Inspired by True Events

In 1927, a schoolteacher, Nicholas Peddle, was found dead at the foot of Lover’s Leap, Harbour Grace, with a superficial stab wound to his neck. Just metres away from Peddle, another body, likely an assailant, was also discovered.

The double murder of Nicholas Peddle and his attacker is the only cold case of Sergeant Frank Fallon's long career with the Newfoundland Constabulary. The slain schoolteacher was a man of secrets, and the list of suspects in the investigation continued to grow until—suddenly—the trail went cold.

Fifty years later, the case remains unsolved. And now, a phone call reveals that new evidence has come to light.

The discovery causes retired policeman Frank Fallon to relive four days in August 1927, when he enlisted the help of his estranged partner, Christine Sullivan, an investigative reporter with the Harbour Grace Standard. Together they sought the elusive killer of both men . . . a search that left them with more questions than answers.

Patrick Collins is a writer and retired educator who has taught in various communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. He finished his career in education as a curriculum program specialist, working in several school districts on the Avalon Peninsula and in Western Labrador. Patrick also worked as a sales and marketing representative with Lifetouch Canada until June 2011. He recently retired as a sessional instructor at the Canadian Training Institute in Bay Roberts. Pat’s eleventh and most recent work, The Body on the Beach, is a novel inspired by the true events surrounding a woman, Alice Williams, who died under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. The cause of her death has never been revealed. His literary works published since 2010 are as follows: a biography of Dr. Charles Cron, A Doctor for All Time: A Man Who Cured Our Hearts; The Harbour Grace Affray; The Spirit of the SS Kyle; Murder at Mosquito Cove; Belonging; Forsaken Children; Gibbet Hill; What Lies Below; The Fairy Ring; and Tales Through Time. Born and raised in Riverhead, Harbour Grace, Patrick J. Collins continues to enjoy researching and writing in his retirement. He can be reached by email at pjcollins@eastlink.ca.

Patrick J. Collins' profile page