The Ghosts That Haunt Me: Memories of a Homicide Detective

By Steve Ryan and Joe Warmington

After years working in homicide, retired Toronto detective Steve Ryan reflects on six cases he will never forget.

Retired detective Steve Ryan worked in Toronto’s homicide squad for over a decade. For Ryan, the stories of Toronto’s most infamous crimes were more than just a headline read over morning coffee — they were his everyday life.

After investigating over one hundred homicides, Ryan can never forget the tragedies and the victims, even after his retirement from the police force. In The Ghosts That Haunt Me, he reflects on six of the many cases that greatly impacted him — seven people whose lives were senselessly taken — and that he still thinks about nearly every day. While the stories are hard to tell for Ryan, they were harder to live through. Yet somewhere between the crimes and the heartache is a glimmer of hope that good eventually does prevail and that healing can come after grief.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dundurn
• Release date: Sep 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781459749740

Steve Ryan

STEVE RYAN began his career with the Toronto Police at the age of eighteen. After nearly thirty years of policing — most of which he spent working as a detective—Ryan retired and began a career with CP24 as a crime specialist. He lives in Toronto.

Book preview