In the acknowledgments for Boston Cream, Howard Shrier writes that he reread all the novels of Dennis Lehane, the early novels in Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series, and other old favourites “to deepen my sense of crime in Boston.” It’s a rich tradition to live up to in dropping his Toronto-based private detective, Jonah Geller (whose previous [...]
Toronto PI Jonah Geller hasn’t played hockey for a while, but he is seeing a sports medicine physician who specializes in the after-effects of concussion. It wasn’t an errant hockey stick that laid him low, but a deliberately-wielded barbell, one of the hazards of his trade. But he should probably have followed Sidney Crosby’s example and [...]
There is absolutely nothing wrong and a whole right about the happy relaxation a well-written private dick story can give the reader. I’ve certainly had decades of delight from them, ever since I was twelve or thirteen or so and noticed that there was this Mickey Spillane fellow whose books seemed to take up most of [...]
From start to epilogue, Boston Cream is a mystery thriller of insight, compassion, with an infectious sense of urgency that drives to a conclusion both real and satisfying. Author Howard Shrier masterfully links the dialogue to the pace, the setting and the plot with an energy that makes readers feel they’re absorbing the story at a [...]
Howard Shrier starts with the canvas of a crackling good mystery, then paints a compelling portrait of modern secular Jewish life complete with its wisdom, contradictions, and abiding humor. High Chicago is often funny, sometimes violent, and always thoughtful, with a powerful sense of place throughout. Toronto may have just found its Spenser in PI Jonah [...]
Howard Shrier has quickly cemented his reputation as one of Canada’s most gifted thriller writers. His debut, Buffalo Jump, introducing PI Jonah Geller, took the Crime Writers of Canada’s Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel, and his follow-up, High Chicago, walked away with the best novel award in 2010. He’s back with Boston Cream ($19.95, [...]
When Dr. David Fine, a gifted young Boston-based, Orthodox Jewish transplant surgeon, vanishes, his Canadian parents are frantic. Toronto PI Jonah Geller agrees to take the case. He and his partner Jenn Raudsepp, tracing David’s path on the day he was last seen, soon uncover bizarre links among the Irish mob, a local congressman, and a [...]
Boston serves as the backdrop for Shrier’s explosive third crime novel featuring Jonah Geller, a Toronto PI with a penchant for cases south of the border. When the Brookline, Mass., police are unable to find David Fine, a “transplant fellow” and devout Jew who’s disappeared from Boston’s Sinai Hospital, Fine’s parents hire Geller to investigate. Aided [...]
What a great book High Chicago is. I thoroughly enjoyed it, could not put it down. You and Jonah Geller have an avid new fan. -- Deon Meyer, bestselling author of Thirteen Hours, Devil's Peak and Blood Safari
Toronto author Howard Shrier’s took the prize at this year’s Arthur Ellis Awards for excellence in Canadian crime writing. And you can see why. Shrier, who counts crime reporter and comedy writer among his accomplishments, writes with an easy assurance and a killer sense of humour. This is the second book in his series featuring Toronto [...]
Howard Shrier is a two-time winner of the Arthur Ellis Award, Canada’s highest prize for crime fiction. The author of the acclaimed Jonah Geller series and other works, he publishes new stories and helps emerging authors finish their books, all on this site.
