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Patrick Bird thought he was helping his mother-in-law collect back rent from a deadbeat tenant at her Ossington Avenue rooming house, not starting a new investigation. But when he discovers Jack Turner’s third-floor darkroom is demolished and the photographer is missing, the other tenants come under scrutiny:Mr. Yusuf, the international student training to be a doctor; Danny Blinken, the shifty taxi driver; and Shirley Burton, the young nurse far from home.
As Bird investigates, he uncovers information about a former tenant, James Earl Ray, who had assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. just weeks earlier and had been hiding out in a room on the second floor.
The case takes Bird and the police down a path of intrigue reaching right into the centre of one of the most infamous assassinations of the twentieth century, leading our truculent PI to just about the toughest spot he could imagine.
In Opposite Sully’s Gym, Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson works a noir twist into a notorious real-life moment to great effect. Taut, gripping, and utterly compelling, this is historical suspense of the finest calibre and a must-read for fans of hard-boiled detective fiction.
A rare and wonderful find: a novel set in Toronto in the late 1960s that weaves the real life story of James Earl Ray hiding out here with a flawed hero we want to keep reading about.
Opposite Sully’s Gym is a layered delicacy of classic noir fiction. The taut suspense-filled plot is structured around wonderful prose reminiscent of Ross MacDonald. This is a character-driven novel where the time period and setting carry equal weight to the main character. If you love classic noir, Opposite of Sully’s Gym is not one to be missed. Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson is definitely an author to watch.
A perfectly paced slow-burn mystery that’s also one of the best crime novels I’ve read in years. Patrick Bird reminds me a lot of the Howard Engel’s great PI Benny Cooperman but with a darker and grittier edge.
Opposite Sully’s Gym is that rare mystery which combines a dark, suspenseful whodunit with a vivid, engrossing historical setting. I haven’t been so wrapped-up in a novel since Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress. Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson is a terrific writer!
Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson follows his Edgar-nominated debut with this taut, skillfully-crafted novel set in the turbulent Toronto of the late Sixties. Equal parts murder mystery and historical thriller, Stefanovich-Thomson perfectly captures the paranoia of the era and the grit and grime of Toronto’s streets, factories and rooming houses. Well-paced and witty, Opposite Sully’s Gym is a love letter to the great P.I. stories of the 20th century, when all a detective needed was a keen mind and a good pair of shoes. In Patrick Bird, Canada has, at long last, our answer to Lew Archer.
Opposite Sully’s Gym is a layered, slow-burn noir that blazes to a stunning and unexpected climax. Stubborn and compelling wannabe P.I. Patrick Bird wends through the vividly realized streets of 1960s Toronto in a mystery that respects the classics while carving out something gritty, humane, and unforgettable.
Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson has spun an absorbing mystery out of one of the most unlikely chapters in Toronto's history. Opposite Sully’s Gym is a compelling page-turner that takes you into the city's shadows, finding intrigue in the local connections to an earth-shaking assassination.
One of the most riveting thrillers I've ever read. Stefanovich-Thomson deftly places the reader back to 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King. The Toronto setting is beautifully observed, with vivid descriptions of the rooming houses, the police service, current events, even the cars and mores of the time ... Stefanovich-Thomson ratchets up the tension like a master, unfolding twist after twist, to an absolutely unexpected final chapter. The best book I've read this year.
Alexis Stefanovich-Thomson is a writer living in Toronto. His novella, The Man Who Went Down Under, won the Black Orchid Novella Award and the Crime Writers of Canada Best Novella Award. His first novel, The Road to Heaven, was nominated for an Edgar Award and a Shamus Award. The second book in the Patrick Bird Mystery Series, Opposite Sully’s Gym, is coming out in March 2026.