Kings and Criminals — William Gibson

The Montreal underworld in the 1970s and '80s was shared between the Irish West End Gang, the French Dubois brothers, the Italian mafia and the bikers. This tale traces their connection to the Jamaican drug trade and CIA covert operations, and tells how one lucky Irish-Canadian survived to tell the story, while most gang members are dead or locked up for life. You will meet: The Professor…advisor to the Italian mafiaJamaica Jack…biggest drug dealer in the CaribbeanDanny Polanski…hit man from MiamiRen? Poirier…CIA operativeJohnny Brady… East End loan sharkand more shady characters…Excerpt: There was nothing up here but the farmers' house and the corner store, set in the middle of a tropical jungle. I kept thinking we looked too obvious … three white boys with hair down to our shoulders, surrounded by Big Earl, Flyboy and the machetes, the Mini Cooper S … and us sitting here in this big rented Ford. It wasn't long before Earl was back."Yes, mon, everyting cool," he said with a big smile on his face. "Up the road a bit is a place where we can take care of business."…it's just another day at the office.