Elle Dupin
Created by Jack Todd

You talk about your murder in a distinct society.

In what may be a newspaper first (or at least, The Montreal Gazette suggests it is), columnist Jack Todd is currently writing an "interactive" mystery with a plot devised on the fly by readers. Each week, readers get to choose the direction the story will take, from a list of options provided by the author.

Even better, it's a pretty decent story, with some good, hard-boiled touches and plenty of good ol' sex and violence (nothing too extreme, though -- The Gazoo is a family paper, after all), set in my hometown, and featuring a young, ambitious crime newshawk (for The Gazette, of course). Her name's ELLE DUPIN (the hommage is no doubt intentional). She's a comely lass, even if her fashion sense is only a "step short of pure Goth," complete with nose ring, short, punky hair the "colour of dried blood," funeral-black lipstick, short skirts and ripped stockings. Originally from Oakville, Ontario, with a stint at the Toronto Globe and Mail behind her, she's only been a reporter for five years, but she seems to know what she's doing, and she displays a feisty hands-on attitude to journalism that could make this a one a real contender.

In the story, she's assigned to cover the murder/cruxifiction of a young film maker, who's been making porn for the the internet, and possibly dealing a little Ecxtasy on the side. In the course of her investigation, Elle and her partner, crusty senior crime beat reporter Eddie Murphy ("I'm not going to change my name just because it happens to also belong to some foul-mouthed, second-rate comic") run into an intriguing cast of characters on both sides of the law. They include handsome, educated Detective-Lieutenant Nico Xiros of the MUC police and three lesbian "actresses"--Sandra, Trish and Lulu Falana, who discovered the body in the victim's loft down by the Lachine Canal. And the way things are going, we may be meeting up with a few thugs, pornographers and bikers very soon, as well. And also, possibly, the obligatory serial killer. Should be fun.

Not only does Elle meet some pretty interesting suspects, but Montreal is nailed down pretty well, too. There are even a few good local in-jokes. Then again, that's not surprising -- author Todd served as the opinionated city columnist for The Gazette for years, before moving over to sports, and now, evidently, crime fiction. A transplanted American, he now makes his home in Greenfield Park, Quebec.

INSTALLMENTS

• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 1" (February 3, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 2" (February 6, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 3" (February 8, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 4" (February 10, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 5" (February 13, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 6" (February 15, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 7" (February 17, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 8" (February 20, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 9" (February 22, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 10" (February 24, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 11" (February 27, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)
• "Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery, Part 12" (March 3, 2001, The Montreal Gazette)

RELATED LINKS

• Nameless Dread: An Interactive Mystery
  You may still be able to read the story here, and but you can't vote on the direction it will take anymore.

Illustration by Joao Costela.