Books, Movies

Securities: A Mister Jinnah Mystery Books Securities: A Mister Jinnah Mystery Hakeem Jinnah enjoys a good life on the Vancouver Tribune's crime beat, flirting with women, seeking investors for his mail-order-bride scheme, and cruising to assignments in his satellite-guided Love Machine. But when he and another Tribune reporter begin competing to cover the story of a shady stock promoter's death, he finds himself embroiled in a murder investigation. This entertaining and suspenseful debut introduces us to an unforgettable lead character. Mr. Jinnah, a politically incorrect but resourceful reporter, proves to be a wily and relentless investigator. Hindered in his pursuits by the police department, Mr. Jinnah searches out the truth in an increasingly bizarre investigation while simultaneously seeking his fortune on the stock exchange. “Jinnah is a delightful invention, embodying much of the sleaze and roguery attached to newsprint jockeys... Securities seduces the reader, just as its hero does.” Michael Carroll, Vancouver Sun “Hakim Jinnah is the funniest and most original detective to arrive on the Canadian mystery scene since Benny Cooperman.” Kerry J. Schooley, Murder Out There Margin of Terror: A Reporter’s Twenty-Year Odyssey Covering the Tragedies of the Air India Bombing (Key Porter, 2006). With Salim Jiwa. Margin of Terror: A Reporter’s Twenty-Year Odyssey Covering the Tragedy of the Air India Bombing, chronicles Salim Jiwa’s relentless pursuit of Canada’s worst terrorist tragedy. This insider’s account of the origins of Sikh militancy and the conspiracy that resulted in the twin bombings is compulsively readable. Jiwa, the only reporter on a first-name basis with the terrorists, the police and the victims’ families, sheds new light on a dark chapter in Canadian history. Some 329 innocent people were killed when a bomb exploded on Air India Flight 182 more than 20 years ago. The same day, another bomb exploded at Tokyo’s airport, killing two baggage handlers. The victims’ families, friends and loved ones were promised justice. After the longest and costliest criminal investigation and trial in Canadian history, they are still waiting. In a riveting “insider’s” account, investigative reporter Jiwa – the first and only reporter on the Air India story continuously from the very beginning – explores the complex underworld of the accused terrorists from their obscure beginnings in Vancouver all the way through the criminal investigations to the trial that ended in a verdict that shocked the country: not guilty. Co-writer Donald Hauka was Jiwa's colleague in Vancouver foir nearly 20 years. Available at www.amazon.ca McGowan’s War: The Birth of Modern British Columbia on the Fraser River Gold Fields Could a horde of American miners have delivered British Columbia into the hands of the United States in 1859? In McGowan’s War, Donald J. Hauka argues that the new colony was a rifle shot away from war and annexation during the fateful winter of 1859, when the British Crown could barely control 30,000 politically divided American miners camped the length and breadth of the Fraser River. Enter Ned McGowan, a San Francisco judge with a questionable past and his own plans to take over the territory. McGowan’s War is a rollicking tale of corruption, greed, incompetence and company politics that just happens to be true. It is a must–read for political junkies, historical buffs, and anyone who has ever wondered why B.C. politics are so odd. For more information, check out www.newstarbooks.com.

Canyon War: The Untold Story Documentaries Canyon War takes platinum at WorldFest Canyon War: The Untold Story took the platinum “Remie” award as the best documentary in the Television and Cable Productions Cultural category WorldFest, the Houston International Film Festival. This documentary about the First Nations-miner conflict in the Fraser Canyon during the 1858 gold rush also honours at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival (NYIIFVF) for Best International Director of a Documentary last month. Don Hauka is the executive producer and co-writer of this award-winning documentary, which aired on Knowledge in January and will be broadcast nationally on APTN later this fall. For more info on Canyon War, check out http://canyonwar.com.

Jinnah on Crime: Pizza 911 TV Movies: Jinnah on Crime Jinnah: On Crime – Pizza 911 Produced by Force Four Productions of Vancouver and broadcast on CBC in 2002. Jinnah (Dhirendra, Grange Hill, EastEnders) is a busy man. As the city’s neurotic but brilliant crime reporter, he’s got four stories to write, family unrest at home and his cantankerous editor Frosty (Janet Wright, The Perfect Storm, Rollerball) to contend with before he flies to Africa on another story. But he’s never too busy for a homicide in which the victim’s body is found scorched in a restaurant pizza oven. Afflicted with congenital cowardice, Jinnah must use his wits – and a little help from his arch rival Caitlin Bishop – to solve the crime. “Jinnah on Crime: Pizza 911 delivers.” Ian Edwards, Playback Magazine Jinnah: On Crime – White Knight, Black Widow When notorious stock promoter Sam Shuster’s SUV hurtles into the chilly waters of the Pacific Ocean, two nearby scuba divers fail in their heroic attempts to save his life. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? Vancouver Tribune crime reporter Hakeem Jinnah (Dhirendra, EastEnders) senses there’s much more to Sam’s death than appears on the surface. Undeterred by anxious editors police alike, Jinnah is propelled into a head-spinning investigation that sees him uncover a stock market swindle, confront an axe wielding eyewitness and get arrested on suspicion of murder. But not even thatt can stop him from tracking down the man who holds the secret Sam Shuster took to his watery grave. “Co-written by Vancouver Province reporter Don Hauka and screenwriters Margaret and Bartley Bard, Jinnah evokes the charm of a classic detective such as Sam Spade. Think of him as a gumshoe for the new millennium.” Alison Cunningham, TV Times