Looking for a police procedural set in picturesque Canada? Let Award-winning and Bestselling Author P.D. Workman take you to her favourite Calgary parks, as Métis detective Margie Patenaude investigates a murder in this fast-paced new series.

Detective “Parks” Pat — Margie Patenaude — is a new Calgary homicide detective. Being Métis and a single mom, she has a few things on her plate. Working on a spate of murders in Calgary and area parks earns Margie her nickname.

These short mysteries are just right for those days when you could use a break from your busy life. Take a walk in a Calgary park with Parks Pat.

Out With the Sunset

There’s nothing like jumping straight into the deep end.

Margie Patenaude is new in town and wasn’t expecting to get called to a murder scene on her daughter’s first day of school.

It’s an ugly murder in a beautiful setting. How can Calgary’s park-goers feel safe with a murderer still on the streets—or pathways? Margie and the team are on the case while at the same time she and her daughter try to acclimatize to the new city.

If she wants her coworkers to believe that she’s not just a ‘diversity hire,’ she needs to show them what she’s made of and track this killer down.

Long Climb to the Top

Solving this case is going to be a long climb

Detective Pat is called out to another park homicide scene with disturbing similarities to the Fish Creek murder. Digging more deeply into the evidence reveals something even more worrisome. If her instincts are right, this case may hit a little too close to home.

Is she just imagining the connections? Or could her family be in real danger?

The clock is ticking as Detective Pat homes in on a killer.

Dark Water Under the Bridge

Parks Pat could be in deep water on this case!

Detective “Parks” Pat has made a name for herself in solving the Fish Creek and Glenbow Ranch murders, so she is the one they call when a body turns up in Ralph Klein Park. She would be happy for the confidence placed in her if it weren’t for the fact that the body is in the water.

Detective Pat hates the water. She’ll need to get over that if she is going to be able to investigate this case properly. Preferably before the rest of the department figures out her weakness. There is a killer out there to be caught. Somehow she’ll have to get past her block to find him.

Investigate this new series today!

This promises to be a wonderful series with fantastic characters, interesting locations, and fascinating glimpses into different cultures. The story is of novella length and can easily be read in one sitting if so desired, there is no offensive language, no sex, no graphic violence – just a whopping good story everyone can enjoy.
—Kim, Goodreads

The writing is excellent, the plot is nice and twisty and the the characters and situations are believable. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to seeing where she takes these new characters.
—Sandy, Goodreads

I am enjoying this new series. The first book was good and this one was even better. Love the characters and the storyline. Can’t wait to read book number three in this series.
—Kandy, Goodreads

I feel like I’m visiting Calgary, Canada and the parks where the murders are taking place in all three books so far. There are vivid descriptions of the park and the wetlands. Margie and her family are woven throughout along with their ancestry which adds a nice touch.
—Joanne, Goodreads

I love these stories. Short, exciting and not really predictable, as many short stories are. Plots are well-developed, characters are interesting, and there’s plenty of local lore and history. 
—Alice Hazelbaker, Goodreads

Author Notes may contain spoilers!

I was working on a collaborative project with another author when we came up with an idea for murders that took place in provincial parks. After my involvement with the creation of the Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, I was quite excited about the idea. That project ended up not going anywhere, but I had already scheduled the time to write it, so I decided to take a run at murders that took place in Calgary area parks on my own.

I had been thinking about setting something locally for a while. Most of my stories are set in the USA, which always means doing extra research into those little details like weather and climate, foliage, animal life, and sunrise and sunset times, as well as cultural aspects such as speech/colloquialisms, dress, demographics, jobs/industry, government, and more.

Setting a series in Calgary, I could take advantage of my knowledge and experience living here. I walked through the parks with my husband, scouting out various places where bodies could be found and features of the park that might come into play. I took pictures and immersed myself in the settings. We tried to be careful not to talk too loudly about body dumps or murder around other park visitors, and luckily didn’t have any actual Calgary police officers coming to our door asking what we were up to!

Questions and answers about the series

“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me … And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”

“This is one author I certainly will be looking out for, I can’t recommend her enough.”

“I’ll read anything by P. D. Workman that I can get my hands on.”

“Every book by PD Workman that I’ve read has been a gripping one, however different the genres are, going from lighter mysteries to really dark ones… this is one of my favourite, most dependable authors.”

“P.D. Workman is an incredibly versatile writer. No matter which of her books I read I am drawn into a great story and honestly, I don’t think I’ve followed another author that could go from cozy mystery to YA to a PI series dealing with mental health issues. Really enjoy her books!”

“[P.D. Workman’s] stories are so believable and you can’t help but feel like you know these people. You find yourself crying, laughing and feeling the characters emotions. Now if an author can make you cry and feel every emotion in a story, she is one hell of an author.”

“P. D. Workman, does not shy from probing the deep psychological scars of childhood trauma, mental illness, and addiction. Also characteristic of this author, these extremely sensitive issues are explored with extensive empathy, described with incredible clarity, and portrayed with profound insight.”

“Once again P.D.Workman has created an intense psychological mystery that impacts a wallop of thought induction. The writing is so well developed and draws you into the characters story.”