An excellent story set in Montreal during the 1976 Olympic Games. The level of authenic details is remarkable, bringing the times all back to me, not only the events and politics but music and culture. I'm glad my copy was an audiobook because I enjoyed the way the characters switched between French and English frequently. And I had to laugh at the Francophone assumption that Irish or Scottish is the same as English.

The opening with a lovely example of Canadian sardonic humour got my attention. Eddie Dougherty was waiting in line at the bank and he found he was staring into the barrel of of a sawed-off shotgun. When he heard the hissed "Don't move" he replied "I'm not going anywhere, I have to cash my cheque." ( )

A not so paint by numbers mystery made more enjoyable by the setting, Montreal in the mid 70s, during the Summer Olympics. ( )

The third book in the Eddie Dougherty series takes place during the 1976 Olympic Games. While the Games may be a party to most people, for the cops it's tons of overtime as they provide security for the athletes and other dignitaries, crack down on ticket scalpers, and stay alert for increased crime in general during the Games. Dougherty is also attempting to make a permanent place for himself on the homicide squad and serving on a special team investigating a Brinks truck robbery. Enough to keep any young constable busy.

This is an excellent series and one that has really grown on me. The historical detail is excellent -- the author himself lived in Montreal during this period and has also drawn on significant research. Actual historical events, such as the Brinks truck robbery, are woven deftly into the narrative and explained in more detail in the author's note at the end. The main characters themselves, particularly Dougherty and Judy, his girlfriend, have been growing and developing over the course of the series and it is a pleasure to be able to follow their stories.

Because this book is set during the Olympics, it's interesting to read during another Olympics (the one exactly 40 years later). Even back then, there were concerns about how corrupt and commercialized the Olympics seem to be -- some of the police officers talk about how the vibe is so much different than the more laid-back party atmosphere of Expo 67.

I was also pleased to note that in this book, the dialogue snippets in the middle of paragraphs are presented within quotation marks and look a whole lot neater. A minor thing, but it makes a difference.

Finally, the book is very aptly titled, with an epigram from the song "The Shape I'm In", by The Band: "Save your neck / Or save your brother / Looks like it's / One or the other"

Overall, I would recommend this series to those who like stories set in Montreal, glimpses into Canadian history, or solid police procedural series told from the ranks. ( )