Cheryl Kaye Tardif (née Kaye; born August 12, 1963) is a Canadian mystery writer best known for Canada-based novels Whale Song, Divine Intervention, and The River. Her novels involve social issues such as assisted suicide, school bullies, child abuse, and the search for youth and longevity.
Tardif was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Her parents are Larry Norman Kaye and Mary Elizabeth McLellan. Her father was in the military for most of her young life. She married Marc Tardif, also served in the Canadian Forces. She has lived all across Canada and spent three years in Bermuda, and now resides in Edmonton, Alberta.
In 2003, she wrote a public service announcement for a racial harmony campaign. One Voice ~ One World placed third and was produced and aired on cable channels across Alberta. Tardif has appeared on TV, radio, and in newspapers and magazines across Canada and in the United States.
To date, all of her published novels take place in various Canadian locations. Tardif "specializes in mile-a-minute pot-boiler mysteries, usually set in Western Canadian locales". Her most recent novel, The River, was released in September 2005. The River is about a woman who goes up north to search for her father, but what she finds instead is a taste of the future. The River looks at how far we have gone with our technology in our search for youth and eternal life. It is a combination of suspense, sci-fi, and adventure and is based loosely on legends and stories from the Nahanni River area of Canada’s Northwest Territories.
Tardif wrote two earlier novels, Whale Song (2003) and Divine Intervention (2004). Whale Song explores topics such as amnesia and suicide and has strong societal messages involving racism, schoolyard bully, tragedy, betrayal, and forgiveness. A revised, expanded edition was published in 2007.
Divine Intervention is a psychic suspense novel. It is the story of a group of psychic government agents hunting for a serial arsonist in BC. It carries a message about what can happen to abandoned children caught in the foster care web, and deals with topics such as abuse, abortion, and murder.
Tardif is the founder of A.F.T.E.R. Canada (Authors For Tragic Event Relief), a group of Edmonton area authors who fundraised after the 2004 Asian tsunami. The event was organized with the assistance of the Canadian Red Cross, to whom all donations were given, and was supported by TV and radio stations in Edmonton. Tardif is also the creator/organizer of Authors' Row, a group of Edmonton area authors who promote their books regularly at the Edmonton Woman's Show held twice a year in Edmonton, Alberta.
