National Network for Equitable Library Service

In 1969, a call for revolution and an explosion at the home of Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau draws Ty Davis, a young television reporter, into the realm of underworld chaos and violence. A colleague is accused of a crime he did not commit. What follows exposes a citys dark side and ensnares Davis, his family and friends in a web of drug smuggling and murder. Lives and livelihoods hang in the balance.

One of the earliest Canadian noir novels, Sugar-Puss on Dorchester Street tells the story of Gisele Lepine, beautiful farmer’s daughter who leaves her sleepy faming community for the neon lights of Montreal. In the fast-paced city, dreams quickly turn to nightmares as the young ‘farmette’ finds herself surrounded by drug-dealers, newspapermen, nightclub owners, chorus girls and a fatherly boxer who is well past his prime. It’s all a bit too much for innocent Gisele, who hasn’t yet had to deal with the violence that is to come.

Véhicule Press launches its Ricochet Series of vintage mysteries with The Crime on Cotes des Neiges—a hardboiled detective novel set in Montreal originally published in 1951. At the centre of this novel, and two others by David Montrose, is the hard-drinking, hard-working private dick, Russell Teed.First Edition 1951 back cover: There were two blondes and a brunette. One of them had killed John Sark. Detective Sergeant Framboise thought it was Inez Sark. Inez had left her parents’ thirty-five room shack in Westmount to marry John Sark, the biggest bootlegger Montreal had ever known.

This story with its shocking expose of social evils, holds a forceful message for both sexes. Its strange mixture of power, tension and torment mark it as a human story that will thrill and grip all readers. Down in the depths of the city, washed by the murky waters of the dock-yards lies Skidrow, a dark den of intrigue and mystery, whose crumbling structures harbour the outcasts of the city.--From the 1950 edition Hugh Garner's second novel, Waste No Tears hit drug store and train station spinner racks in July of 1950-then disappeared, never to see print again… until now.

By the author of The Crime on Cotes des Neiges, this is the second title in the Véhicule Press Ricochet series of hard-boiled detective novels set in Montreal. Originally published in 1952, Murder Over Dorval follows the investigations of hard-drinking, seasoned private dick, Russell Teed. First Edition back cover:In one hand she held a plane ticket for Montreal, in the other, a wad of greenbacks. She was a gorgeous looking redhead. For the sake of her lovely green eyes, Russell Teed took the plane and the money.

Plots, intrigue and love against the backdrop of imperial China. This is a unique novel of old China, the traditional landscape of mountains and rivers without end, and life in an imperial city rife with plots, intrigues, culture, sensuality and wealth. Li Wen, a landscape painter of the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), is on a journey to deliver a message to the Chinese Emperor.

Andrew Hood's debut collection heralds a young talent with an irresistible style and merciless eye. These unapologetic stories deal with an assortment of foolish self-destructive small town anti-heroes. They are unlikely odes and elegies for human shabbiness.A newly-wed conjures a ghost in an attempt to contact her absent husband. A seventeen year old is blackmailed into buying drugs for his English teacher. A tumescent young Blue Jays fan and his tumor-addled sister are swept up in the tempest of the Blue Jays 1989 run for the World Series.

A musical cold case has Cullen and Cobb back on the beat. On February 28, 1965, a young singer named Ellie Foster stepped into the alley behind The Depression, a Calgary folk club where she shared the bill with Joni Anderson, later to become famous as Joni Mitchell. During a cigarette break in the back alley, Ellie was forced into a car and the musicians with her were shot and killed. The investigation that followed turned up no sign of the kidnappers, and Ellie Foster was never seen again.

Au cours d’une fête organisée pour ses 30 ans de service dans la police, le sergent-détective Roméo Dubuc apprend que le populaire député Marc-André Plamondon vient d’être assassiné, d’une manière sordide, le soir même de la fondation de son nouveau parti politique, le PLIQ. Très vite, Roméo Dubuc, son fidèle comparse Lucien Langlois et la journaliste Manon Pouliot découvriront que la popularité du député dérange bien du monde, à commencer par ses proches collaborateurs.

C’est fou ce que les gens peuvent perdre : des papiers, des bijoux, de l’argent ; les cheveux, les dents, la vue ; les illusions, l’espoir, la vie ; leur identité… Quand Hélène Heden réalise qu’elle n’a vraiment plus rien à perdre, elle décide de gagner sa vie en cherchant des objets perdus. Alors s’ouvre à elle un univers fascinant qu’elle décrira dans un cahier noir… jusqu’au jour où elle est victime d’un mystérieux accident.