A year after releasing her bestselling Blood on the Breakwater, Jean Paetkau isn’t done killing off characters in iconic Victoria settings.

In The Sinking of Souls, Paetkau’s second murder mystery, the Victoria author has a wealthy and ruthless entrepreneur—and great-grandson to an iconic city novelist—plummeting to the pavement from a Craigdarroch Castle window.

“Victoria readers loved seeing their community in Blood on the Breakwater, and they sent me many suggestions for the second book,” Paetkau tells Capital Daily.

In her first foray into the murder mystery genre, a lifeless body washes up on the Breakwater, right in front of journalist Helene Unger, Paetkau’s main character. This time, Unger is standing outside the Rockland castle when Roddy Beck lands like a sack of potatoes. 

The plight of the dodgy and very dead businessman is one of many layers in The Sinking of Souls, which like its predecessor Blood, presents familiar Victoria landmarks—from Abkhazi Garden to Ross Bay Cemetery.

Paetkau says that local flavour, that “Hey, I was just there the other day” reader connection makes Victoria itself one of the book’s characters.

“I love the challenge of trying to capture the spectacular beauty of a sunrise on Dallas Road,” she says. The author of three children’s books, including Rumpa and the Snufflewort, Paetkau says she doubts she could write a novel set in say, New York City or London.

“I have to literally walk along the streets of the places I write about in order to share believable and compelling details like a busy James Bay supermarket parking lot.”

Paetkau says she feels it’s important to share the tensions that exist in the community, such as the housing crisis. “I believe an outsider wouldn’t be able to describe these issues with accuracy and sometimes even humour.”

A seasoned broadcast journalist familiar with these matters, Paetkau sees Victoria as a historic city dealing with modern growing pains. “This works perfectly for my novels which have a second plot line from the 19th century that ultimately connects to the contemporary mystery.”

In Sinking, the plotline involves fictional writer A.J. Beck and the very real sinking of S.S. Clallam, a steamship that went down in the chilly Juan de Fuca Strait waters en route to Victoria from Seattle in 1904, taking 56 souls with her.

To ensure she captured the tragedy accurately, Paetkau hired American historian Erik Kosick, who has extensively researched the demise of S.S. Clallam and the vessel itself.

“He knew what the social hall on the ship looked like and the fact that they had folding chairs on the deck,” Paetkau recounts. “He described for me the order in which each doomed lifeboat went into the water.”

This one was different from her first

Paetkau says Sinking has a more complex plot and was more challenging to write, than Blood and she’s proud of her development as a writer.

“[Sinking] also describes the real deaths of women in the shipwreck due to poor decisions that were made by men, so this makes me very angry. However, Blood on the Breakwater was my first murder mystery so it will always have a special place in my heart.”

Paetkau tells Capital Daily, Blood gave her confidence to craft Sinking.

“I did more complex plotting that was mapped out on a long sheet with Post-it notes for each character,” she says.

Things turned in another direction rather suddenly

Just as she did for Blood on the Breakwater, Paetkau began writing The Sinking of Souls in November and 500 words a day later, the first draft was completed in April.

Two weeks after that, Paetkau’s life changed dramatically when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 

“Oddly, I have found the cancer journey to not be dissimilar to writing a novel: Take one step a day, try not to look too far ahead, and have faith in reaching your goal.”

Paetkau plans to write a third murder mystery, but right now is focused on her treatment. She says readers who supported her work via social media have been incredibly loyal and encouraging.

“I am so grateful for this community as I continue both my writing and cancer journey.”

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Paetkau will read from her book and sign yours at an official book launch at Munro’s Books on Government on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at 7pm.

‍*To protect an immunocompromised participant, Munro’s asks guests to wear a mask to this event, if possible. Masks will be available at the door.

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