Erik D'Souza interviews Ray Critch, a lawyer from St. John's, Newfoundland, who has been nominated for the Best First Crime Novel Award, sponsored by Melodie Campbell, for his book, The Beltane Massacre (published by Breakwater Books). They explore Ray's approach to writing about grief and high-stakes mystery, his experience with public speaking, and his plans to continue writing while maintaining his legal career. Ray also shared details about his upcoming second and third novels in the Rowan McRae series.
Bio
By day, Ray Critch is a lawyer from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Practicing civil litigation with MacGillivray Injury and Insurance Law, he has appeared at every level of court in Newfoundland and Labrador and at the Supreme Court of Canada. By night, he is a happily married husband and father of two. However, every once in a while, he carves off some spare time to pop to a local sports bar and do some writing. Somehow, he has managed to write three novels, the first of which, The Beltane Massacre, was published by Breakwater Books in 2025 and is a finalist for the Crime Writers of Canada's First Book Award of Excellence.