The Weight of Stones

It's Toronto at the close of 1999 and a time of change. The world holds its breath as the clock rolls to a new millennium. But Metro Police Detective Charlie McKelvey's life is stuck on pause since the murder of his runaway son, Gavin. As his wife focuses on healing, McKelvey is burdened with guilt for his role in kicking the teen out of the family home and his inability to move the case to resolution, despite being a police officer. Obsessed with the stalled murder investigation, McKelvey's behavior becomes increasingly unhinged. He is convinced the person responsible for the murder is an ex-convict named Pierre Duguay, a displaced Quebec biker sent to Toronto to establish a chapter of a large South American biker gang, The Blades. Duguay, meanwhile, struggles with the ghosts from his involvement in the violent Quebec biker wars of the 1990s. A former Drug Squad detective whom Duguay helped turn to the side of the bikers is now a drug-addled liability, threatening to pull Duguay into the dark mystery surrounding the murder of Gavin McKelvey. He begins to plan his escape from the life of organized crime. When unexpected illness forces McKelvey's early retirement, the conditions are finally ripe for McKelvey to focus entirely on his plans for revenge. The Weight of Stones holds a magnifying glass over the circumstances which force us to look deep within ourselves and evaluate our true nature. The novel explores the consequences of the daily and random decisions we make, as it stares into the heart of grief and sees the impact violent crime has on all of us.

C. B. Forrest studied journalism and worked as a reporter for several Ontario newspapers, where he had the opportunity to cover several murder trials. He began writing poetry, short stories and novellas and his work has earned praise from writers as varied as George Elliot Clarke and Stephen Reid. Recently he earned a national marketing award for his work in communications on behalf of a national youth charity. He is currently employed in communications and marketing for a renewable energy association. He is currently at work on a second McKelvey novel.