Russell Quant

Series · 8 books · 2000-2012

By Anthony Bidulka

Books in series

Amuse Bouche

2000

A gay wedding gone bad. A missing groom. An unsullied reputation at risk. Enter Russell Quant - cute, gay, and a rookie private detective. With a nose for good wine and bad lies, Quant is off to France on his first big case. From the smudgy streets of Paris, he sips and sleuths his way to the pastel-colored promenade of Sanary-sur-Mer. Back in Saskatoon, Quant comes face to face with a client who may be the bad guy, a quarry who turns up in the most unexpected place, and a cast of colorful the vile sister, the best friend, the colleague, the ex-lover, the lawyer, the priest, the snoopy neighbor-are they involved? Or is someone else lurking in the shadows? As he works through his case, Quant juggles his detective gig with the responsibilities of a personal life full of captivating personalities. Taking a cue from the style and humor of Robert B. Parker, and evoking Armistead Maupin with his wit and warmth, Anthony Bidulka's Amuse Bouche is a rich, saucy, and engaging read.

Flight of Aquavit

2000

At the dead end of a desolate country road, a late night meeting suddenly becomes an ambush. Gay private detective Russell Quant is faced with personal threats he can't ignore, a friend who may be a foe, and a cagey client with a treacherous monkey on his back. As Quant trails a menacing blackmailer known only as Loverboy, he finds himself immersed in the midnight world of e-dating and parking lot romance. Lured to New York City, Quant tests his wit, wisdom, and wiles from the Old World grandeur of Fifth Avenue to the kaleidoscope world of Broadway's electric nightspots. The fast pace continues when Quant returns to Saskatoon, where he grapples with decoys and deceit, realizing that no one is as they appear. Threat turns into deadly reality and the need to uncover the identity of Loverboy becomes increasingly desperate.

Tapas on the Ramblas

2005

Charity Wiser, matriarch of the Wiser clan by virtue of her wealth and power, is an indomitable provocateur ... and private detective Russell Quant's newest employer. There is more than a single rotten apple on this family tree, and Quant has been hired to discover which one is intent on murdering his client. To help him sleuth out the evil culprit, Charity Wiser arranges a family reunion aboard the opulent Friends of Dorothy Cruiseliner as it tours the most exotic ports of the Mediterranean. But smooth sailing is short-lived as undercurrents of clashes—local and tourist, gay and straight, trendy and traditional—offer Russell insight into the Wisers and reveal a family simmering with rage and greed. He begins to who doesn't want Charity Wiser dead? Shifting from his prairie stomping ground to a sea undulating with death, Quant's smarts, senses and sea legs are challenged. From tantalizing tapas and sweet sangria in Spain to the bitter taste of death in Sicily, Quant goes head to head with friends and foes in a series of unforgettable locales. Come aboard a sensual journey of sun and sea brine, caviar and champagne on a cruise replete with the luxury of murder. Anthony Bidulka is the author of Amuse Bouche and Flight of Aquavit, and is the winner of the Lambda Literary Award. Praise for Anthony Bidulka's work "... another bright and witty novel from Anthony Bidulka ... There's plenty of action here, and Bidulka spreads it out with witty dialogue, smart commentary and plenty of good, sharp writing." — The Globe and Mail "Bidulka treats the reader to enough red herrings with which to open a fishmarket and more than one writer's fair share of keen observations and appealing bons mots." — Outlooks "... the pages turn at a frantic speed, each suspenseful chapter a chaser for the one preceding." — Swerve

Stain of the Berry

2006

Everyone has their Boogeyman. But who-or what-is scaring Saskatoon locals to death? Private detective Russell Quant is roused from sleep only to fall into a nightmare case when the family of a suicide victim hires him to uncover the real cause of death. But what is real and what is imaginary? Quant works to narrow his list of suspects only to find the number of victims growing. Russell is mystified as the trail of fear connects him to a vast landscape of people, including an elegant potash miner, dubious trailer park denizens, reticent farm folk, the Pink Gopher choir, and a gaseous psychiatrist. Compounding Quant's bewilderment is the complete and perfect disappearance of his once very real friend, Sereena, who has become a ghost he simply can't find. With the Boogeyman always a few paces ahead, Russell struggles to keep the hounds of failure from baying. Travelling from Saskatchewan's summer storms to the menacing Lotus Land of Vancouver, he finally touches down in the Canadian Arctic, where tragic hope resides. Russell returns home to bully attacks, a desperate chase through midnight woods, and a sadistic abduction. As Quant penetrates the truth of the Boogeyman, he finds himself on a perilous suspension bridge between idyllic childhood and grown-up violence.

Sundowner Ubuntu

2007

A mother's pain. A million dollars. A missing son. Desperate to right old wrongs, a new client hires Russell Quant to locate her son, Matthew, lost to her for twenty years. But can money relieve remorse? Through good old-fashioned detective work, Russell peels away the layers of a carefully concealed life, grown from the seeds of traumatic childhood violence. Tracking Matthew's life from the schoolyard drug culture of a pleasant prairie city's underbelly to the stunning vistas, vibrant townships, and tinderbox safaris of Africa, Russell finds much more than he was looking for. Ever adept at making both friends and foes, Quant runs a gauntlet of uncharted danger as worlds collide. Thrust into the unfamiliar role of bad guy, stymied by seemingly insurmountable distrust and base fear, Russell cuts a blistering swath through covert threats and overt bullets. But as he searches for his Canadian needle in an African haystack, the brutality escalates. Confronting his own role in the cause and effect of scars and anger, retribution and revenge, Russell Quant faces a difficult question: What happens when the prodigal son resists the return?

Aloha Candy Hearts

2009

Private detective Russell Quant is perplexed. From the middle of the Pacific to the middle of Canada, he's missing clues and proposing answers that only beg questions. The parking lot murder of a passing acquaintance draws Quant to a poem that just might be a treasure map. But is it treasure or extortion he is trailing? Unsure of his commitment to a case he wasn't even hired for, Russell uncovers the hidden history of Saskatoon through an early homestead, a fallen sports hero, and a second-run movie house. As his search progresses, he becomes the quarry being hunted. What exactly did Russell Quant commit to? In this fast-paced mystery, Russell tries to balance his professional life with the demands of a wedding, a memorial, and at least one home-cooked meal at mom's. While Russell is reluctantly uncovering the past, the present demands his attention. Murder begets blackmail begets murder. And, with the Hawaiian sand barely shaken free from his hair, Russell is confronted, professionally and personally, with the harsh consequences of indecision.

Date with a Sheesha

2010

Neil Gupta went to the Middle East looking for antique carpets. He found something equally timeless: murder. When Neil is found stabbed to death in Dubai's spice souk, his distraught father wants revenge. He hires private investigator Russell Quant to catch the killer. In his greatest case to date, Quant goes undercover to match wits with a wily museum curator, shifty souk merchants, corrupt carpet experts, and the denizens of an underground club for "fabulous" men. From the flamboyant glitz of Dubai to the scorching sand dunes of Saudi Arabia, Quant risks his life as he wades further and further into the shadows cast by the desert sun. As Russell's spicy international adventure heats up, he learns a valuable lesson about love, life, and learning to seize the moment...before it's gone. On the verge of making the biggest personal decision of his life, Russell discovers that endings sometimes come before beginnings.

Dos Equis

2012

When we left him last, Saskatoon gay PI Russell Quant was a broken man. Dumped by his boyfriend, forced to drive around town in a minivan instead of his beloved sports car, only his dogs still needed him.But, things are looking up. A call for help from an old adversary gives Russell a new purpose in life, and he faces the future with a spring in his step and new highlights in his hair. Set in the beautiful Mexican beach town of Zihuatenengo, the eighth in the Quant mystery series will thrill old and new fans of Anthony Bidulka's smart, sassy detective.

Author

Anthony Bidulka

Author · 16 books

Bidulka’s most recent book was described as "...poignant, ingeniously plotted, and exquisitely told" (The Ottawa Review of Books). His books have been nominated for Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Awards, Saskatchewan Book Awards, a ReLit award, Lambda Literary Awards, with Flight of Aquavit awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery, making Bidulka the first Canadian to win in that category. In 1999 Anthony Bidulka, BA, BEd, BComm, CPA left a decade long professional accounting career to pursue writing and never looked back. In 2003, Quill & Quire described Bidulka’s first book, Amuse Bouche: A Russell Quant Mystery, as “…an effervescent first novel that is much like the tasty French hors d’oeuvres from which it takes its name”, earning Bidulka a nomination for the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award. In addition to the beloved Russell Quant mystery series, Bidulka has written two books following the adventures of Adam Saint, a tough-as-nails, luxury loving, Disaster Recovery Agent. In 2016 Bidulka published his first stand-alone suspense novel, Set Free, with Kirkus Reviews saying: “The countless plot twists are exhilarating, with gasp-inducing drama and flatly startling story turns.” He returns in 2022 with his Adult Fiction/Mystery novel, Going to Beautiful. Anthony has toured extensively in both Canada and the United States. A great believer in community involvement, he has been on the boards of local, national, and international organizations. He was recently inducted to the University of Saskatchewan College of Education Wall of Honour, received the University of Saskatchewan College of Arts and Science Alumni of Influence Award, the Nation Builders Award, and named Citizen of the Year for his home city of Saskatoon, SK. When he isn’t writing, Bidulka loves to travel the world, collect art, walk his dogs and throw a good party. Anthony's Books: Going to Beautiful (2022) Set Free (2016) The Adam Saint books: When The Saints Go Marching In (2013) The Women of Skawa Island (2014) The Russell Quant books: Amuse Bouche (2003) Flight of Aquavit (2004) Tapas on the Ramblas (2005) Stain of the Berry (2006) Sundowner Ubuntu (2007) Aloha, Candy Hearts (2009) Date With a Sheesha (2010) Dos Equis (2012).