Winner of BEST CRIME NOVELLA at The Crime Writers of Canada Awards of
Excellence 2022
Set in Toronto 1970, just as the FLQ crisis emerges to shake an innocent
country, eleven year old Johnny Wong uncovers an underbelly to his
tight, downtown neighbourhood. He shares a room with his Chinese
immigrant mother in an enclave with American draft dodgers and new
Canadians. He is befriended by Rollie, one of the draft dodgers who
takes on a fatherly and writing mentor role. Johnny's mother is
threatened by the "children's warfare society." A neighbour is found
murdered. He suspects the feline loving Catwoman next door and tries to
break into her house. Ultimately he is betrayed but he must act to save
his family. He discovers a distant kinship with Jean, the son of one of
the hostages kidnapped by the FLQ who have sent Canada into a crisis. As
his world spins out of control, his only solace are letters to Dave
Keon, who "as Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, can be trusted."