It's been a long time since I gave five stars to anything but this book deserves it. Great to see things from a criminal perspective and I particularly loved the description of why it was less work to go straight than to remain in a life of crime ( )

I was very pleasantly surprised by the writing in this book. Michael Van Rooy is to be commended for an excellent first book. He has another in this series out now and I'm looking forward to reading it.

Sam Parker (aka Monty Haaviko) is trying to go straight after a life of crime. He, his wife Claire, son Fred and dog Renfield have just moved into a house in Winnipeg's north end when 3 young toughs break in. Sam kills all three of them. That is the start of his involvement with the Winnipeg police, especially Sergeant Enzio Walsh. Walsh wants to pin murder charges on Sam and he brings in two heavies to beat a confession out of him. Sam is hardened by his life of crime and also pretty smart so he just takes the beating and then uses the police brutality to get the charges dropped. Walsh is furious and vows to run Sam out of Winnipeg. Meanwhile the cousin of one of the people Sam killed, Robillard, is also after Sam for revenge. Life looks pretty bad for Sam and at times he is a heartbeat away from returning to his life of crime. In fact, he does commit a number of criminal acts (the most outrageous being stealing a change machine from a suburban mall) but they are just a means to the end of freeing himself from the threats and harassment of Walsh and Robillard.

I must say that Van Rooy gets the criminal mindset perfectly. Whether Sam/Monty can continue to walk that fine line between risky but essentially law-abiding behaviour and actual law-breaking remains to be seen. I really enjoyed the continual references to Winnipeg streets, areas, parks, stores etc. It was fun to mentally follow along with Sam as he traversed the city. ( )

Improbable? Yes, but highly entertaining. An ordinary, decent criminal (not the real bad kind) is determined to go straight in Winnipeg with his wife and child. Funny, fast-paced, and definitely Canadian.

Sadly the author died in 2011 at 42 years old. There are only three books in the series, but I'll be sure to read them all. ( )

They say behind every successful man is a woman. Monty is no different. His wife and baby son’s lives are in his hands. Literally. When the three bad guys break in to his home he has to defend his family.

Monty just wants to be left alone. Left alone by the police, the local Winnipeg mob, his boss who fires him prematurely, his neighbors and their nasty notes and the landlord who is trying to evict him before his lease is up. See, Monty used to be a really bad guy, but having done his time is trying to live a straight life, if everyone will just let him alone.

With the help of an occasional employer, his attorney and his wife and child, Monty tries to solve the problems of his corner of the world. This witty, fast-past, edgy, action thriller will keep you cheering for the bad guy in this debut novel from Canadian author, Michael Van Rooy.
( )

They say behind every successful man is a woman. Monty is no different. His wife and baby son’s lives are in his hands. Literally. When the three bad guys break in to his home he has to defend his family.

Monty just wants to be left alone. Left alone by the police, the local Winnipeg mob, his boss who fires him prematurely, his neighbors and their nasty notes and the landlord who is trying to evict him before his lease is up. See, Monty used to be a really bad guy, but having done his time is trying to live a straight life, if everyone will just let him alone.

With the help of an occasional employer, his attorney and his wife and child, Monty tries to solve the problems of his corner of the world. This witty, fast-past, edgy, action thriller will keep you cheering for the bad guy in this debut novel from Canadian author, Michael Van Rooy.
( )