Going to Beautiful
Jake Hardy and his husband Eddie Kravetz are high-flying Toronto sophisticates. Jake is a well-known chef and restaurant owner with his own TV show; Eddie is a successful fashion designer. They have an adult son and a beloved dog. Everything is perfect.
Then Eddie’s body is found beneath the balcony of their fourth-floor penthouse apartment. Was it an accident? Suicide? Jake can hardly cope with the tragedy.
Eddie left “in case of death” instructions for where he wanted his ashes spread: one location in southern France, another in the Caribbean. And … an earlier version of the list also said “Beautiful.” What did that mean?
Jake and Baz — their glamorous elderly neighbour and close friend — discover that Beautiful is a small town in rural Saskatchewan. They guess that Beautiful is where Eddie grew up, though he’s never mentioned it.
Despite the January weather, Jake and Baz fly to Saskatoon and rent a car, arriving an hour later in what might as well be a different world: a small prairie community tightly knit together by the customs and conviviality of its mostly Ukranian-descended inhabitants.
The plot unfolds with the search for Eddie’s family and the uncovering of long-hidden secrets — including a couple of murders. And we finally learn what happened to Eddie as well. But the plot is not really the point of this book; its heart is the warm portrayal of the people and community of Beautiful, and Jake’s unfolding love and appreciation for a way of life that is completely new to him. (And he’s stunned by the deliciousness of Ukranian cooking!) The characters are individuals, and the story is spiced with humour as well as drama.
The publisher describes the book as a “love letter to life on the prairies,” and it is that. Though the story is about coping with grief and loss, it also “manages to burst with joy, tenderness and hope.”
Going to Beautiful is winning accolades, including the Crime Writers of Canada award for Best Crime Novel of 2023 and the Independent Book Publisher 2023 award for Canada West Best Fiction. It’s also shortlisted for Alberta Book Publishing’s 2023 mystery & thriller book of the year award, winner to be announced in September.
Bidulka was born in 1962, growing up on a Saskatchewan farm with his parents and two older sisters. He attended the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, graduating with a degree in psychology, followed by a B.Ed. He worked for a while as a teacher, then decided to become an accountant. He took a commerce degree, qualified as a CPA and spent several years working for the accounting and audit firm, Ernst and Young.
He had always dreamed of becoming a writer, and in 1999, with a milestone birthday (40) approaching, he decided to devote himself full time to writing. Since then he’s built a strong reputation as a mystery/suspense writer, and has been called the founder of “Saskatchewan noir.”
His first novel, Amuse Bouche, was published in 2003 by Alberta publisher Stonehouse Publishing, launching an eight book series featuring detective Russell Quant: a “half-Ukrainian, half-Irish, Saskatchewan, ex-farm boy, ex-cop, gay, world-traveling, wine-swilling, wise-cracking Canadian prairie private eye.” Five additional novels followed – two featuring DIsaster Recovery Agent Adam Saint, two standalones including Going to Beautiful, and Livingsky, the first in a new series featuring another prairie private investigator, Merry Bell. Second in that series, From Sweetgrass Bridge, is scheduled for publication in 2024.
Bidulka and his husband, Herb, have been together over thirty years and live in Saskatoon with their dogs. Bidulka’s mother stil lives on the family farm and is known for painting beautiful Ukranian easter eggs.