In her home in St. John’s, Newfoundland Donna Whalen was stabbed 31 times. Her friends, family, and neighbours believed it was her abusive boyfriend Sheldon Troke. But the evidence is all circumstantial, providing a daunting challenge for police and prosecutors -- and the course of justice takes many unpredictable twists and turns before the truth is finally revealed.

In this mesmerizing work of documentary fiction, based on the controversial real life case, which continues to stir passionate feelings, Michael Winter pieces together the transcripts and court testimonies of Sheldon’s trial. He preserves the nuanced voice of each witness and the result is a harsh account of the tragedy that befell Donna Whalen and the controversial aftermath that tore her town apart.
 

• Penguin Canada, Fall 2010

Finalist for the 2010 Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize

A Quill & Quire Book of the Year 2010

Globe 100 Best Book 2010

Commonwealth Writers' Prize nominee

Finalist for the 2011 Trillium Book Award for fiction

"[g]ripping and intensely moving..."
-National Post

"A moody and affecting novel...conjures a potent sensation of disquiet out of the grim details of an actual tragedy."
-Quill & Quire

"Michael Winter has turned the very real facts of a St. John's murder trial into a compelling work of fiction... With the source material as a given, the selection, arrangement and editing become all-important. Winter has done an exemplary job in this regard, orchestrating the various speakers into a tragic chorus over the short unhappy life of Donna Whalen."
-Toronto Star

 "...[A] brave work that showcases a stylist playing to his strengths..."
-The Walrus