Inspector Luc Vanier is back, and Montreal's Hochelaga district is in the throes of gentrification. Its drug dealers and prostitutes are disappearing, and Vanier, investigating the brutal death of one, suspects the neighbourhood cleanup may involve murdering the unwanted. The local Police Commander sees only declining crime rates and his improving career prospects, and is willing to go easy on a local militia group that's expanding its influence. When Vanier is suspended for brutality, he's on his own. He continues to probe the dark side of progress, while struggling to help his son, just back from Afghanistan and crippled by PTSD. As the threats against him mount, Vanier fights to prove his innocence and discover who really controls the streets. Have the government and police stepped back to allow the militia to impose order” Is the militia the price of order when governments run out of money”

Peter Kirby was born in Ireland and grew up in the hardscrabble neighbourhood of Brixton in South London. He came to Canada as a cook, went to university at night, and eventually became a lawyer. He now practises international law in one of Canada’s largest law firms and has been recognized as one of Canada’s leading 500 lawyers. His thrillers, all part of the Luc Vanier series and published by Linda Leith Publishing, include The Dead of Winter (2012), Open Season (2015) and Vigilante Season (2013). He lives in Montreal.

Peter Kirby's profile page

Praise for the first Luc Vanier novel by Peter Kirby:

"Taut. Claustrophobic. Compelling." — Will Ferguson

"Powerful. Dark. Raw." — Kathy Reichs

"Riveting." — John Farrow

"Gripping. Compelling." — Montreal Gazette

"Grim. Convincing. Believable." — Montreal Review of Books

"Irishman Kirby joins John Brady and Peter Robinson in the ranks of the best English and Irish ex-pat crime novelists living in Canada." — Nuacht

"One of the pleasures of Kirby's novel is the setting. Thugs and lowlifes rub shoulders with the elite, while the city is pummelled by an endless succession of vicious snowstorms” Kirby puts Vanier through his paces chasing a killer in a book that's fast-paced and enjoyable." -- Maclean's

"Inspector Luc Vanier of the Montreal PD seems a character likely to join the ranks of Canada's enduring sleuth figures." - The Toronto Star

"An auspicious debut from a writer to watch" - The Globe and Mail