The Scene of the Crime (sort of...) Part 1

I am heading into the homestretch re: editing the third Sasha Jackson mystery, The Lies Have It.  Once again, the book is set in Toronto, and like the other books, many of the places mentioned in the novel are real.  I do, however, take some liberties (occasionally a lot of liberties) with locations.

The Pilot Tavern has been mentioned in both Blood and Groom and Dead Light District as one of Sasha's favourite hangouts, whether she's eating a Patty Melt to help cure a hangover, or drinking gin & tonics on the rooftop patio on a sunny day. 

The Pilot is a real place, obviously, and it is one of my favourite hangouts, which is why I've included it in my books.  I go where Sasha goes (or she goes where I go...?  Wait, Sasha Jackson is fictional...) 

The Pilot is located at 22 Cumberland Street (a stone's throw from Yonge & Bloor).  As mentioned in my books, The Pilot has three levels: The main floor is a tavern/restaurant with good food (love the Thai Noodles and the California Salad), great atmosphere and fantastic jazz matinees every Saturday.  It's also got some of the best bar staff in the city: Masoud and Derrick have both been there for years and I'm always glad to see them when I go in.  I name-checked both of them in Blood and Groom.

The third floor is a rooftop patio called The Flight Deck.  It's a huge patio - one of the biggest in downtown Toronto - with a great view, a full menu, and a nice selection of draught beers, but unfortunately NO SANGRIA!    Recently, I was on the roof with a friend and it was the perfect day for sangria, so we made our own.  We ordered a half litre of red wine, soda water with lots of fruit slices, a shot of Triple Sec and a couple of empty pint glasses.  We didn't spill too much and our low-rent sangria was actually pretty good!

The second floor of The Pilot is known as The Stealth Lounge, and it's used for private parties and special functions - everything from bridal showers to polticial fundrisers to office Christmas parties to poetry readings.  I had both of my book launches there, and the third one will be there as well.  In fact, the idea for the third book came from an event held there long ago, and The Stealth Lounge is a significant part of the plot in book three.

Also, I used to work at The Pilot, so you must check my next posting for the "story behind the story."  Stay tuned.