Publication Date: September 12, 2026
Single mother and reluctant detective Dame Polara just wants to keep her family safe. When her two-year-old daughter is kidnapped by her old nemesis, she is forced to draw on her unusual talents to rescue Rosie. To make matters worse, Dame’s dad — retired private eye Dodge Polara — is hospitalized after suffering a second stroke, and Dame uncovers a strange connection between her mother’s murder and the apparent suicide of a former city counsellor.
Scouring the Greater Toronto Area in search of Rosie, Dame relies on her friends, her father’s shady connections, and even her former adversaries for aid. Her investigation leads her to a federal prison in Gravenhurst, an abandoned Queensway motel, and to a Toronto Argonauts home game.
But when Dame learns that Rosie’s abduction is part of a larger criminal conspiracy, she may be forced to betray her own ideals to save her famil
A dangerous game of revenge plays out with a toddler’s life hanging in the balance.
Author Greg Rhyno returns with the third installment of the Dame Polara Mysteries with Who By His Own Hand. While technically designed as a standalone, reading in sequence will provide valuable character development.
Dame Polara may claim she’s not a detective in the true sense of the word, but she picked up plenty of skills at her father’s side. Now, with her daughter in the hands of Dame’s worst enemy, she will move mountains to save little Rosie.
Even as the health of Dame’s father hangs in the balance, the search for answers leads her deep into the past where she uncovers unexpected clues. It becomes a race against time as Rosie’s kidnapping morphs into something more sinister.
Full of action and solid character building, Who By His Own Hand delivers a fresh chapter for the female sleuth.
Greg Rhyno is the author of Who by Fire, first of the Dame Polara Mysteries, and To Me You Seem Giant, which was nominated for a ReLit Award and an Alberta Book Publishing Award. His writing has appeared in a number of journals, including Hobart, Riddle Fence, The Quarantine Review, and PRISM International. He completed an MFA at the University of Guelph and lives with his family in Guelph, Ontario.
