THE PEACE THIEVES: a novel
A compelling, heartfelt novel about the search for peace during a civil war and through the long, fraught years that follow.
— Forthcoming on June 16, 2026 from Thistledown Press —
In 1993, Francis deploys as a peacekeeper to Croatia and discovers a country tearing itself apart. As he and his fellow soldiers attempt to enforce paper treaties imposed on opposing armies, they endure lethal threats day after day. Is there any peace to keep?
Amidst the chaos, Francis, a medic, is supported and frustrated in turns by the intense connections he forms. He struggles to work under the impossibly difficult Master Corporal Mackey and is attracted to the sharp-witted Lorina, a local woman who acts a translator even though her life has been shattered by the conflict. Near the end of his tour, Francis witnesses the horrors of ethnic cleansing—and then a moment of carelessness sends him home, wounded and alone.
Thirty years later, Viva arrives in Hamilton to confront the father she has never known, spoiling for a fight. But instead of the heartless brute she imagined, Francis turns out to be a kind man who’s barely holding it together—and Viva is reluctantly drawn into the community around Francis and the bar he runs for soldiers and other battered souls.
Spanning decades, generations, and oceans, Francis and Viva’s alternating narratives delve into the secrets we hold, the hurts we try to hide, and the human bonds that sustain us.
"A deeply felt and deeply affecting look at the vicissitudes of war and its aftermath. Brent van Staalduinen captures the inner lives of his characters with a compassion and humour that for all their traumas makes their journey ultimately an uplifting one."
— Nino Ricci, author of SLEEP
“For those whose mission it is to keep peace, war is never confined to combat zones. It seeps into the darkest crevices. It follows them home. In The Peace Theives, Brent van Staalduinen has written a novel that makes post-apocalyptic seem like fantasy: the apocalypse is here. It is now.”
— Wayne Grady, author of THE GOOD FATHER
In The Peace Thieves, Brent van Staalduinen tells a story of melancholy and madness, grace and barbarism among Canada’s peacekeepers in Croatia. This novel is addictively propulsive, a storytelling tour de force.
— Tanya Bellehumeur-Allatt, author of PEACEKEEPER'S DAUGHTER
with grateful acknowledgment of granting support from:
