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.

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• Nominated, Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Book
• Short-listed, Arthur Ellis First Book Prize
• Nominated for Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Book