A little history: This is a great opportunity to thank some truly great mystery writers who led to the creation of my novels. Paramount among them is American crime writer Robert B. Parker. On January 18, 2010, he passed away and more of his great works were never to be.

There are others I must thank as well. I read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes adventures while growing up. As a teenager I visited 221B Baker Street in London, England, and named one of my early rock and roll bands 'Baker Street.' I included a reference to Mr. Holmes in my first novel titled 'Don't Look Back' as a tribute. My youth also embraced many stories by Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie, Ian Fleming, and Mickey Spillane. I can recall having a frayed copy of a paperback in the back pocket of my tattered jeans many times. Over the years I've read hundreds of murder mysteries and thrillers.

I've always been a creative person and explored many outlets for expression including over two and a half decades as a guitarist and music teacher. Randy Bachman of The Guess Who & BTO/Bachman Turner Overdrive fame taught me for a while in Winnipeg, Manitoba. So I married and was blessed with three kids (including twins), but due to poor services for our quadriplegic son, Colin, our eldest, I ended up in Mississauga, Ontario, practicing my craft as a private sector City Planner/Urban Design Director. After several subsequent challenging diversions into the unknown including a three-year stint in Buffalo and Williamsville NY, I currently own and manage a small Niagara investment firm in association with Investia Financial in St. Catharines, Ontario (twenty minutes from Niagara Falls). My life began the first chapter in a new book, however, when I started writing murder mystery novels a few years ago.

My novels: Mack Sampson, the protagonist in my first novels is the multi-talented head of an agency called 'Mackenzie Investigations' in Boston, Massachusetts, a great city I love. He and his team are retained on a wide variety of fascinating and incredibly demanding cases. A quick peek at the first four stand-alone novels are described below. They are intended to form a series.

#1  'DON'T LOOK BACK' An Atmosphere Press release   CLICK TO ENLARGE >>> 

Purchase locations: www.amazon.com  www.amazon.ca  www.bookshop.org  barnesandnoble.com   bookdepository.com

Put "Stephen Winn Don't Look Back" in the search box. Read some of my 5-star pro reviews below!

START BY CLICKING HERE:  https://independentbookreview.com/2023/01/19/book-review-dont-look-back/

'DON'T LOOK BACK' finds a distraught Mack Sampson struggling to deal with his alcohol and Xanax habit after the tragic death of his fiancée, and his shameful dismissal from Boston Homicide. Driven by his need to prove his self-worth and encouraged by those close to him, he starts a private investigation firm only to face a constant struggle for contracts and money. Desperate to keep his fledgling business afloat, he accepts a lucrative case against his better judgment. It involves the mysterious death of a wealthy businessman behind a Scottish tavern in downtown Boston on a Friday night...and almost gets Mack killed. The twists in this strange tale will have you guessing who-done-it until the very end. ***85,000 words*** 

#2  'NEVER LAUGH AT THE DEVIL'

'NEVER LAUGH AT THE DEVIL' centers on Jonathan Burke, a mid-thirties financial wizard who is fed up with a life he's convinced is destined for tragedy. He's a bachelor who wants to settle down, but lacks any hope of a decent future while running a Ponzi scheme for an evil Mafia boss and his son. He decides to change his life for the better. The tragic and incredibly challenging consequences of his actions, and the intervention of Mack Sampson and his team, are beyond anything he could have predicted in his wildest dreams. ***76,000 words***

#3  'INTO THE VALLEY OF DEATH'

'INTO THE VALLEY OF DEATH' starts with a terrorist plot involving enormous potential harm to the citizens of the City of Boston and surrounding areas. The dark hostile plan is partially revealed at a crowded late night house party. A man standing out back in the shadows while having a cigarette, overhears three others arguing heatedly about the details of a sinister scheme. When a fight breaks out, the man flees the party only to find out later he has been identified and implicated in a brutal stabbing death that ensued after his departure. That's when he calls Mack Sampson. You won't be able to put this book down. ***70,000 words***

#4  'AT THE END OF THE LANE'

‘AT THE END OF THE LANE’ presents a strange and at times surreal tale. It warps the line between murder mystery and horrorific thriller while combining two story lines into a baffling detective crime novel. Aaron Striker, a contract hitman, (think Philip Carlo's THE ICE MAN) was found decomposing in his living room where he had been savagely beaten and murdered. Elsewhere, private eye, Mack Sampson, finds a blood-spattered portfolio held by his first true love, Jamie Lee, at the very instant of her tragic death. Both events ignite a media assault focused on harassing and bringing down the Mafia. The FBI, Boston Homicide, and Mackenzie Investigations, join forces against a corrupt law firm used as a front for the Mob and its deadly illegal activities (think John Grisham's THE FIRM). This riveting novel includes an explosive ending with a double plot twist you’ll never guess. ---Movie potential--- ***67,000 words***

More novels will follow. I hope you enjoy reading my novels as much as I have had the pleasure of designing and writing them for you. Many more exciting stories are planned.

Thank you so much for spending a few moments here. Please come back and visit again for updates.

Feel free to visit my blog for insights into some of my experiences and thoughts. 

--Stephen Winn