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Smuggler: Drugs, Gangs, and Refugees at America's Northern Border
Not yet published
Expected 20 Oct 26304 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication October 20, 2026
About the author
Reece Jones
11 books67 followersReece Jones is the author of five books: Nobody is Protected, White Borders, Violent Borders, Border Walls, and the forthcoming Smuggler with Greg Boos. He is a professor of Geography and Environment at the University of Hawai'i, editor-in-chief of the journal Geopolitics, and a Guggenheim Fellow.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Surprisingly Compelling Exploration of the Northern Border
Some nonfiction books immediately feel dry the moment you pick them up. Smuggler: Drugs, Gangs, and Refugees at America's Northern Border by Reece Jones and Greg Boos was the complete opposite for me. I went into this expecting an interesting but possibly dense look at migration and smuggling along the U.S.-Canada border. Instead, I ended up reading through the book very quickly because it was consistently engaging, well organized, and surprisingly difficult to put down. The short chapters helped the pacing considerably, and the combination of investigative reporting, geopolitical relevance, and human storytelling kept the narrative moving throughout.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is that it never reduces borders into abstract political talking points. The stories here feel deeply human. The sections involving asylum seekers and people attempting to cross into Canada were especially compelling because the book forces readers to confront the reality that migration is rarely simple. These are not faceless political symbols. They are people operating under pressure, fear, desperation, and uncertainty. The human dimension of the story gives the book much of its emotional weight.
I also appreciated how effectively the authors balanced individual stories with broader systems analysis. The discussions surrounding refugee movements, border enforcement, sovereignty, migration systems, and policy failures all felt accessible without becoming overly simplistic. The reporting on law enforcement agencies, including Border Patrol and HSI, was particularly interesting, even if the portrayal was clearly critical. The book does not shy away from examining the aggressive and often hostile realities of border enforcement, and that tension adds urgency to the narrative.
At the same time, I do think the book would have benefited from slightly more balance regarding the perspectives of law enforcement and border officials. While the criticism of agencies and specific individuals is often persuasive, I occasionally wanted a fuller exploration of how those involved justified or understood their own actions. Including more of that perspective would have strengthened the overall complexity of the book.
My biggest frustration was actually that certain areas of the story felt so interesting that I wanted even more detail than the book provided. Bob’s work as a confidential informant and the connections to drug smuggling were particularly fascinating, yet the narrative never fully dives into those elements as deeply as I expected. The authors hint at larger criminal dynamics operating around the border, but some of those threads remain underexplored compared to the migration side of the story.
Overall, this was one of the more engaging nonfiction books I have read recently. The subject matter is timely, politically relevant, and emotionally grounded without losing narrative momentum. Readers interested in borders, migration, refugee movements, investigative journalism, or contemporary geopolitical issues will likely find a great deal to appreciate here. The book succeeds because it never loses sight of the fact that borders are ultimately about people, not just policies and politics.
Thanks to NetGalley, authors Reece Jones and Greg Boos, and Globe Pequot/Prometheus for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#Smuggler #NetGalley
Some nonfiction books immediately feel dry the moment you pick them up. Smuggler: Drugs, Gangs, and Refugees at America's Northern Border by Reece Jones and Greg Boos was the complete opposite for me. I went into this expecting an interesting but possibly dense look at migration and smuggling along the U.S.-Canada border. Instead, I ended up reading through the book very quickly because it was consistently engaging, well organized, and surprisingly difficult to put down. The short chapters helped the pacing considerably, and the combination of investigative reporting, geopolitical relevance, and human storytelling kept the narrative moving throughout.
One of the book’s greatest strengths is that it never reduces borders into abstract political talking points. The stories here feel deeply human. The sections involving asylum seekers and people attempting to cross into Canada were especially compelling because the book forces readers to confront the reality that migration is rarely simple. These are not faceless political symbols. They are people operating under pressure, fear, desperation, and uncertainty. The human dimension of the story gives the book much of its emotional weight.
I also appreciated how effectively the authors balanced individual stories with broader systems analysis. The discussions surrounding refugee movements, border enforcement, sovereignty, migration systems, and policy failures all felt accessible without becoming overly simplistic. The reporting on law enforcement agencies, including Border Patrol and HSI, was particularly interesting, even if the portrayal was clearly critical. The book does not shy away from examining the aggressive and often hostile realities of border enforcement, and that tension adds urgency to the narrative.
At the same time, I do think the book would have benefited from slightly more balance regarding the perspectives of law enforcement and border officials. While the criticism of agencies and specific individuals is often persuasive, I occasionally wanted a fuller exploration of how those involved justified or understood their own actions. Including more of that perspective would have strengthened the overall complexity of the book.
My biggest frustration was actually that certain areas of the story felt so interesting that I wanted even more detail than the book provided. Bob’s work as a confidential informant and the connections to drug smuggling were particularly fascinating, yet the narrative never fully dives into those elements as deeply as I expected. The authors hint at larger criminal dynamics operating around the border, but some of those threads remain underexplored compared to the migration side of the story.
Overall, this was one of the more engaging nonfiction books I have read recently. The subject matter is timely, politically relevant, and emotionally grounded without losing narrative momentum. Readers interested in borders, migration, refugee movements, investigative journalism, or contemporary geopolitical issues will likely find a great deal to appreciate here. The book succeeds because it never loses sight of the fact that borders are ultimately about people, not just policies and politics.
Thanks to NetGalley, authors Reece Jones and Greg Boos, and Globe Pequot/Prometheus for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
#Smuggler #NetGalley
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is was a very, very surprising book! When I think of "smuggling" people across the border, my mind automatically goes to the southern border with Mexico. I was not aware that people were being smuggled from the United States into Canada. And how easy it was/is!
Bob Boule was a man who ran a bed and breakfast called the Smugglers Inn, in Blaine, WA (right on the US/Canadian border). To illegally emigrate to Canada, all one had to do was walk out the door of the Smugglers Inn, walk a few feet, cross a road, and voila, you were in Canada. The person had only to walk a few blocks into Canada, surrender to the first police they saw, and claim amnesty. Wow!
Boule would pick up his customers at the Seattle Airport, drive them to his inn, and then wait until after midnight when they would walk out of the inn and into Canada. For this he charged for the pickup and a night at his inn.
Of course, the authorities had a lot of problems with this scheme. The book is all about the attempts to stop Boule and the illegal crossings. In fact, Boule was twice arrested and spent time in jail for the crime. In between, he became a secret informant against the Hells Angels, a savior figure to people all over the world who wanted to go to Canada to live, and a nemesis of one particular ICE agent, who had a serious grudge against Boule. In fact, Boule ended up suing the agent for assault and illegal arrest, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2022, and resulted in the broad amnesty that enable ICE officials to act like they did in Minneapolis and elsewhere. This is a fascinating book! In my wildest dreams I could not have concocted a crazy story like this. Yet it is fully documented and vouched for in the index.
If you want to have your mind blown, give this book a try!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance reading copy of this book. I don't think I will ever forget it!
Bob Boule was a man who ran a bed and breakfast called the Smugglers Inn, in Blaine, WA (right on the US/Canadian border). To illegally emigrate to Canada, all one had to do was walk out the door of the Smugglers Inn, walk a few feet, cross a road, and voila, you were in Canada. The person had only to walk a few blocks into Canada, surrender to the first police they saw, and claim amnesty. Wow!
Boule would pick up his customers at the Seattle Airport, drive them to his inn, and then wait until after midnight when they would walk out of the inn and into Canada. For this he charged for the pickup and a night at his inn.
Of course, the authorities had a lot of problems with this scheme. The book is all about the attempts to stop Boule and the illegal crossings. In fact, Boule was twice arrested and spent time in jail for the crime. In between, he became a secret informant against the Hells Angels, a savior figure to people all over the world who wanted to go to Canada to live, and a nemesis of one particular ICE agent, who had a serious grudge against Boule. In fact, Boule ended up suing the agent for assault and illegal arrest, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court in 2022, and resulted in the broad amnesty that enable ICE officials to act like they did in Minneapolis and elsewhere. This is a fascinating book! In my wildest dreams I could not have concocted a crazy story like this. Yet it is fully documented and vouched for in the index.
If you want to have your mind blown, give this book a try!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advance reading copy of this book. I don't think I will ever forget it!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received a free copy of, Smuggler, by Reece Jones; Greg Boos, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a very interesting read on smuggling at the Us border with Canada. I really enjoyed reading about Bob, and would like to read more about him.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews