Many thanks to Dundurn Publishing, as well to NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of The Ghosts That Haunt Me.

Man's inhumanity to man, and especially to children.

What an amazing job the author did writing this book. It's so compelling and well written! The book touches on how Mr. Ryan came to join the police force, becoming first a police officer, then a homicide detective and also working in cold cases. These are six of the cases the author has been unable to forget. There were times I wondered how my shattered heart was going to let me sleep again so I can't imagine how Mr. Ryan dealt with it on a daily basis. He wrote with so much compassion and empathy. This book is not for the faint of heart - especially in cases involving children.

Mr. Ryan, you have my utmost respect and my neverending gratitude.

The Ghosts that Haunt me By Steve Ryan is a dark reminder of just some of the evil that is the human race. Steve writes about six cases that stuck with him throughout his career as a homicide detective. I found myself having hard time putting the book down and when I did it was to Google the cases in the book.

I found it interesting hearing his notes on why clues where noticed, why police officers did what and the general procedure that a detective will go through from start to finish. Though I know that each case would be hard to deal with and would slowly eat away at you, I never realized until I read this book just in what way the horrible murders and situations can haunt a member of the police force.

The writing style is simplistic and easy to read; you are not lost in details that do not matter to the story, case and the way Steve felt. I was especially haunted by the chapters on Holly and Katelyn. I highly recommend this book for any true crime fan.

This is an interestingly written memoir by retired Toronto homicide detective Steve Ryan. As a young boy he wanted to help people when he grew up. He remembered it later at a career day near the end of high school. It made him decide on a career in police work. He realized after working in law enforcement that they often didn’t get to help, since they many times arrived after whatever incident was over. In this book he shares about his work, how it affected him, and a handful of his cases after years on the job. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I love to watch true crime shows on TV so I I thought I would be interested in a book. This was an interesting book to read. With this book you can get a glimpse into the mind of a detective and what he was thinking/feeling while investigating crimes. I was fascinated to read about their DNA canvasses and it makes me wonder if they do that in the US as well. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in true crime.

Steve Ryan's The Ghosts That Haunt Me: Memories of a Homicide Detective is a collection of true crime cases he witnessed as a detective. My five star review is not me "taking pleasure" in the crimes or the graphic nature of the stories, but rather that the book is well-written and honest. Truthfully, I thought I was a seasoned crime reader, but I cried throughout the book.

Synopsis:
Steve Ryan worked for over ten years as a homicide detective in Toronto, Canada. As Steve fought to bring justice, he remembers these six cases as the ghosts that still haunt him. These events detail the senseless loss of life and the unfathomable criminals that committed the crimes.

Steve Ryan and detectives' like him, encounter real and heartbreaking journeys that often involve children. Steve believes that hope and healing can still be achieved after evil. Before reading this book, I never realized how much gratitude we owe the men and women who work to bring closure to families of violent crimes.

The Ghosts That Haunt Me: Memories of a Homicide Detective by Steve Ryan is available on October 11th.

Steve Ryan, I salute you. This book had a profound impact on my life.
(5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Warning: Graphic violence involving children.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dandurn Press, for allowing me to review this eye-opening book. Your kindness is appreciated.

True crime fans must read! Steve takes readers from start to finish on some of his most haunting homicide and cold cases that he worked during his career in Toronto. His storytelling is detailed and keeps the reader engaged. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This was a very interesting account of some real cases that an actual homicide detective had to work on. To be honest, I didn't expect the cases to be as gruesome as they were - but I loved it!

I expected this to be a small-town vibe book about a detective and a few cases he had to endure. But instead, I got 6 cases that were worthy of your favorite detective shows like Law & Order, Criminal Minds, and CSI. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a work of fiction but then got drawn back to reality with the harsh facts of these cases. I ended up even Googling a few to see more about them.

The writing was well done, a little wordy at times and it lost me with some of the extensive histories of some of the cases. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about these cases and how they affected the detective. I definitely recommend this for a lover of true crime! I had not heard of any of these cases prior and they were more interesting than I imagined originally.

I unfortunately did not finish this book. The formatting at the beginning is awful and doesn’t make sense. The start of the book is what would be on a jacket cover, and then there is a foreword after that repeating a lot of what was previously mentioned. The style of the book was written like a one sided interview and it was so stilted I felt I couldn’t immerse myself in the story.

THE GHOSTS THAT HAUNT ME
BY: STEVE RYAN

Steve Ryan has written an achingly beautiful memoir honoring those victims that he can't ever forget or their innocent family members during his years spent being a Homicide detective in Toronto. He pays homage to those victims' and their family members by his empathetic written words,

Some of the most unforgettable murdered victims were just children, who never got a chance to grow up as their lives were cruelly snatched from them by the parents they trusted--only to become an inescapable nightmare. Some were wives brutalized by their husbands' for the only crime was seeking a divorce by their abusive husbands'.

What really struck me here while reading retired Detective Steve Ryan's words was that we often warn our children not to trust strangers and not to converse with them at an early age. We often don't warn our children that most homicides are committed not by a random stranger, but somebody that we know. We seldom teach them to heed that warning.

The victims that Steve Ryan discusses in this memoir are the victims that he will never forget. They are "The Ghosts that haunt him". He wrote this book with the intention that it could be the catalyst for the beginning of some kind of healing to take place. I have all of the respect in the world for you Steve Ryan. I am impressed by how much you care about helping people. Anybody interested in reading about True Crime won't want to skip this book. He honors the deceased having their lives callously taken from them all too soon. This memoir is excellent!

Thank you to Net Galley, Steve Ryan and Dundurn Press for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Publication Date: October 11, 2022

#TheGhostsThatHauntMe #SteveRyan #DurndurnPress #NetGalley

This is an excellent book that shows great respect for the homicide victims whose deaths were investigated. It showed the difficulties faced by police and was interesting and tragic. I recommend this book to anyone interested in police procedure or true crime.

I received an ARC of, The Ghosts That Haunt Me, by Steve Ryan. Steve is a homicide detective in Toronto, he has some stories to tell. The innocent people murdered, young and old.

What a compassionately told recollection of cases the author investigated! Some true crime tales seem voyeuristic or like they take advantage of victims, but I thought that The Ghosts That Haunt Me discusses real cases with care and concern. This story was written by the homicide detective who investigated the cases, and he states he chose to discuss each case due to the impact it had on him. There is a big focus on the impact that these crimes had/have on the victims, families of victims, and the detectives themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and thought the writing style was compelling. This book seemed like a breath of fresh air in this genre!

“No greater honour will ever be bestowed on an officer, or a more profound duty imposed on him, than when he is entrusted with the investigation of the death of a human being.”

ARC BOOK REVIEW: The Ghosts That Haunt Me by Steve Ryan

I want to first start off by saying thank you to Steve Ryan, Dundran Press, and Netgalley for giving me a ARC in exchange for an honest review.

On April 13th I added The Ghosts That Haunt Me to my Amazon wishlist. Patiently waiting till September for its release. Never did I imagine I would get this book early as my first ARC.

Steve Ryan is a retired Police Officer who served with the Toronto Police Service as a Homicide and Sex Crimes Detective. Steve Ryan gives us a glimpse into some of the most impactful homicide cases that haunt him to this day.

This book is not for the faint of heart and I strongly encourage anyone wanting to read this book to look up the trigger warnings before reading. As readers we are thrust into Steve Ryan’s reality, experiencing the raw stories of someone who lived this life every day. Steve Ryan shows readers the vulnerability and compassion he had and surprisingly still has as he recounts the many cases he was involved with.

This book was fast-paced and addicting, not addicting in a bad way but more from the point of view of wanting to know the “who” and “why”. Being someone who lives in Toronto I can recognize some of the cases described as well as the locations; personally, it made this book very surreal. I have walked many of these same neighborhoods, laughing with friends and having a good time, not knowing that these same neighborhoods were the very places innocent lives were lost and families shattered.

As someone who reads, watches, and listens to True Crime Documentaries, I was intrigued when I first heard about The Ghosts That Haunt Me in April of 2022. What drew me to this book was the fact that it was written by a retired Toronto Homicide Detective. Before now, I thought I had heard some pretty interesting murders but what made this book especially unique was getting an up-close and personal look at the impact homicide and other heinous crimes have on Law Enforcement.

Steve Ryan spotlights some of his most horrific cases that will bring to the forefront, the evil that exists in the world. What truly made this book was being allowed to see behind the badge, seeing the vulnerability, sacrifice, and “humanness” of Law Enforcement. It makes you appreciate these men and women a lot more, knowing what they have to leave behind every time they answer that call; the missed birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmases, leaving the living to be with the dead, realities becoming blurred and the weight of loss becoming too heavy to carry. Is it any wonder that their mental health suffers when they have to learn to carry the universe or be crushed by it. They must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors.

This book is written by and about Steve Ryan, a retired homicide detective in Toronto. After investigating over 100 cases, Steve writes about six cases that stuck with him throughout the years.

If you are a true crime lover, a “wanna be” mystery solver , or just someone who enjoys memoirs, this book is for you. The six stories Ryan tells about in this book are heartbreaking, disturbing, and at times, horrendous. They are told with a clear understanding of the steps Ryan went through from being called to the crime to solving it. It is apparent that Ryan loved his job, even though it was difficult. It is obvious Ryan is a man of feeling and compassion for the victims and their families putting a human effect to this book. A great read.

This was a thoughtful, well written, and emotional read. I was familiar with only one of the cases, the murder of little Holly, after having seen the documentary The Lake Erie Murders. I had not heard the stories of the other victims and thought they deserved to be told by someone who not only cared deeply, but who was closely involved in bringing their killers to justice. Each crime was particularly haunting, devastating and chilling. I found it an incredibly difficult read and was brought me to tears by how desperately sad and unthinkable the crimes were.

I think the author handled it with respect, compassion, and dignity. I was interested in what he had to say, as he navigated his thoughts and feelings, attempting to offer insight into the suffering and horror he had witnessed, much of which there can be no comprehension.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this arc.

I really liked this book being a fan of true crime. He investigated many interesting cases during his career as a detective and I liked the deep dive into the cases.

The Ghost That Haunt Me is a fast paced true crime memoir that not only dives into the crimes itself but also how much these crimes affect everyone. When a crime is committed it not only affects the families but the people responsible for finding justice in these cases. I really enjoyed how the author compared the police to superheroes but tells how that often that's not the case. Everyone calls for the police when they are in need but unfortunately once the call is place its usually once the crime is already committed. This affected the author often in his line of work.

Steve Ryan tells the stories of six cases that still haunt him to this day. Over the span of his lengthy career, he has seen death and all the horrors that come with it. The sympathy he shows for the families of the individuals were very refreshing. The stories are detailed but told in a way that focuses on every aspect of the crime. These crimes affect the community around them just as much as the families involved.

I highly recommend this book to true crime lovers that enjoy a fast paced, detailed read, from the perspective of the detective himself.

Very well written. I can't believe some of the cases you had. No wonder they haunt you. Heartbreaking, insightful, and thankful you shared. I will definitely recommend to my friends. I truly appreciate all the work police, fire, ambulance and all emergency workers do for us. I don't think people appreciate the horrors you deal with everyday and you carry with you.

I loved the descriptions and detail in this book. The mix of actual re-tellings of real cases mixed with the emotions that the people investigating them are forced to feel was just fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time. A must-read for any true crime fan!

I am an avid true crime podcast listener and tv watcher. Many of us forget the cost of these horrific crimes, Steve Ryan can't forget. Like a bucket of ice water over the reader's head, Detective Ryan describes a crime scene. It is NOT like podcasts and tv. These are brutal. This man saw the worst of humans. He is empathetic with the families and victims. He also explains the toll these crimes were taking on him and his family. I enjoyed the insight this book delivered but even more, I'm glad he humanized detectives and police. This book is not a sensationalized telling of these crimes. It is a collection of cases that left scars on the detective that solved them. I recommend this one to any true crime fan, but it is not for the light of heart.
Thank you to NetGalley, Steve Ryan, and Dundurn Press for the DRC.