Lucky Elephant Restaurant (The): A Detective Lane Mystery

Find out how it all began! Crack open Queen's Park, the first book in the Detective Lane Mystery Series.

Coming soon! A Hummingbird Dance, the third installment of the Detective Lane Mystery Series (Fall 2008).

For more information on Garry Ryan and the Detective Lane Series, visit www.garryryan.ca.

978-1-896300-97-9 ISBN 13

Spring 2006

Paperback 256 pages

Mystery

WINNER of the 2007 Lamda Literary Award for Gay Mystery 

(See below for author commentary!)

When the young daughter of popular radio talk show host Bobbie Reddie disappears along with Bobbie’s ex-husband, Detectives Lane and Harper are on the case. Haunted by flashbacks from a previous missing child case, Lane once again takes to the streets of Calgary looking for answers.

Meanwhile, university student Jay Krocker befriends the mysterious Lucky Elephant Restaurant owner Lam Tran, known to many as Uncle Tran. As Jay and Uncle Tran become mixed up in the missing child case, their intentions baffle the detectives—are they there to help or hinder?

As the pressure mounts for Lane and Harper to swiftly close the case, Lane’s private life becomes threatened. The two detectives are running out of time and must untangle the many lies surrounding this bizarre investigation before another child disappears.

BEHIND THE BOOK
GARRY RYAN’S Detective Lane Mystery Series
Queen’s Park and The Lucky Elephant Restaurant
Coming soon: A Hummingbird Dance (Fall 2008)

The making of The Lucky Elephant Restaurant

The Lucky Elephant Restaurant has a similar origin to that of Queen’s Park. Before I started writing the second installment of the Detective Lane Series, I had watched a documentary on the fall of Saigon, in which a Canadian journalist expressed his disgust with Canadian diplomats who loaded ceramic elephants and limousines onto aircrafts when they evacuated a war-torn Vietnam. The journalist believed the Canadian diplomats should have rescued some of the people who were desperately trying to escape Vietnam—many of these Vietnamese nationals actually had permission to come to Canada, but were left behind. This occurrence provided an essential underlying theme for The Lucky Elephant Restaurant.

Next, I worked with the idea that dangerously dysfunctional people can appear to be normal. I thought, How is it that some people are equipped to recognize dangerous people (like Bobbie in The Lucky Elephant Restaurant) and others find a person like Bobbie to be admirable? This marks another essential element for The Lucky Elephant Restaurant.

More to come: A Hummingbird Dance (Fall 2008)

A Hummingbird Dance begins with a disappearance connected to an unsolved murder.  When Detectives Lane and Harper investigate the death of a sixteen-year-old First Nations man, they begin to unravel a series of killings. They must also deal with complex family issues while risking their lives to uncover the truth behind the killings.

When I envision a hummingbird dance, I am reminded of the weeks of observation required to come to the conclusion that hummingbirds are very human. They become extremely aggressive in defense of their flowers or feeders. This knowledge was gathered during two weeks of photographing hummingbirds in San Diego. Hummingbird behaviour allowed me to better understand human behaviour and our violent desire to hold onto what we think we own.

Now add to this mix the idea that a talented artist can make you believe a marionette is a real person. Only by bringing a marionette to life can the reader understand what was lost when Alex was murdered. Alex’s friend brings him to life on her stage, and I believe that her art and her voice makes this tragedy more authentic for the reader.

Detective Lane himself

During the writing of the novels, the main character, Lane, has become one delightful surprise. He's a real person to me now, an old friend. He and his family live next door in my imagination. In many ways, he and I grew up together.

Garry Ryan on why he writes

All of these seemingly disconnected facts and imaginings have become essential to the creation of the Detective Lane Series. I can't really explain the process or the instinctive compulsion to write them down. The closest I can come to describing my urge to create is by saying, “Writing is oxygen.”