In her home on Empire Avenue, Donna Whalen was stabbed 31 times. Her friends, family, and neighbours believed it was her abusive boyfriend, Sheldon Troke. But the evidence is all circumstantial, providing a daunting challenge for police and prosecutors—and the course of justice takes many unpredictable twists and turns before the truth is finally revealed.

In this mesmerizing work of documentary fiction, Michael Winter pieces together the transcripts and court testimonies of Sheldon's trial. He preserves the nuanced voice of each witness, and the result is a harsh account of the tragedy that befell Donna Whalen and the controversial aftermath that tore her town apart.

"Winter has produced one of the best documentary accounts of a Canadian crime ever written"
—Edmonton Journal

"Extraordinary... Winter has enacted some of the most powerful storytelling of his career"
—The Globe and Mail

"The Death of Donna Whalen weaves its spell in small increments, one character's voice giving way to another's and then another's, an immersion in the low life that pulses with veracity...one of the best documentary accounts of a Canadian crime ever written"
—The Vancouver Sun