Miss Montreal

Jonah Geller #4

by Howard Shrier

Howard Shrier's acclaimed Jonah Geller series continues with Miss Montreal , the Vintage World of Crime trade paperback original and sequel to Boston Cream .  

After what happened in Boston, P.I. Jonah Geller can't show his face in the U.S. again. Which is fine with him. He's got a new case in Montreal, one of the world's most colourful and downright scandalous cities. An old friend has been brutally murdered there, and the police investigation is stalled. With an election looming and tensions seething, Jonah and former hit man Dante Ryan have to battle religious fanatics, gun runners and a twisted political dynasty to get to the truth.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, Mystery, Mystery Thriller

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Award-winning author Howard Shrier was born and raised in Montreal, where he earned an Honours Degree in Journalism and Creative Writing at Concordia University. Since then he has worked in a wide variety of media, including print, magazine and radio journalism, theatre and television, sketch comedy and improv. He has also been a senior communications advisor to government agencies. He now lives in Toronto with his wife and their two sons and teaches writing at University of Toronto's School of Continuing Studies.

Series:
* Jonah Geller

Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best First Novel (2009): Buffalo Jump
◊ Best Novel (2010): High Chicago

Nominations:

Arthur Ellis Award, Best Novel of 2013: Miss Montreal

Bony Blithe Award, Best Humourous Mystery of 2013: Miss Montreal

Reviews

[Toni Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 4, in the Jonah Geller series

I always preferred reading series in sequence I made an exception this time and skipped installment 2 and 3 to jump to this latest. The title was too enticing to wait and wanted to see how this story would resonate to a French speaking Montrealer.

In “Miss Montreal” Mr. Shrier cooks up all short of trouble for his protagonist while he experiences for the first time what real anti- Semitism is and suffers acerbic commentary along the way…. As any outsider, Jonah has pretty much the same difficulties understanding the peculiarities of the city…… bienvenue à Montréal, ici on parle français.

It opens with Jonah investigating the death of a Sammy Adler, a Montreal newspaper columnist whom he knew from summer camp when they were both twelve. Adler is known to be a scandal-mongering journalist, one to never hesitate exposing political corruption and other dark secrets. Hired by the victim`s grandfather to do what the police can`t, Jonah and his pal Dante set east on the 401 and this is the start of a powerful plot and a trip through Montreal`s pothole covered streets. Our heroes find themselves smack in the middle of election time and the tension is palpable, chanted is the slogan “Québec aux Québécois”. To discover the truth and figure what led to Sammy’s demise they will face religious fanatic as well as a twisted political dynasty. The worst part will be to work with a reticent French police officer who will give them a hard time especially when they open their mouth…..

“Miss Montreal” is truly a work of fiction, the author has definitely taken strong liberties and has deliberately distorted facts and exaggerated everything from past shenanigans of the political leaders to the present language issues to make his story a captivating read and he has not failed in doing so. This mystery after all continues the story of an urban, secular and funny P.I. solving cases the authorities can’t. Mr. Shrier lingers on Montreal diversity and his knowledge is what makes this caper so believable. When we have a good combination of witty characters mixed into an adventure full of twists and continuous action you have an exciting and satisfying story.

Now I need to catch up on the two previous novels.

[Luanne Ollivier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss Montreal is the fourth book in Howard Shrier's series featuring Private Investigator Jonah Geller.

I only discovered this wonderful series with the last book Boston Cream (my review) but I loved it and have been eagerly awaiting Jonah's next case.

Now persona non grata in the US, Jonah takes on a new case in Montreal. His childhood friend Sammy has been brutally murdered - and after many weeks, the police seem no closer to finding the killer. Sammy's grandfather is dying and he wants to see justice done. He hires Jonah to investigate. And with his regular partner Jenn Raudsepp sidelined, Jonah brings along reformed hit man Dante. Reformed, but still lethal.

Sammy was a respected English speaking, Jewish journalist living and working in Montreal. His body was beaten, mutilated and left in a Muslim neighbourhood of the city. Was he working on a story that got him killed? Was it someone he knew or someone from his past? Or was it just a random hate crime?

What Jonah and Dante find is much more insidious than even they could imagine.......

Howard Shrier has done a fantastic job with the setting. Descriptions of Montreal, the inhabitants and the current atmosphere are all detailed and ring true. (Shrier has lived in the city himself) The plotting was excellent and frighteningly believable. Simmering racial and cultural tensions on many fronts, the separatist movement, political machinations, terrorism and more populate this fast-paced novel.

The play between the two main characters is excellent - Jonah usually thinks before acting. Dante - well, not so much. They are polar opposites with a focus on the same goal. Shrier also gives each a personal storyline that brings depth to the character and is a nice continuance from novel to novel. They play off each other nicely and bring Spenser and Hawk to mind.

Fans of the crime genre, I encourage you to discover this award winning Canadian series. (Also being developed as a television show by a producer of Law & Order) I'll definitely be watching for number five.

[Bruce Retallack · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book on a great many fronts. I grew up in Montreal just around the time of Shrier's backstory, and I was taken with how the author managed to portray the physical and social geography of the city at two very different points in time. That attention to detail is one of the book's greatest strengths for me. I also thoroughly enjoyed Shrier's language. He has an ear for a metaphor and a facility with rhythm that adds to the story's pleasures.

[Teena in Toronto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jonah Geller is a PI in Toronto. He is hired by a wealthy old man who is dying to find out who murdered his grandson, Sammy, who was living in Montreal. Sammy was found viciously beaten to death. Jonah and his friend, Dante Ryan, who is a former hitman, drive to Montreal to find out what happened.

Sammy was well-liked and respected and was a magazine columnist. He was working on two stories ... one involved an immigrant family from Afghanistan and their new lives in Canada and the other involved a right wing anti-immigrant politician who is running for office. Did being involved in one of these stories cause Sammy's death or was it a hate crime as it appears to be?

This is the fourth in the Jonah Geller series (and the fourth I've read by this author) and I liked it. I liked the writing style. It's written in first person perspective from Jonah's point of view. Because it is his voice, we get to read his thoughts and feelings ... at times Jonah is sarcastic which I appreciated. As a head's up, there is violence and swearing.

I liked the main characters. Jonah seems like a nice guy who is loyal to his friends and clients. I like having Ryan as Jonah's sidekick ... I found him amusing. He is a tough guy (almost every sentence has the F-word) with his own sense of justice and will do whatever it takes to right what he thinks is a wrong. And there's no doubting the strong bond between Jonah and his best friend, Jenn.

Having it set in Montreal was fun. I go to Montreal a couple times a year and I knew where some of the places Jonah went to. Jonah speaks a bit of French and was forced to do so at times ... I was able to figure out what he was saying most of the time with my high school French.

I look forward to reading more by this author.

Blog review post: http://www.teenaintoronto.com/2015/06...

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toronto PI Jonah Geller is asked to investigate the murder of a childhood friend, who was brutally beaten and had a star of David carved in his chest.

The victim's ailing, elderly grandfather wants someone to solve the crime before he dies and he is displeased with the progress being made by police in Montreal.

With his partner still sidelines from injuries suffered in the previous book, Geller asks his retired hitman friend to accompany him on the journey.

The chemistry between all of the characters, the plot and the writing make this a series to add to your reading list -- especially if you like regional mysteries.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I randomly picked this up - because of the title yes - not realizing it’s part of a series but it wasn’t an issue at all. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was well edited, excellent witty banter (Ryan! I need more Ryan) and read so easily I finished it in fewer sittings than I usually take. The style was very conversational, it was like Jonah Geller was sitting next to me telling me his story, or on Zoom 😂
Looking forward to reading the rest of the series

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to read this because it’s set in Montreal — and it was very much set in Montreal! He always said which streets he was on, and referred to all the landmarks and neighborhoods and talked about how Montreal has changed from the 1960s on. I really appreciated how entrenched in its location this book was.
The actually story was a somewhat run of the mill crime/thriller story. It wasn’t highly graphic or violent, but it was a pretty typical rough-and-tumble PI story. It was ok.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really really like this series and cannot wait for the next installment! The really cool thing about this series is the way Shrier is able to talk about cultural beliefs and the different ethnic populations of cities and not make them into caricatures. He also provides balance in his descriptions and comments about the various cultures in his novels - just like any good journalist.

[Chris R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought, because this was set in my hometown, I'd rather enjoy it.
And I generally did.
But (and this is hardly the author's fault), as a unilingual Anglo who fled the city decades ago, I was left a bit jaded by the central role Quebec politics played in this book.
Maybe should have read some reviews beforehand and skipped this book altogether.

[Denise Loveless · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the series. Looking forward to more in the series.

[Jim Bostjancic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Canadian pulp fiction in a great setting.
Nice touch having the investigating P.I. with a sidekick bodyguard.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun to read a book that refers to and takes place on the streets of Montreal!

[Alison C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Miss Montreal is the fourth book in Howard Shrier's series featuring private investigator Jonah Geller and his associates; here, Geller is asked by a dying man to investigate the gruesome death of the man's grandson in Montreal: the man, a Jewish magazine columnist known as Slammin' Sammy, was beaten to death in a primarily Muslim part of the city and the assumption of the police in Montreal is that it was a hate crime, but one they have little interest in solving. Geller happens to have known the man as a boy, when both attended a summer camp and he gave Sammy his nickname, but they lost touch shortly thereafter. When he arrives in Montreal with his sidekick, ex-assassin Dante Ryan, in tow, Geller learns that Slammin' Sammy was working on two articles at the time of his death, one involving the new lives of an immigrant family from Afghanistan and the other a profile of a father-daughter team of right-wing, anti-immigrant politicians running for office; how the two stories inter-connect and what they have to do with Sammy's death are the focuses of Geller's investigation, but other forces want him out of the way before he learns too much.... I thought this would be an interesting entry into a well-regarded Canadian series by this Toronto-based but Montreal-born author, but unfortunately I found it a bit too hard-boiled for my tastes. There is a lot of violence and a lot of talk about various types of guns and various types of cars, none of which mean anything to me, and the portrayal of the French-English divide in Montreal, while accurate, just tended to rile me - having an outsider comment with such vitriol was annoying somehow. Others might enjoy this series, particularly if they like the tough-detective style of novel, in that it's well-written and the characters and motivations are well described, but it's just not my cup of mystery, even when it's set in a city I know.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I've spent quite a bit of time in Montreal, it was fun seeing it through the author's eyes; Côte-Vertu is not an area I've explored and just might have to now. I also enjoyed the use of French (even when it was written as jouale) without an immediate translation (e.g. Cara Black's telling us that a pain au chocolat is a chocolate croissant).

So that's the good. The "meh" was the plot, which was relatively predictable, and the Spillane-eqsue writing style. For some reason, the style felt forced and awkward, which made it less easy to read. And as much as I like Boston and Chicago, the style alone is enough to keep me from reading others in this series. YMMV.

[Brian Leclair]

Another great adventure for Jonah Geller! This time our intrepid detective heads to la belle province to investigate the death of a childhood buddy.
The same grittiness that highlighted the first few stories in various North American cities are present again, and the minute details (particularly surrounding the local geography of the cities the characters are in) make the reader feel like they're right there with Jonah and his intriguing partners in crime-solving. And it's hard not to appreciate the vivid dialogue and rapport Jonah has with his friends and foes.

Can't wait for the next installment!

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would give it three-and-a-half stars if that was an option, but it isn't, so it's lucky and gets four. It's a nice PI novel if that's what you're in the mood for, and gets points for being set in Montreal. I liked the descriptions and mentions of tons of well-known spots in Montreal, and the French conversations between the main character (an anglo) and French Quebecers are pretty funny, mainly because they remind me of my own conversations with real French folk in the big M. Definitely not deep or anything more than a whodunnit, but for what it is, it's good, and kept me turning the pages until the end to see how loose threads were tied up.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sleuth-for-hire Jonah Geller is back in Canada, having a rough-and-tumble adventure in Montreal, tracking a friend's killer and bumping into right-wing extremists of all flavours. Shrier's fourth Jonah Geller is worth the read for fans, or for mystery lovers. My only complaint is that it's a bit painful to see Dante Ryan reduced to little more than a running joke with no apparent motivation to be tagging along with Geller to Montreal. Otherwise, I hugely enjoyed the Montreal setting, the political turmoil, and the fact that I figured out whodunit before the fictional Geller did!

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for its Montreal setting and the fact that the solutions are not always happy for everyone. It seems more realistic than many crime novels. I don't like some of the violence in the book, and the sidekick who loves guns, but that's a personal bias. Jonah Geller himself is thoughtful and conscientious.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shrier is a new Canadian mystery writer. This is his 4th book in the series. His characters are a little too macho for my taste but his commentary on the politics and culture of Montreal and Quebec was superb.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definite page turner and a book once started one cannot put down. Everything about the book is great: writing; characters; plot; humor; ending. A friendship that began between two 12-year-old boys at a summer camp escalates years later when Jonah is hired to find his friend's killer.

[Amie]

Sigh, now I have to wait for him to write a whole new book... :(

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a quick read and the most I liked about it was that it happens all in Montreal.

[Bruce Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A page-turner that sticks to the plot with no fancy descriptions of rooms, scenes, etc. If you're from Montreal, you'll love it.

[Caroline Ingvaldsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fourth in the PI Jonah Geller series, this thriller set in Quebec is another satisfying crime story enriched by excellent characterization, fast pace, strong plot and a keen sense of place.

[Jamie P-Kretzschmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Typical male mystery; but it kept my attention, and the level of detail in the novel surpassed any other PI novel I have ever read.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was surprising easy to read!

[Gary Lauzon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always fun reading a book that is set in your hometown

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good well paced read. Great to recount the names and places in MTL.

[Dennis Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is OK. The series started off great, but is losing it's lustre