Inspector Albert V. Tretheway stands out from the growing crowd of made-in-Canada mystery series sleuths. At 6’5″ and 290-plus pounds, the 39-year-old transplanted Brit is too big to miss, for one thing. But it’s a combination of sometimes buffoon, sometimes cerebral investigator that gives this humble traffic cop VIP status in his fictional hometown of Fort York, Ontario.

In Murder at the Movies, the third in a series by Burlington, Ontario graphic artist-turned-writer Arthur Eddenden, Tretheway (pronounced tre-THOO-ey) takes on the revenge-bent son of a burglar who was shot by a police officer. The real target of the man’s elaborate scheme is set up for a spectacular death after a string of smoke-screen murders have the police baffled.

The multi-murder format is Eddenden’s trademark. His first Tretheway novel, A Good Year For Murder (1988), pitted the inspector against a serial killer who turns out to be a deranged disciple of a long-dead Prussian general. In the second, Murder on the Thirteenth (1992), he battles a murderous witch in a case with occult connections all the way back to the Salem witch trials.

Fort York in the early years of the Second World War is obviously Hamilton, where the author grew up. There’s a steel plant (STELFY) and a football team, the FY Taggers, which regularly defeats the Toronto Argonauts. With a talent for dry humour, Eddenden effectively spoofs civic politicians and wartime patriotism, while managing to create a genuine sense of community.

Tretheway is a cigar-puffing Major Hoople-like figure who quaffs beer by the quart. He lives with his equally outsize sister Addie, and the two run a boarding house wherein they are convivial hosts to live-in students and gatherings of city notables. Tretheway’s aide and constant companion is Jake Small, a plodding cop and lover of movies and radio drama, whose longing glances at Addie are the only hint of romance in the three books.

Murder at the Movies is a quick read. The writing is meticulous. It’s not necessary to have read the first two books to enjoy it, but it helps.