W. Lacey Amy's first novel, The Blue Wolf, published 1913, was a Western with just a dab of science fiction; enough to keep the mystery going. 'Count' Arthurs travels to the Cypress Hills of Alberta from Toronto, on his first vacation since college, to visit with fellow schoolmates. He meets one that he had so hoped would love him and the others but they are distracted and morose over mysterious events and neighbouring religious devotees. Two of his school chums have already met with death. Even the district Mountie cannot be counted as his friend.

The Beast is a romantic Western story which vividly describes the Canadian Rockies before is was civilized by railways. It features two principle characters, a "beast" of a man and his abducted woman. The contrast in their struggles are contrasted against the early West.

Alberta's contradictory landscape has fired the imaginative energies of writers for centuries. The sweep of the plains, the thrust of the Rockies, and the long roll of the woodlands have left vivid impressions on all of Alberta's writers--both those who passed through Alberta in search of other horizons and those who made it their home. The Literary History of Alberta surveys writing in and about Alberta from prehistory to the middle of the twentieth century. It includes profiles of dozens of writers (from the earnestly intended to the truly gifted) and their texts (from the commercial to the arcane). It reminds us of long-forgotten names and faces, figures who quietly--or not so quietly--wrote the books that underpin Alberta's thriving literary culture today. Melnyk also discusses the institutions that have shaped Alberta's literary culture. The Literary History of Alberta is an essential text for any reader interested in the cultural history of western Canada, and a landmark achievement in Alberta's continuing literary history.

A Complicated Murder. Vance Horton was an unpleasant fellow, the kind whose name afflicts even hard-boiled men of the world with cold shudders of disgust. He had no friends, but, to counter-balance this, could count on a whole host of enemies. So much so that, when someone more impatient than usual decided to murder him, the police, to say nothing of two amateurs, had suspects to burn.

Lacey Amy (1877-1962) is known foremost for the series of 'Blue Pete' Western Canadian Mountie stories. He also created Detective Muldrew and a series of mysteries around New York City in 1930s. Here are five short stories, three Westerns and two philosophical descriptions. Included is a period essay 'Degrading a Generation'.

Blue Pete was a half-breed from Montana. He moved to the Cypress Hills, near Medicine Hat, Alberta when things got to hot for him in the States. He had been a cattle rustler but once in Alberta he was warned by a young Mountie that he would be quickly arrested and punished if he did not follow Canadian laws. Blue Pete and his pinto pony, Whiskers, could choose their employer on any of the ranches of the west; they were the best team available, knowledgeable and hard working. Blue Pete found a good friend in Corporal Mahon, his young Mountie friend. And Mahon had his problems with criminals in the area, leading to Blue Pete's trials. This friendship, and Blue Pete's adventures lasted for about 25 novels. Blue Pete: Half Breed is the first of those adventures.