The High Road - by Hank Idsinga (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER

From the hunt for killers to a reckoning with his own profession, one of Canada's leading homicide detectives takes readers inside the cases that defined his career--and the conflicts that tested his convictions.

At ten years old, Hank Idsinga knew what he wanted to do with his life. Determined to become a homicide detective, he spent his youth preparing for a job that would demand more of him than he could ever have imagined.

From his earliest days in an ill-fitting suit to his rise through the Toronto Police Service, Idsinga earned a reputation for sharp instincts, painstaking investigation, and compassion. He understood that the work meant more than catching a killer. It also meant sitting across from a mother and telling her that her son would never come home.

Alongside a team of seasoned detectives, Idsinga helped investigate some of Toronto's most notorious crimes, from the Boxing Day shooting of Jane Creba to the serial murders committed by Bruce McArthur. With a keen eye and exceptional recall, he pieced together motives, followed elusive leads, and spotted the crucial details that could break a case open.

But some of the hardest truths Idsinga encountered lay within the institution he had dedicated his life to serving. With striking candour, he takes readers behind the scenes of Canada's largest municipal police force, revealing tensions rarely aired in public and experiences that tested his faith in the profession he loved.

Gripping, deeply personal, and unflinching, The High Road explores what it takes to solve a murder, the toll of confronting violence, and the challenge of holding your own profession to account.

Review Quotes

"Forget your favourite TV detective or Hollywood cop. Hank Idsinga is the real deal--a veteran homicide investigator who has smelled the blood at crime scenes, examined the corpses and hunted down the killers. From gangland slayings to other tragic murders, Idsinga grabs you for a gut-wrenching ride through the mean streets of murder. And he pulls no punches when it comes to exposing major issues with Canada's largest police force. A scary, searing look behind the badge."
-- JULIAN SHER, co-author of Hitman

"Hank Idsinga is a man of imposing dimensions, physically and morally. It took a big man to head up the homicide squad in a city where slain blood flowed. The killings on his watch, overwhelmingly solved, required investigative skill, management adeptness and empathy for victims. This was a police officer who spent a lifetime delving into the darkness of horrific crimes and wretched criminals. In The High Road: Memories of a Homicide Cop, Hank recounts it all with immense humanity."
-- ROSIE DiMANNO, Toronto Star

"There are books that entertain, books that educate, and books that force us to examine the moral condition of the institutions around us. Hank Idsinga's The High Road is one of those rare books that does all three. One of the great strengths of [this book] is that Idsinga writes with remarkable humanity. . . . This is not a revenge book. Nor is it an attack on policing. It is the testimony of a deeply ethical insider trying to change institutional culture from within while still believing fundamentally in the mission of policing itself."
-- The Canadian Jewish News

"Ex-cop's memoir excels in detailing homicide investigations"
-- The Winnipeg Free Press

"Former homicide detective Hank Idsinga is a rare thing: an ex-cop who isn't afraid to criticize the police force. His new memoir . . . details his 34-year career with the Toronto Police Service in unflinching detail, providing surprisingly frank descriptions of "poor leadership, racism and dysfunction in the senior ranks.""
-- Toronto Life

". . . a searingly honest evaluation of the Canadian policing and justice systems. . . . Well worth the read."
-- JWire

"Hank Idsinga is a man of imposing dimensions, physically and morally. It took a big man to head up the homicide squad in a city where slain blood flowed. The killings on his watch, overwhelmingly solved, required investigative skill, management adeptness and empathy for victims. This was a police officer who spent a lifetime delving into the darkness of horrific crimes and wretched criminals. In The High Road: Memories of a Homicide Cop, Hank recounts it all with immense humanity."
-- ROSIE DiMANNO, Toronto Star

About the Author

Hank Idsinga was a member of the Toronto Police Services for thirty years, leading the country's top homicide unit for five years. Having served as Detective Sergeant and, later, Inspector in charge of Toronto's Homicide Squad, he has policed just about every kind of case you can imagine, and has stared down some of the hardest criminals the city has ever seen. Idsinga has received numerous awards from the Ontario Homicide Investigator's Association, and has twice been recognized by Toronto Life magazine as one of Toronto's 50 Most Influential People. Additionally, he is a regular presenter at policing conferences, including the FBI National Academy Associates Conference and the Ontario Homicide Investigators Conference, among others. Recently retired and now a crime commentary fixture on the Corus radio network (nationally) and Global Television, as well as American crime series in production, Idsinga speaks widely about policing in the wake of a highly decorated career.