Shortlisted for The Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book, Crime Writers of Canada Awards

Get inside the mind of an elite cold case investigator and learn how to solve a murder.

Despite advances in DNA evidence and forensic analysis, almost half of murder cases in Canada and the US remain unsolved. By 2016, the solved rate had dropped so significantly in the United States that it was the lowest in recorded history, with one in two killers never even identified, much less arrested and successfully prosecuted. And the statistics are just as bad in Canada.

As a sought-after global expert and former detective, Arntfield has devoted his career to helping solve cold cases and serial murders, including the creation of the Western University Cold Case Society, which pairs students with police detectives to help solve crimes.

In How to Solve a Cold Case, Arntfield outlines the history of cold case squads in Canada and the US, and lays out the steps to understanding and solving crime. Arntfield shows you what to look for, how to avoid common mistakes, recognize patterns and discover what others have missed. Weaving in case studies of cold crimes from across Canada and the US, as well as a chapter on how armchair detectives can get involved, How to Solve a Cold Case is a must-read for mystery fans and true crime buffs everywhere.

Bestselling author Michael Arntfield is a veteran police officer, professor, and television host. Known by his students as “Profficer,” an endearing blend of his academic and law enforcement professions, he teaches criminology at Western University and is a previous visiting Fulbright Chair at Vanderbilt University. With fifteen years of experience as a police officer, Arntfield offers a unique perspective into unsolved murder cases that combines suspenseful storytelling, academic knowledge, and investigative technology. He is the lead investigator on the true-crime series To Catch a Killer on the Oprah Winfrey Network in Canada and is the author of Murder City: The Untold Story of Canada’s Serial Killer Capital. He is also Director of the Murder Accountability Project in the United States and both the founder and Director of the Western University Cold Case Society in Canada.

When he isn’t teaching, investigating cold cases, or writing about them, he is researching long-term crime trends and developing new television projects. His latest research is on cyberbullying, social media, and psychopathy.

Michael Arntfield's profile page

“How to Solve a Cold Case is necessary and insightful reading. Whether you admit it or not, true crime has become everyone’s business. For the amateur sleuth, Arntfield restores a well-earned credibility, offering a path forward by which true crime enthusiasts may actually work as partners alongside law enforcement.” — —John Allore, co-author of Wish You Were Here: A Murdered Girl, a Brother’s Quest and the Hunt for a Serial Killer

“Mike Arntfield’s masterfully written book digs deep into the science behind criminal investigation and tells us exactly what it takes to catch a killer. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down. This is a must-read for anyone interested in true crime.” — –Mike Browne, host of the Dark Poutine podcast and author of Murder, Madness and Mayhem

“Arntfield’s battle cry for disruption in investigative norms is magnificent, galvanizing, and perfectly timed.” — —J. Reuben Appelman, author of The Kill Jar

“A righteous recommended read for armchair detectives and cops alike. Arntfield clearly shows us: what we don’t know about murder is killing us.” — —Brad Hunter, national crime columnist, Toronto Sun