Detective Greene’s Toronto

Follow Detective Greene’s journey through real-life Toronto landmarks.

Old City Hall

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  • Page 3, Front Street - "Mr. Singh entered the marble-appointed lobby of Market Place Tower condominium on Front Street."

  • Page 13, Gryfe's Bakery - "Good, Greene thought, as he felt inside the brown paper bag, the bagels from Gryfe's are still warm."

  • Page 17, Toronto Star - "To keep up with the court order, Amankwah had to do this graveyard shift in the Radio Room at the Toronto Star."

  • Page 61, Police HQ - "Just what was the Toronto force coming to, Nancy Parish asked herself, as she surveyed the bevy of food and beverage choices on offer at the spanking new police cafeteria..."

  • Page 69, The Don Jail - "Is there a bloody sadder place in the world than the Don Jail just before Christmas?"

  • Page 76, Lower Jarvis Street - "Lower Jarvis Street was on of Ari Greene's favourite parts of Toronto."

  • Page 92, Old City Hall - "Daniel Kennicott loved walking up the wide granite steps to the Gothic building that years ago was converted from Toronto's city into the city's main courthouse, now known as Old City Hall."

  • Page 110, Toronto Morgue - "The odor was the thing that Daniel Kennicott remembered about the morgue."

  • Page 118, Bay Street - "Nancy Parish got a thrill every time she pounded her way up Bay Street..."

  • Page 146, College Street - "The streetcar heading west along College Street was nearly empty..."

  • Page 155, F.I.S. - Forensic Identification Service "...years earlier someone got the bright idea to move the FIS way the hell out in the suburbs. So here it was, on the northern part of Jane Street, home of endless gridlock."

  • Page 210, Hockey Rink in City Hall Square - "Late at night, when the lights in the white overhead arches were turned off and the city staff had gone home, a ragged collection of hockey players emerged."

  • Page 220, Maple Leaf Gardens - "Years ago, before Greene made Homicide, Chief Charlton had given him a pair of tickets to the old Maple Leaf Gardens."

  • Page 292, Vesta Lunch - "Fernandez checked his watch as he pulled open the gray steel door of Vesta Lunch."

  • Page 307, Gerrard St. - "Who would have thought, two years ago, that Amankwah would be living in a stinking one-bedroom apartment on Gerrard Street -- with the screeching sound of all-night streetcars passing by the flimsy window."

  • Page 316, Toronto Harbour - "There was a smell in the Toronto harbor thaw was foreign to the rest of the city."

  • Page 317, Toronto Islands - "...the one surviving piece of real on-the-water life was a community of small houses on the Islands at the far


The Guilty Plea

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  • Page 12, Yorkville - "Feindel's law chambers, as he insisted on calling his luxurious office, were in the brownstone in Yorkville, a trendy midtown location near all the best restaurants for his ladies-who-lunch clientele."

  • Page 18, Ontario Food Terminal - "Kennicott had just parked in the Ontario Food Terminal, a gigantic tract of land in the southwest part of the city."

  • Page 24, The Gladstone Hotel - "...a boutique hotel in the west end."

  • Page 64, Yorkdale Mall - "Jennifer Raglan sprinted up to the crowd of parents waiting calmly in the northwest corner of the suburban parking lot."

  • Page 72, Dundas Street West - "There was a familiar smell of jasmine tea in the air when Jennifer Raglan walked into the Thai restaurant on the south side of Dundas Street."

  • Page 74, Pappa's Grill - "One night Ari Greene was in Pappas Grill, one of his favourite restaurants."

  • Page 91, Caldense Bakery - "Meet me in half an hour at the Caldensse Bakery in Little Portugal, on Dundas West. Opens at five."

  • Page 103, Mount Pleasant Cemetary - "As the cars turned south onto Mount Pleasant Avenue, Kennicott saw another funeral procession coming up the hill from the other direction."

  • Page 115, Superior Court - "When they appear in Superior Court for serious charges, such as murder, Canadian lawyers wear black robes, white shirts, and white tabs."

  • Page 297, Toronto Island Airport - "April Fools. I'm flying in.

  • Page 300, Rogers Center - "Now privately owned and known as the Roger's Centre, the stadium was formerly called the SkyDome. That was when the taxpayers had spent millions on the world's first retractable-roof facility..."


Stray Bullets

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  • Page 37, Fifty-Five Division - "Fifty-five was the local police division that had been a second home for St. Clair since he'd been twelve."

  • Page 161-2, Hoggs Hollow - "They would normally have had a sweeping view over a big valley named Hoggs Hollow, but right now the snow was so heavy the windows were covered in white."

  • Page 308-9, Jump - "DiPaulo loved the spotlight. The action. He had a regular table right in the middle of the floor."

  • Page 157, Le Petit Dejeuner - "Ozera had been working for a month as a dishwasher at the Le Petit Dejeuner, a hip restaurant down on the old part of King Street."

  • Page 193, Little India - "'The worst part of this is the prison food. It's so bland.' 'Dinner's on me anywhere you want in Little India, as soon as you get out,' Greene said."

  • Page 20, Mount Sinai Hospital - "They're going to Mount Sinai up the street. Mother is there, having complications with her pregnancy."

  • Page 66, Nathan Phillips Square - "...the wide windows on the last wall that looked out onto Nathan Phillips Square, the wide open space in front of city hall names after one of Toronto's most progressive mayors."

  • Page 109, Plaza Flamingo - "...insisted they meet at the Plaza Flamingo, a huge Latin restaurant and nightclub on College Street."

  • Page 81, Pravda Vodka Bar - "The Pravda, a trendy bar on Wellington Street, was one of the many downtown watering holes that Petersen frequented."

  • Page 249, Pusateri's - "'That's him,' Lindsmore said. 'Caught stealing pate and fancy French cheese from the Pusateri's on Bay Street, the one just north of Bloor.'"

  • Page 38, The Bloor Street Viaduct - "In a few blocks she crossed the bridge across the Don Valley and the city burst into view, the downtown offices a forest of gleaming glass."

  • Page 173, The Eaton Centre - "There were never enough Crowns around...They were either hungover or dying to sneak out and go sale shopping at the nearby Eaton Centre, or both."

  • Page Page 133, Toronto East Detention Centre - "And the worst place of all was Toronto East Detention Centre, an industrial-size prison in a barren part of Scarborough, the poorest and most remote suburb of Toronto."

  • Page 15, University Avenue - "University Avenue was a European-style boulevard, the widest street in the downtown core."


Stranglehold

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  • Page 7, Maple Leaf Motel - "The exterior of the Maple Leaf Motel featured red brick with white trim. Continuing the design theme, the signage was also red type on a white backdrop. All of it was accented by a healthy dollop of mental maple leaves, fastened to the facade."

  • Page 304, Scarborough Civic Centre - "Five stories of circular balconies were packed with spectators looking down on the stage..."

  • Page 174, Metro Toronto West Detention Centre - "Prison visits at the Metropolitan Toronto West Detention Centre took place in a row of glassed-in booths, the prisoners on the inside..."

  • Page 77, Deer Park Library - "We got him on the bus down to St. Clair, the streetcar across, and the librarian at the Deer Park Library, Anna Tharyan, remembered him being in that day. Says he comes in a few afternoons a week and reads magazines."

  • Page 77, Randy's Take Out - "The camera at Randy's Roti shop picks him up a 9:38, and Louisa, the woman who works there, remembers the white guy in a suit and tie who thought her beef patties were too spicy to eat for breakfast."

  • Page 47, Best Coffee House - "Kennicott sat in the front window seat of The Best Coffee House, a cozy independent coffee shop on Queen East."

  • Page 125, Boardwalk and The Beach - "Darnell crossed the boardwalk, lifted the canoe from his shoulders, and deposited it smoothly in the sand, the stern resting in the water."

  • Page 96, Moss Park Discount Store - "A group of homeless men gathered on the north side of Queen Street, east of Sherbourne, in front of the Moss Park Discount Store. Huddled together they sipped sugary cups of coffee..."

  • Page 206, The Canterbury Clinic - "Canterbury was a no-nonsense drug-and-alcohol rehab place, different from any of the other rehabs she'd been to. It wasn't fancy. The people were friendly. They called you by your first name. No bureaucracy. No Bullshit."

  • Page 237, Bench Outside the Dentistry Building - "They walked in silence up Centre Street. A block north of Dundas, she directed him down an alley beside the Dentistry Faculty and they sat on a deserted wood bench."

  • Page 166,The CN Tower - "The CN Tower. The second tallest freestanding structure in the world, and the first thing that came into view as Angela Kreitinger swung her old Toyota southbound..."

  • Page 63, Silverstein's Bakery - "Loaves, fresh out of the oven, descended on a circular two-story high drying rack that made a staccato, rattling sound."

  • Page 112, Ireland Park - "Ireland Park, a hard-to-find patch of green on the waterfront, tuck in behind the abandoned Canada Malting silos that the city now owned and had no idea what to do with."

  • Page 246, Spin Toronto - "Although it was in a basement, the place was high ceilinged and well lit. Music boomed from every corner, punctuated by the pop, pop, pop of Ping-Pong balls being hit back and forth across the tables."

  • Page 275, Kensington Market - "...the city's old outdoor market district, filled with a dizzying array of shops selling cheese, bread, nuts, meat, and fruits and vegetables; a jumble of eclectic vintage-clothes stores; tons of restaurants with foods from all over the globe."

  • Page 304, Riva Lounge - "...the border guard in Buffalo had texted Kennicott and said she was going to be in town again to go dancing at the Riva Lounge on Saturday night."


Heart of The City

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  • Page 9, Kensington Market - "facing south over Kensington Market, the hodgepodge of streets and stores and houses that had been the landing spot for new immigrants for more than a century."

  • Page 22, Huibing Gardens - "She was sitting alone in the back room of Huibing Gardens, a steamy Chinese restaurant on Spadina Avenue.."

  • Page 48, University of Toronto - "This stretch of College Street was the southern edge of the University of Toronto, and the outdoor cafes and sidewalks were filled with backpack-wearing students engaged in fervent conversations."

  • Page 100, Jimmy's Cafe - "She was tucked away on the back patio of JimmyÕs CafŽ, one of her favourite places in Kensington Market.."

  • Page 109, Augusta Avenue - "Augusta Avenue was slowly coming to life as Kennicott walked along, sipping one of the lattes heÕd just bought.."

  • Page 116, Front Street East - "five-storey office building on Front Street East. Fox had saved one of the cityÕs historic buildings from destruction, preserved its gorgeous faade.."

  • Page 122, Rosedale Station - "It was an outdoor station, there was no breeze, and the air was thick and hot."

  • Page 126, Omni Jewlerscraft - "What once must have been a lovely stone corner building was now adorned with a gaudy sign that announced OMNI: JEWELS AND JAVA. Two more signs on either side of the front door blared in gold letters: CASH FOR GOLD Ð WE ALSO BUY GEMS, WATCHES, DIAMONDS."

  • Page 161, Waterfront - "The steel fence that ran in front of the property was plastered with colourful drawings showcasing the massive waterfront condominium complex that Fox had wanted to build here over the next ten years. They depicted a pair of nine-storey office buildings fronting the street, six residential condominium complexes on the water, an athletic centre complete with a pool, rooftop terrace, outdoor dining lounge, solar panels and a green roof."

  • Page 165, Regent Park - "Imagine if he partnered with me, a black woman who grew up poor in Regent Park and put herself through university working as a cashier at a car wash.."

  • Page 167, Queens Quay - "And by the way, yesterday I didnÕt run this way, I went west back into the city. Maybe you should have that partner of yours check the video cameras along Queens Quay."

  • Page 182, Toronto Reference Library - "She was not the first one there by any means. Students with bulging backpacks, raggedly dressed loners, and older couples were already waiting patiently in the glassed-in lobby."

  • Page 187, Central Tech - "We met in September. I was teaching a night class in life drawing at Central Tech. He was a student. He didnÕt seem at all special."

  • Page 193, Centre of Forensic Studies - "There was a file on the table with a large CFS stamp on the outside: The Centre of Forensic Studies."

  • Page 236, Faculty of Dentistry "The bench was in the side courtyard of the Faculty of Dentistry on Edward Street."

  • Page 239, Duke's Bike Store - "Yes, thatÕs what I wanted to tell you. He told me to tell you he turned east on Queen Street and went to his favourite bike store, DukeÕs. Kennicott knew the place. It was one of the oldest bike shops in the city. And not on the way to Kensington Market."

  • Page 269, Silver Dollar - "Next door we have the storied Silver Dollar bar, home of the blues in Toronto since 1958."

  • Page 269, The Waverly Hotel "Spadina Avenue in front of one of TorontoÕs landmark buildings, the Waverly Hotel."

  • Page 148-149, Lord Lansdowne Public School - "Kennicott was standing beside a huge oblong rock. HeÕd driven by it hundreds of times, but had never stopped to see what it was. A green plaque was attached to its front.Ó ÒThis basic igneous boulder was found at a depth of 12 feet during the course of the excavation for this school. The composition is a very rare type and is assumed to have been carried here from caribou lake, north of parry sound, by a glacier during the great ice age approximately 12,000 years ago.""