Executive Editor Jim Gifford of Simon & Schuster Canada has acquired World rights to THE HIGH ROAD; Memories of a Homicide Cop, a true crime memoir by Hank Idsinga, formerly Canada’s leading homicide detective. Motivated by his grandfather’s murder in the Holocaust, Idsinga embarked on a colourful and decorated thirty-year career tracking down murderers and serial killers, and now shares insights from his professional journey for the first time. Publication is planned for April 2026 and the deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde of Transatlantic Agency.
From the age of ten, Hank Idsinga knew he wanted to become a homicide detective, when he learned that his grandfather had been murdered by the Nazis in the Second World War. He prepared to be a police officer his entire youth and soon found himself in ill-fitting suits training for the job. More than competent—smart, incisive, caring, respectful—Idsinga ingratiated himself to his fellow officers and to his superiors. He was as capable of tracking down a getaway man as he was informing a mother that her son, lost to crime, would never return home. Idsinga found himself at the center of some of the most notable crimes in recent Toronto history and helping track down some of the most vicious serial criminals the city has ever seen.
But it was in homicide that Hank Idsinga would prove such a vital asset to the Toronto Police Services. Idsinga teamed up with his partners, including future chief of police Mark Saunders, on many murder calls—some one-offs, others more nefarious—taking in the scene with his excellent recall, finding the motive and the method faster and with more insight than most. Idsinga and his team of seasoned detectives participated in taking down some of the worst Toronto has to offer, perhaps none more so than serial killer Bruce McArthur, who had terrorized the gay village for years. Idsinga became the public face for that investigation, and despite the criticism of the police force’s handling of the murders, Idsinga always appeared strong and compassionate in front of the media’s camera flashes.
The High Road breathes life into the true detective genre, with raw, accessible and punchy prose, as honest and compelling as the homicide detective himself. His grandfather would have been proud.
Hank is represented by Carolyn Forde.
Congratulations, Hank!