a Criminal to Remember
- Publisher
- Turnstone Press
- Initial publish date
- Jun 2010
- Subjects
- Hard-Boiled
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780888013828
- Publish Date
- Jun 2010
Library Ordering Options
Description
Monty Haaviko, Winnipeg’s favourite househusband, babysitter, and ex-con, is running for chief of Winnipeg’s new police commission. It’s almost honest work, except that he’s been bribed to throw the election to his opponent, an ex-cop stooge of wealthy businessman, Cornelius Devanter. At the same time, Devanter’s archenemy has paid Monty an even bigger bribe to ensure the ex-cop loses. Monty is happy to oblige both, but once on the campaign trail, he realizes the good he can do for the citizens of Winnipeg if he wins.
Meanwhile, all is not quiet on the Haaviko home front. Claire, Monty’s beloved wife, starts receiving mysterious gifts and flowers from an anonymous stranger. When the RCMP links the gifts to a series of gruesome murders, Monty realizes the police aren’t telling him everything about his wife’s admirer—a serial killer called the Shy Man. For once, Monty is stumped: how does an ordinary, decent, friendly neighbourhood criminal like him understand the mind of a psychopathic monster? In this third episode of the Monty Haaviko thrillers, Monty is tried to the fullest extent of his wits to protect his family and the good citizens of Winnipeg.
About the author
Michael Van Rooy (1968-2011) won the 2009 John Hirsch Award for Most Promising Manitoba Writer. His first book, An Ordinary Decent Criminal, won the 2006 Eileen McTavish Sykes Award for Best First Book by a Manitoba Writer, was a finalist for the Margaret Laurence Award for Fiction and has been recently optioned by Big Mind Films to make a full-length feature film. Before settling on a writing career, Michael studied history at the University of Manitoba. He passed away suddenly in 2011.
Awards
- Short-listed, Carol Shields Winnipeg Book Award
Editorial Reviews
"A terrific story, engrossing and inventive. Van Rooy has upped the 'anti' in his hero and given us a character who is irresistible--endlessly resourceful, morally complex, and very funny. Be a crime not to read it." -Terry Griggs, author of Thought You Were Dead
Terry Griggs