In the middle of the afternoon on a busy downtown Toronto street a man is shot in the head behind the wheel of his SUV. The killer drives away before the light changes. It could be road rage, or it could be a random act of violence.

It could be, but it isn’t. What it is, is opportunity. For everyone involved.

The witness, Roxanne Keyes, a real estate agent trying desperately to lease out space in unwanted office space, recognizes the killer — a man who had once looked to rent with her. She figures with this kind of leverage he’ll be a lot more interested now. Except he’s Boris Suliemanov, a Russian mobster in the strip club business, who’s now busy taking out competitors and expanding into drugs and grand theft auto. Then there’s Vince Fournier, a cool guy with a mysterious past who might be able to help Roxanne deal with Boris if he gets what he wants. He rents space in her building for his internet porn company, but he’s looking for a little more from her. And finally, the homicide squad cops can see their own opportunities in the brazen, daytime murder. In the tradition of Elmore Leonard and Christopher Brookmyre, Dirty Sweet is a fast-paced crime story following each character to a surprising end.

John McFetridge co-authored Below the Line with Scott Albert, who, like John, had spent many years working in the film industry. John is also the author of the Toronto Series crime fiction novels Dirty Sweet, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, and Swap. He has written the screenplays The Shrew in the Park and The Protector, the CBC radio drama, Champions, as well as episodes for the CBS/CTV television series The Bridge. John lives in Toronto.

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