Max Haines (January 4, 1931 – September 30, 2017) was a Canadian

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

newspaper columnist and author, widely syndicated internationally. Max Haines was born in

Antigonish , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = File:St Ninian's Cathedral Antigonish Spring.jpg , image_caption = St. Ninian's Cathedral , image_flag = Flag of Antigonish.pn ...

, Nova Scotia, to Jewish parents, Alexander and Augusta (Rich) Haines, and attended Morrison High School there. He began researching murders from around the world, past and present, as a hobby. His "Crime Flashback" column made its debut in the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'' in 1972 with a column about

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

. Over the next 35 years, he researched over 2,000 crimes and his "Crime Flashback" column was syndicated across Canada and in several Latin and South American countries. He also wrote 27

books and a memoir, ''The Spitting Champion of the World,'' about growing up in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. Readership of his syndicated column was over 3 million per week. He lived in Toronto, Ontario with his wife Marilyn. He retired in 2006. In 2005, he was awarded the Derrick Murdoch Award, one of the Arthur Ellis awards, by the

Crime Writers of Canada {{primary sources, date=January 2015 Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) is a national, non-profit organization, founded in 1982 by Derrick Murdock and other professional crime writers. Its mandate is to promote crime writing in Canada and to raise the p ...

. Haines died from

progressive supranuclear palsy Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain. The condition leads to symptoms including loss of balance, slowing of movement, difficulty ...

(PSP) on September 30, 2017, aged 86.

References

1931 births 2017 deaths Canadian crime writers Non-fiction crime writers People from Antigonish, Nova Scotia Canadian columnists Jewish Canadian journalists Toronto Sun people {{Canada-journalist-stub