Murder On The Prairies: Review Of Home Fires Burn By Anthony Bidulka

by Meaghan Mains

Updated on July 27, 2025

 

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A small town, a mystery that needs solving, and a sharp-witted PI at the center of an investigation that some folks would rather stay buried. I don’t often find myself picking up books set in Canada, which is a wrong I need to rectify as a Canadian and lover of books of all types.

Luckily, I was recently afforded the opportunity to read Anthony Bidulka’s latest release, and his third entry into his Merry Bell Mystery series. Featuring a captivating mystery and an intriguing heroine, this is the type of story that’s sure to appeal to mystery lovers from all over. Home Fires Burn takes Canadian mysteries to a whole new level of intrigue.

Thank you very much to Stonehouse Publishing for the ARC!

Minor spoilers ahead

Home Fires Burn Synopsis

Private investigator Merry Bell is expecting a quiet Christmas season in the small town of Livingsky, Saskatchewan. Having returned to her hometown about a year ago, she’s struggling in aspects of both her professional and personal life. The return home has dredged up old feelings, and a tenuous relationship with her parents has Merry feeling on edge at this most wonderful time of the year.

In a surprising turn of events, Merry is approached by Evan Whatley, a celebrated country music artist—and her first love. And rekindling sparks isn’t the only thing that this heartthrob is looking for. Turns out Evan’s father, John Whatley, died over a year prior under somewhat mysterious circumstances.

Desperate for answers, Evan asks Merry to take a deeper look into the case. The police have written the incident that led to John’s death off as a tragic accident, but Merry isn’t quite as convinced. This savvy Louboutin-wearing sleuth will need to use all of the tools in her arsenal – and a quirky cast of Livingsky residents – to get to the bottom of things.

Home Fires Burn: A Breakdown

A small town is the perfect setting for a mystery, and Home Fires Burn provides us with an excellent backdrop to what becomes a truly compelling crime.

The Setting

Part of what makes a whodunnit story is its setting. The town of Livingsky is the perfect companion to a somewhat gritty mystery hiding beneath its charming surface. The addition of the frigid winter setting lends itself well to the buried secrets that Merry unearths throughout her investigation.

Many fellow Canadians will be well aware that icy winds and mountains of snow tend to keep folks indoors, and the bitter cold almost becomes its own character throughout the course of the novel. Add the holiday season vibe, and you’ve got a recipe for the perfect mystery.

The Characters

While Livingsky certainly plays its own role in the story, the characters of Home Fires Burn are what make the novel compelling. A fleshed-out, complex protagonist like Merry Bell keeps the novel rooted, and her personal struggles provide layers of emotional upheaval not often seen in private detective stories.

How nice to be a car salesperson, Merry thought to herself as her eyes roamed the handsome vista below. You spend your days inside a beautiful glass world with clean floors, permanent new car smell and a fully stocked coffee and snack bar.

We often see the same tropes with PIs: dark pasts, substance abuse, hard-boiled loners, the list goes on. But Merry offers a refreshing take on the private eye. Though she deals with a number of her own personal issues as a transgender woman returning to her hometown for the first time in a number of years, she finds ways to push through her discomfort and communicate her feelings on various aspects of her childhood and adolescence.

She may not be a completely open book, but she blows her fictional counterparts out of the water in terms of her ability to emote.

It’s also Merry’s complexity that makes her interactions with the other characters memorable. From her complicated past with Evan, her first love, to the anger she still holds towards her parents for their lack of support in her coming out, to her pseudo-partnership with Roger, who hosts a popular true crime podcast as his alter ego Stella.

As the colourful characters in Livingsky are introduced, there is more and more to appreciate about this story, and the questions of who committed the crime become more nuanced. I almost wish we’d gotten some additional time with some of them, but one can only hope we may see more of the town and its people from Anthony Bidulka in the future.

The Mystery

This Merry Bell mystery would not be nearly as engaging without the level of whodunnit at its core. The death of John Whatley almost appears to be an accident on its surface, which allows for a greater level of intrigue when details begin to be unearthed.

I’ll admit that I was a little bit surprised as to how the final mystery unravelled, as it appeared to come a little out of left field. However, this definitely meant that I could not have made a guess as to the outcome, so I’ll take it as a win! Overall, the investigation into John Whatley’s death was a gripping one, fraught with quiet tension in a small town in the Prairies.

Final Thoughts

A noir-style mystery set in the Canadian prairies isn’t something that one often finds in their literature, and Home Fires Burn is a welcome addition to the genre. Where other stories of a similar vein can feel overworked, this is a mystery that exists authentically, showcasing the humanity in its characters, both the positive and negative aspects of their personalities, feelings, and prejudices.

If you’re looking for a character-driven whodunnit in a setting that feels fresh and new, Home Fires Burn is the perfect choice.