Russell Quant

Created by Anthony Bidulka

An unexpectedly amusing series that goes down surprisingly easy, thanks to Saskatoon private eye RUSSELL QUANT’s charmingly chatty, loosey goosey first-person narration, which he apparently got from his creator, Anthony Bidulka. The author describes Quant as “the first and only half-Ukranian, half-Irish, wine-swilling, world-travelling, wise-cracking, Prairie-dwelling, Canadian private eye being written about today anywhere by anyone,” a lofty claim he stands by. And damn it, he’s right.

Straight from the Author’s Mouth

Bon vivant RUSSELL QUANT lives large in the small Canadian prairie city of Saskatoon. A former constable with the local cops, Russell gave up his blues and used an unexpected windfall of inheritance money to bankroll a risky (professionally and financially) turn as a private eye. Unfortunately, Saskatoon has so little crime that less than a fistful of investigators are even listed in the Yellow Pages. Complicating matters–at least a little–is that Russel is gay.

Although much of the action takes place in this pretty prairie burg, Russell often finds himself traveling far afield on the trail of bad guys; venturing out from Saskatoon to Paris, New York and Barcelona. This is one party boy eye who gets around, spreading his particular brand of gimlet-eyed wit, brain and brawn to unique locales and in the company of captivating personalities, making them pretty rich, saucy, engaging reads.

Even if at the end of the day he’s running back to Saskatoon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

In 1999, Anthony Bidulka, BA, BEd, BComm, CA and EIEIO left a decade long career as a Chartered Accountant to pursue writing. Looks like he caught it. The Russell Quant series has received generally excellent reviews and have been nominated for several awards. in fact, the second novel in the series, Flight of Aquavit (2004) was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery, making Bidulka the first Canadian to win that award. Lately, Anthony has also written a couple of thrillers featuring Canadian Disaster Recovery Agent Adam Saint, who investigates catastrophes around the world, as well as a few standalones, Set Free, and Going to Beautiful. In 2023, he started a new series featuring private investigator Merry Bell series. For his co-founding of Camp fYrefly Saskatchewan, a leadership retreat for gender and sexually diverse and allied youth, and his volunteer and philanthropic work in the community, two parks in Saskatoon have been named in his honour, and he has received the Ukrainian Canadian Congress Nation Builders Award and was named Saskatoon Citizen of the Year.  One of Bidulka’s favourite sayings is “Life is short, but it can be wide.”

UNDER OATH

• “… 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.”
  — Quill & Quire on Amuse Bouche

NOVELS

• Amuse Bouche (2003) | Buy this book |Kindle it!
• Flight of Aquavit (2004) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Tapas on the Ramblas (2005) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Stain of the Berry (2007) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Sundowner Ubuntu (2009) | Buy this book |Kindle it!
• Aloha, Candy Hearts (2009) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
• Date with a Sheesha (2010) | Buy this book | indle it!
• Dos Equis (2012) | Buy this book |Kindle it!

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• The Official Russell Quant Mysteries Web Site
  Uh, like, the official site, eh?
• A Queer Eye for the New Eyes
  Essay by Josh Lanyon
• Down These Mean Streets A Gay Man Must Also Go
  Drewey Wayne Gunn looks at the history of the gay P.I.
• What Were Once Vices…
  Gay and Lesbian Eyes
• The Maple Leaf Rag
  Canadian Eyes

Respectfully submitted by Anthony Bidulka. Additional info from Kevin Burton Smith.