The Road to Heaven

"Raw and twisty, The Road to Heaven takes you through hell to get to the promised land. Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson's prose reads like poetry, spare, yet laden with symbolism and meaning. A bright new star is shining among us. This book is a rare find and a brilliant debut." — JANE K. CLELAND, author of Jane Austen's Lost Letters

"Set in 1960s Toronto, Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson's The Road to Heaven is a taut noir that introduces Patrick Bird, a rookie PI who is as self-destructive as he is effective. This edge-of-the-chair page-turner is full of suspense, evocative settings, and unforgettable characters trapped in a web full of secrets and lies." — LIV SPECTOR, author of The Rich and the Dead

"Witty and whip-smart, Stefanovich-Thomson dazzles his readers with fresh twists on every page. He dares you to keep up." — NINA DUNIC, author of The Clarion

"The Road to Heaven is a compelling debut and a must-read for fans of the hard-boiled genre. Stefanovich-Thomson masterfully recreates the seedier side of ‘60s Toronto with pitch-perfect description in this intriguing mystery of a family in crisis. Conflicted PI Patrick Bird proves a sardonic narrator with anger issues and his own dark secrets, making him the unlikely hero tasked with finding the family's missing teenager. A beguiling and well-crafted mystery." — BRENDA CHAPMAN, author of the Stonechild and Rouleau and the Hunter and Tate mysteries

"In this taut and stylish debut, Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson plunges the reader headlong into a Toronto period piece affectionately stage-lit by noir. The opening scene’s flashbulb pop exposes the loneliness and corrosive underbelly of a thickly peopled mystery. PI Patrick Bird’s dogged pursuit of a missing persons case is captured with a wry awareness of a gaping postwar generational divide and a pitiless eye for intimate affairs." — ANDREW STEINMETZ, author of Because

"A riveting, fast-paced mystery, with aspects of noir and historical fiction thrown in for good measure. Patrick Bird is a young, cynical detective hired by a secretive rich man to track down his missing teenage daughter, Abbie. This seemingly simple plot takes place in a fascinating setting (Toronto, Ontario, mid-1965). At the time, Toronto was rapidly expanding, and youth culture was starting to challenge pious norms in a notoriously uptight city. Did Abbie run away to join the counterculture or is something more sinister afoot? Detective Bird keeps on the case, in a well-written book with multiple plot pivots that keeps everyone guessing until the end. I hope to read more books featuring Detective Bird’s adventures in Toronto the-not-so-Good." — NATE HENDLEY, author of Atrocity on the Atlantic and The Beatle Bandit