Books

Although they committed separate crimes, Arthur Lucas and Ronald Turpin met their deaths on the same scaffold at Toronto's Don Jail on December 11, 1962. They were the last two people executed in Canada, but surprisingly little was known about them until now. This is the first book to uncover the lives and deaths of Turpin, a Canadian criminal, and Lucas, a Detroit gangster. The result of more than five years of research, The Last to Die: Ronald Turpin, Arthur Lucas, and the End of Capital Punishment in Canada is based on original interviews, hidden documents, trial transcripts, and newspaper accounts.

Featuring crime scene photos and never-before-published documents, this riveting book also reveals the heroic efforts of lawyer Ross MacKay, who defended both men, and Chaplain Cyril Everitt, who remained with them to the end. What actually happened the night of the hangings is shrouded by myth and rumour. This book finally confirms the truth and reveals the gruesome mistake that cost Arthur Lucas not only his life but also his head. 

Praise for The Last to Die

"This is a courageous and shocking book.” 

- Ged Martin, Shanacoole, West Waterford, The British Journal of Canadian Studies

“There’s really only one good reason to read this book: it’s a fascinating story told by a great storyteller. Robert Hoshowsky has masterfully reconstructed the lurid tale of the two low-lifes who became the last two criminals hanged in Canada. The devil is in the details, and he digs them out fearlessly, including much new information that reveals new and unexpected nuances about the crimes.”

- Veteran Canadian author Peter C. Newman

Despite advances in DNA testing, cutting-edge forensics, and the seasoned investigative skills of police detectives, thousands of murders and disappearances remain unsolved across Canada. With every day trails grow colder, and decades can pass before a new lead or witness comes forward – if one comes forward.

In Unsolved: True Canadian Cold Cases, Robert J. Hoshowsky examines twelve crimes that continue to haunt us. Some cases are well-known, while others have virtually disappeared from the public eye. All of the cases remain open, and many are being re-examined by police using the latest tools and technologies. Hoshowsky takes the reader through all aspects of the crimes and how police are trying to solve them using three-dimensional facial reconstructions, DNA testing, age-enhanced drawings, original crime scene photos, and more.

None of the individuals profiled in Unsolved deserved their fate, but their stories deserve to be told and their killers need to be brought to justice.

Praise for Unsolved

“As Hoshowsky shows in his sensitive, non-sensationalist survey of 11 cases from 1968 to 2006, what progress has been made in solving them has been a matter of technological wizardry.”

- Brian Bethune, Maclean’s magazine

The horrific 1977 sex slaying of shoeshine boy Emanuel Jaques stunned the nation like no other. The crime was so shocking and controversial that in forty years no book had been published about it until now.  In OUTRAGED, True Crime author Robert J. Hoshowsky reveals the truth behind the murder, which resulted in the largest clean-up of the sex industry in Canadian history.

Through original interviews with defense attorneys, lawmakers, politicians and sex workers along with extensive archival research and never-before-seen police photos and court documents, Hoshowsky recreates Emanuel’s brutal death, the hunt for his killers, the trial and controversial closure of dozens of illegal body rubs, massage parlors, and pornographic bookstores on the Yonge Street strip and the impact on Canada’s Gay community.

“The murder of the shoeshine boy changed Toronto in every way imaginable: legally, politically, morally, socially, economically, criminally, sexually, and even aesthetically. Many of Yonge Street’s buildings got a facelift in the years after Emanuel was killed, while others were demolished and rebuilt. The city’s sex industry — at least the way the sex industry was at the time — is gone. 

Every few years, particularly around the anniversary of his death, Emanuel’s name makes the news, a grim reminder of Toronto’s past, but also an insight into what would become the future of the city.”

Praise for OUTRAGED

"An incredibly affecting and important chapter of Canadian history. During the summer of 1977, Americans were transfixed by The Son of Sam murders, the power outage and looting in NYC. In nearby Toronto, Canadians were horrified to learn that Emmanuel Jaques, the twelve-year-old son of Portuguese immigrants, was lured away from his job shining shoes on Yonge Street and tortured, raped and murdered mercilessly. Several days later, his dead body was found on the roof of a sex shop, one of hundreds in the city. 

The men associated with the crime were all arrested and put on trial, including the main ringleader and sociopath. This is the only book to cover this disturbing case in detail, giving much background info about the suspects, the victim, the culture and the Toronto that existed at that time. Not only is this book invaluable for its detailing of this particular crime but is also a cautionary warning about how real evil does exist, even in "Toronto The Good" and that murdered innocence can often be the result. Riveting but terrifying."

- Michael Sawer, Amazon