Steve has done a good job to keep things in perspective but share the difficulties of working on such cases. We should all have a new found respect for the police and emergency services after this.

I loved this one! I connected to this book in two ways: 1. as someone with a MSc in Forensic Science I connected with the forensic science aspects (of course there were some inaccuracies throughout the book but the author is a detective not a scientist so it’s understandable) and 2. as an RCMP employee it was really cool to see any mention of it. This book would’ve been good no matter where the author was from, but the fact that he is from Canada made this even more interesting for me due to being able to recognize a lot of the references. This is a really good non-fiction book that at times reads as a fiction book. I highly recommend this to fans of true crime and memoirs.

A special thanks to NetGalley, Dundurn Press and Steve Ryan for this ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review. The Ghosts That Haunt Me will be published October 11, 2022.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I used to be a true crime junkie, constantly listening to podcasts (I was a Murderino!), until hearing about a murder of a young nurse who lived alone.

As a young nurse who lived alone, I decided I was done with true crime.

How much worse would it be for a homicide detective to decide he was done?

“The Ghosts that Haunt Me” is an honest account of six homicide cases from a former detective, Steve Ryan. Recounting his experiences in the Toronto PD, Ryan reflects on the cases that interlocked and ultimately led to his decision to leave. Ryan’s memoir is incredibly well-written, reading like a novel in some points and a news article in others. He fluctuates between true sadness and factual reporting, which effectively mimics his increasingly weary state of mind.

Ryan begins with his regret that once the police are called, it’s already too late. Preventing crimes is a systemic issue, police response is a reaction. Investigating could never stop the crime from happening, and Ryan discusses this regret with each case. In addition to interesting cases, Ryan gives a clear look into the impact of his career on his mental health.

I was grateful to see this reflection from a police officer’s perspective. It humanizes his experience working in homicide and removes some romanticization we see in true crime media. Ryan admits the faults of the system he worked in and that immediately gave credit to what he was about to say.

I really enjoyed reading this memoir and I recommend it to any true crime fan.

Haunting doesn't even begin to describe it... This was a brutal and moving exploration of a number of the cases that Ryan was involved with during his time as a detective. The descriptions of the horrors humans enact on each other will never cease to amaze me, nor will the tireless efforts of some to see that someone pays for those wrongs.

This was a hard one to read, but it was definitely managed in a way that never sensationalized the crime, the perpetrators, or the victims. Rather it dealt with all three in a straightforward way that helped readers understand the depths of the depravity as well as the strength of heart of the police officers and prosecutors, as well as the families who experienced these tragedies.

Thank you to those, like Steve Ryan, who fight the good fight and willingly go back day after day - despite immense personal costs - to do their part to bring about justice.

Thanks to NetGalley, I received this arc. What a read, I could not stop turning pages, each story that Mr. Ryan shared made me want to keep reading to discover the outcome. Great book and well written!

To a young man police work seemed a job where one could make a difference. It wasnt long before Steve Ryan discovered it wasn’t as rosie as he had imagined. The years he spent as a Toronto homicide detective taught him it’s never over for the victim or their families, true evil exists and miracles can happen. He could never have imagined the toll it would have on his mind or the memories he couldn’t leave behind.
In this book he shares a sample of the murders he was involved in during his career and insight into the effect his job had on his life.
The vulnerability he displayed throughout the book was touching particularly considering his law enforcement background. This was a great tribute to the dead and I really enjoyed the read. I hope writing this book gives him some mental respite from the ghosts which haunt him.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital advance reading copy of the book in return for an honest review.

This book was not what I was expecting. It was even better. Detective Steve Ryan wrote about 6 cases that impacted him the most when he was a detective in Canada. He wrote a lot about how crime impacts so many people and gave me a new perspective on how wide the impact of crimes really are. It was a great, important read that opened my eyes to a new perspective on true crime stories.

I'm a true-crime junkie and this book definitely delivered. It takes a lot to make me say 'OMG' when I read about a case, and there were several times during this book I was absolutely floored. Really interesting stuff!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’m a huge fan of true crime. But to hear about stories from a homicide detective is heartbreaking. You don’t realize that these people have to relive all these stories on a daily basis, and Steve Ryan had over 100 cases. Bone chilling! Especially when it’s so close to home.

I feel for Steve Ryan, and all occupations that deal with homicides. It’s not an easy job but knowing when they catch the murderer and put them where they belong, gives the grieving families a small amount of relief.

These poor victims.

Thank you Steve Ryan, for sharing these cases with the world. You told the cases with just enough detail that I could picture everything. Steve talks about 6 cases. Each story was the perfect length. Talking about how his job effected his personal life is important, as the people at home never really think about, which was touched on a little bit during the stories.

I can’t imagine what you went through in your career, but it takes a lot to write about it.

I highly recommend this as your next read.


Thank you to Net Galley and Dundurn Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.



TW: sexual assault, murder, domestic abuse, self harm.

I am a true crime junkie so I knew I would love reading the stories from the perspective of a detective who solves the crimes! The author writes of the losses of lives in such a compassionate manner; not emphasizing the drama of the death but the life and lives impacted by them! I think I willI just wait here for his next book!

Steve Ryan recounts disheartening, tragic events that have haunted him the most during his distinguished law enforcement career. Follow along as he recounts his hope to better the world as a rookie cop, to career police officer and seasoned homicide detective. Through the retelling of these unfortunate cases, you empathize with the frustration and hopelessness he feels at times. After years of struggling with the pain and suffering that he'd been witness to, along with the crazy hours and toll it took on himself and his family, he decided to become a crime reporter after retiring from the police force.

This is a wonderful true crime novel written by a former homicide detective. appreciated the author's warning to readers who may be more squeamish--it is fair and should definitely be heeded for those less interested in homicides.
This book was a quick read, which kept me turning the pages to find out the details of the next story (there are just a handful). The book does follow a formula, so be prepared to skim through the redundancy of rephrased references to the detective's familiar drive or absence from his family while working long, unusual hours (things do go bump in the night!). Regardless, the book shared the detective's thoughts and feelings experienced during horrific investigations into homicides that we hope not to encounter in a lifetime. Thank you, Mr. Ryan, for sharing your experiences, and good for you on taking care of yourself and making the decision to leave homicide. The horrors of murder, torture, and unexplained motive, take a toll on the mind, body, and soul. Thankfully, we can read about them from a distance, and leave the rest to the professionals.

Thank you to Dundurn Press and Netgalley for the advance e-galley!