I read An Ordinary Decent Criminal last year and thought it was a very good first book. Since then the author has become one of my Facebook Friends and he received the John Hirsch award for Most Promising Writer in 2009 (I guess one of those achievements is more significant than the other). Michael's birthday is today and I had to go to McNally Robinson (yes, my arm was twisted behind my back) to purchase another book so I decided to mark the occasion by purchasing this book. I'm looking forward to it.

Sadly, since the last entry Michael Van Rooy has died. He was on a tour promoting his third book and died suddenly in Montreal on January 27, 2011. I promised myself at the time of his death that I would read this book soon. So 6 months later I kept that promise.

Monty Haaviko, his wife, son and dog are still living in the North End. It's not the best neighbourhood but they are getting along. Monty is babysitting from home while his wife, Claire, is working in a real estate office. One of Claire's renters asks to meet Monty. She is involved with helping refugees move from Canada to the US and sometimes they can't cross the border legally. She wants to set up a route from south-eastern Manitoba through Lake of the Woods and into Minnesota that could be used for these people. Somehow she has learned of Monty's past and thinks he might be the person to provide security and logistics. She offers Monty $5000 cash for his work. After discussion with Claire Monty decides to accept. Thus starts his problems for this book. It turns out the smuggling route is desirable for moving drugs, guns and other illegal goods and a local con woman wants to take control of it. Only Monty stands in her way of doing so.

This book is not for the faint of heart. There is a lot of violence and a lot of crime. Some of the crime is perpetrated by Monty but always in furtherance of protecting the route or his family. But Monty certainly is feeling the temptation of his criminal past. I worry that he will fail to resist temptation in the future. I'll have to read A Criminal to Remember to see what happens next.

This is my first read for John Mutford's challenge to read 13 books by Canadian authors between July 1 2011 and June 30 2012. I have decided to make my personal challenge to read books by Canadian authors who are now dead.

I gave this book to my sister to read since she had read the first and the third in the series.

My sister passed the book on to me 2 years ago and it fell to the bottom of my book pile. I actually read it some time ago but didn't want to release it until I had done a review because my sister twits me if I don't!

I enjoy Van Rooy's books and I am sorry to hear that he died because he certainly provided a unique vision of the Winnipeg literary scene.

This book , more than the others of his that I had read, emphasises Monty's criminal expertise. The level of knowledge and creativity really contributes to an interesting book. I must admit, though, that it is a trifle unsettling to know that the writer who was someone who lived in Winnipeg possessed that kind of knowledge!

There are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep your attention and you really will find yourself rooting for Monty and hoping that he survives the various incidents to which he is exposed. But you really have to wonder how dedicated he is to reforming.

I will be giving this book back to my sister.

It is indeed back in my hands now and I will be keeping it in my permanent library.

I have decided to release this book after holding on to it for 6 years. It seems like a book that should be released for the Canada Days release challenge so it will soon be off into the wild.

I left this book on the outdoor ATM of the 121 Disraeli Freeway branch. I chose this release location because as the book opens Monty is trying to open a savings account at the Entegra Credit Union on Selkirk Avenue. There is no Entegra on Selkirk (maybe there was when the book was written or maybe the author made it up) so I figured this was the closest location. This release is for the 2017 Canada Days release challenge which runs for 2 weeks around July 1st and seeks to distribute Canadian writing throughout the world.

When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.