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The Wolfpack: The Millennial Mobsters Who Brought Chaos and the Cartels to the Canadian Underworld
Joined by award-winning Mexican journalist Luis Nájera, leading organized-crime author Peter Edwards introduces a motley assortment of millennial bikers, gangsters and Mafia whose bloody trail of murders and schemes gone wrong led to the arrival in Canada of the world's most dangerous criminal organizations: the drug cartels of Mexico.
A man watching the Euro Cup on a restaurant patio is shot dead on a busy Sunday afternoon in Toronto. Another dies in a sidewalk ambush just outside a bus-tling college campus. Two men in a Vancouver hotel lobby are gunned down in an attack that sends an American soccer star scrambling for cover. In Mexico, a Canadian is killed at a Nuevo Vallarta coffee shop, his death barely registering amidst the terrifying death tolls of President Calderón's war on drugs and the cartels' response; while a Montreal cop is beaten within an inch of his life in a Playa del Carmen nightclub. An infamous heckler from an NBA Toronto Raptors game turns up dead in a bullet-riddled car in a midtown lane-way. Throughout the 2010s, these and other disparate acts of violence entered the public awareness like iso-lated tragedies--but there was nothing isolated about them.
In this masterly investigation, veteran journalists Peter Edwards and Luis Nájera introduce readers to the common cause of a near-decade of chaos. Meet the Wolfpack, millennial-aged gangsters from across the spectrum of Canada's underworld. Vying to fast-track their way into the criminal void left by the death of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto, the Wolfpack sought advantage in a steady supply of cocaine from El Chapo Guzmán's Sinaloa cartel, among the deadliest and most far-reaching of criminal organizations. The juniors had just stepped into the big leagues.
This is the roiling landscape of The Wolfpack, a brilliant examination of a time of criminal disruption and rapid adaptation, when one gang's unchecked ambition unwittingly gave away the most hotly contested corner of the Canadian underworld without a fight. Brazen criminal disruptors or entitled upstarts looking to get rich without paying their dues--whatever you think of them, you will never forget the Wolfpack.
A man watching the Euro Cup on a restaurant patio is shot dead on a busy Sunday afternoon in Toronto. Another dies in a sidewalk ambush just outside a bus-tling college campus. Two men in a Vancouver hotel lobby are gunned down in an attack that sends an American soccer star scrambling for cover. In Mexico, a Canadian is killed at a Nuevo Vallarta coffee shop, his death barely registering amidst the terrifying death tolls of President Calderón's war on drugs and the cartels' response; while a Montreal cop is beaten within an inch of his life in a Playa del Carmen nightclub. An infamous heckler from an NBA Toronto Raptors game turns up dead in a bullet-riddled car in a midtown lane-way. Throughout the 2010s, these and other disparate acts of violence entered the public awareness like iso-lated tragedies--but there was nothing isolated about them.
In this masterly investigation, veteran journalists Peter Edwards and Luis Nájera introduce readers to the common cause of a near-decade of chaos. Meet the Wolfpack, millennial-aged gangsters from across the spectrum of Canada's underworld. Vying to fast-track their way into the criminal void left by the death of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto, the Wolfpack sought advantage in a steady supply of cocaine from El Chapo Guzmán's Sinaloa cartel, among the deadliest and most far-reaching of criminal organizations. The juniors had just stepped into the big leagues.
This is the roiling landscape of The Wolfpack, a brilliant examination of a time of criminal disruption and rapid adaptation, when one gang's unchecked ambition unwittingly gave away the most hotly contested corner of the Canadian underworld without a fight. Brazen criminal disruptors or entitled upstarts looking to get rich without paying their dues--whatever you think of them, you will never forget the Wolfpack.
294 pages, Hardcover
Published October 26, 2021
42 people are currently reading
417 people want to read
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Peter Edwards
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
November 5, 2021
There is no one more suitable to tell this story than highly acclaimed award-winning author and Toronto Star's organized crime reporter Peter Edwards alongside award-winning Mexican journalist Luis Najera.
During the 2010's, a decade of anarchy, a group of gangsters (The Wolfpack) strive to quicken their way into the criminal void after the death of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto by becoming involved with a steady supply of cocaine. Not all goes as planned.
The authors write a riveting and comprehensive book detailing the workings and missteps of the Mafia, drug traffickers, gangs, corrupt officials and many violent deaths leading to the arrival in Canada of one of the most dangerous organizations: the drug cartels of Mexico.
This book is an exemplary investigation of criminal eradication in the Canadian underworld.
An explosive, dynamic and well-researched piece of Canadian crime history!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
During the 2010's, a decade of anarchy, a group of gangsters (The Wolfpack) strive to quicken their way into the criminal void after the death of Montreal godfather Vito Rizzuto by becoming involved with a steady supply of cocaine. Not all goes as planned.
The authors write a riveting and comprehensive book detailing the workings and missteps of the Mafia, drug traffickers, gangs, corrupt officials and many violent deaths leading to the arrival in Canada of one of the most dangerous organizations: the drug cartels of Mexico.
This book is an exemplary investigation of criminal eradication in the Canadian underworld.
An explosive, dynamic and well-researched piece of Canadian crime history!
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
May 17, 2022
The Wolfpack is a chaotic journey through a confusing maze of gangs, cartels, consortiums, hoodlums, drug dealers, and assorted hangers-on and wanna-bes. As a book, it lacks focus or even a time line; jumping around and back and forth, and introducing many more names than any one reader can hope to keep track of. Even more confusing, many people had several aliases and codenames.
Some events covered in the book made the news in Canada, but they all tended to blur. Most of the people I had never heard of before, nor had I heard of the Wolfpack. I found the book frustrating, because I kept asking myself, WHAT is this book about, and WHO are they really focussing on? The first sections in particular contain detailed excerpts from text messages I found too hard and obscure to wade through. The relevant portions of these messages are repeated later in the book at the time of the trial.
Other unsuccessful sections are towards the end, which are basically, then he died in Mexico, then he died in Hamilton, then he died outside a hotel in Burnaby. Most of these murders tend to remain unsolved.
However, if a person is interested in developments in Canadian organized crime, and its relationship to Mexican cartels, this book can probably provide a wealth of information. A late section on the impact of Covid-19 on drug smuggling in North America was interesting (disruptions in trade due to lockdowns forced gangs to innovate).
The book may be chaotic but that ceaseless churn and turmoil reflects the relentless turnover in the criminal "underground" (this book also makes the point that organized crime is often quite well integrated within "respectable" society).
For more on this topic, I've heard good things about McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld.
Some events covered in the book made the news in Canada, but they all tended to blur. Most of the people I had never heard of before, nor had I heard of the Wolfpack. I found the book frustrating, because I kept asking myself, WHAT is this book about, and WHO are they really focussing on? The first sections in particular contain detailed excerpts from text messages I found too hard and obscure to wade through. The relevant portions of these messages are repeated later in the book at the time of the trial.
Other unsuccessful sections are towards the end, which are basically, then he died in Mexico, then he died in Hamilton, then he died outside a hotel in Burnaby. Most of these murders tend to remain unsolved.
However, if a person is interested in developments in Canadian organized crime, and its relationship to Mexican cartels, this book can probably provide a wealth of information. A late section on the impact of Covid-19 on drug smuggling in North America was interesting (disruptions in trade due to lockdowns forced gangs to innovate).
The book may be chaotic but that ceaseless churn and turmoil reflects the relentless turnover in the criminal "underground" (this book also makes the point that organized crime is often quite well integrated within "respectable" society).
For more on this topic, I've heard good things about McMafia: A Journey Through the Global Criminal Underworld.
February 9, 2022
This is not a book I woukd usually pick up but I was just so curious when I used to live in the area. It's hard to believe this stuff is even real. Quite terrifying really. The first half of the book was more interesting when it went into more detail on each person and it had more personal bits added in, like the text messages, but then it seemed to just start listing a bunch of random people from all over and just giving a quick synopsis of them and I was getting a bit confused and bored.
December 13, 2021
Perhaps it’s an interesting read on how organized crime operates - the connection of how Mexican cartels operate or don’t operate in conjunction with Canadian biker gangs and mafiosi. It’s a scary picture of crime, intimidation and murder. However, the book is not well written, tediously filled with snippets of the size of cocaine shipments , many terribly misspelt text messages, presumably wiretapped by law enforcement agencies and a confusingly large list of characters.
I felt it was a bit like reading a list rather than a well written cohesive bit of writing. Maybe this would be useful short notes for the making of a feature film.
I felt it was a bit like reading a list rather than a well written cohesive bit of writing. Maybe this would be useful short notes for the making of a feature film.
February 22, 2022
I would not recommend this book unless you are interested in the subject. However, it was interesting to be made aware that a parallel world of the drug trade that operates in a normal society. Todays criminal element have no regards for human life. Executions occur in crowed open areas. Canada has a huge drug problem supplied mainly by the Mexican drug cartels, and for that reason, I would never consider travelling to Mexico, especially resort areas like Playa del Carmen or Cancun. These areas are controlled by the drug cartels. Overall, it was a struggle to finish this book.
December 16, 2021
Very informative information on the drug trade between Mexico and Canada
September 26, 2022
Had high hopes as both authors are accomplished journalists and this is subject matter of which I was completely ignorant. But the book lacks any coherence - the timeline is scrambled and jumps around, which can work within a larger, established narrative, but here comes off as just disorganized and reduces the book to a series of incidents. The inclusion of so many text message excerpts doesn't really add anything, the character sketches feel thin and superficial and, maybe weirdest of all, the origins of the Wolfpack itself is never really explored.
June 3, 2022
A bit scattered in presentation, but nonetheless a compelling story about what in the end is a bunch of dolts high on their own toxic masculinity and gangster movies doing some of the dumbest things imaginable. If the body count wasn't so high it'd be comic.
November 19, 2021
Hard to keep up, all over the place, so many different characters!
February 2, 2022
This book absolutely captivated me. It puts into perspective how tragic the cartel situation truly is in Mexico, and it continues to get worse. The numbers really astounded me.
I have immense respect for journalists and love it when they bring their investigative talents to the book world. The writing here was impeccable and had me hooked from the very start.
I have immense respect for journalists and love it when they bring their investigative talents to the book world. The writing here was impeccable and had me hooked from the very start.
April 29, 2022
I really liked this book, especially being born and raised in the area. One thing I realized I needed to do was write out a map of the different people involved and how everyone was connected - that helped me understand the book a lot better.
May 27, 2022
Ce livre représente un énorme travail journalistique, une recherche et une collecte de données énormes. Il y a tellement de détails et d'informations sur les différents cartels de drogue, c'est impressionnant et ça m'a gardé accrochée jusqu'à la fin.
Les auteurs racontent l'histoire d'un groupe de criminels, Les jeunes loups, qui ont voulu se tailler une place au sein des organisations criminelles importatrices de drogue au Canada. On en apprend plus sur eux, mais également sur l'utilisation de la technologie par les cartels, l'organisation du transport de la drogue et plus encore. On découvre aussi tout le travail policier réalisé pour débusquer ces criminels.
Il y a une quantité phénoménale d'individus impliqués dans le monde de la drogue. La lecture peut donc parfois paraître chargée, parce qu'on parle de tellement de personnes. Il peut être facile de perdre le fil si on est le moindrement inattentif. J'ai failli m'arrêter à un certain moment pour prendre en note le nom des différents acteurs impliqués et établir les connexions entre eux. Ce ne serait pas une mauvaise idée de le faire! Toutefois, selon moi, pour bien rendre compte de la complexité des cartels, il était nécessaire de parler de tous ces gens.
Je ne connaissais absolument rien au monde de la drogue au Canada avant la lecture de ce livre. J'en ai eu un bel aperçu et j'ai pu mieux comprendre comment le tout fonctionne. C'est complexe et en constant changement, certes, mais tellement intriguant et intéressant!
La seule chose qui m'ait quelques fois agacée est le fait qu'il y a des bonds dans le temps. Le récit n'est pas en ordre chronologique, ce qui peut ajouter un certain niveau de difficulté. Mais cela ne devrait pas vous empêcher de le lire.
C'est un livre très instructif qui tient un peu du roman policier. On cherche constamment à savoir ce qui va arriver aux acteurs concernés, vont-ils s'en sortir? Se faire attraper par la justice? Être victime d'une représaille?
À lire!
Les auteurs racontent l'histoire d'un groupe de criminels, Les jeunes loups, qui ont voulu se tailler une place au sein des organisations criminelles importatrices de drogue au Canada. On en apprend plus sur eux, mais également sur l'utilisation de la technologie par les cartels, l'organisation du transport de la drogue et plus encore. On découvre aussi tout le travail policier réalisé pour débusquer ces criminels.
Il y a une quantité phénoménale d'individus impliqués dans le monde de la drogue. La lecture peut donc parfois paraître chargée, parce qu'on parle de tellement de personnes. Il peut être facile de perdre le fil si on est le moindrement inattentif. J'ai failli m'arrêter à un certain moment pour prendre en note le nom des différents acteurs impliqués et établir les connexions entre eux. Ce ne serait pas une mauvaise idée de le faire! Toutefois, selon moi, pour bien rendre compte de la complexité des cartels, il était nécessaire de parler de tous ces gens.
Je ne connaissais absolument rien au monde de la drogue au Canada avant la lecture de ce livre. J'en ai eu un bel aperçu et j'ai pu mieux comprendre comment le tout fonctionne. C'est complexe et en constant changement, certes, mais tellement intriguant et intéressant!
La seule chose qui m'ait quelques fois agacée est le fait qu'il y a des bonds dans le temps. Le récit n'est pas en ordre chronologique, ce qui peut ajouter un certain niveau de difficulté. Mais cela ne devrait pas vous empêcher de le lire.
C'est un livre très instructif qui tient un peu du roman policier. On cherche constamment à savoir ce qui va arriver aux acteurs concernés, vont-ils s'en sortir? Se faire attraper par la justice? Être victime d'une représaille?
À lire!
November 16, 2022
This book details the Wolfpack, a group of young Canadian mobsters who traffick cocaine from Mexico to Canada. The book is very detailed and follows the tales of many members of the group. While informative, this can be confusing at times. This is exacerbated by the failure of the book to tell the story in chronological order. Since there are so many moving parts, this makes it hard to figure out when things are happening.
The book often relies on text messages between the members of the group. This is a very interesting addition and looks good on the page. However, at times it is unclear to someone not familiar with the vernacular what exactly is happening in these conversations. I feel like this method was overused and could have been eliminated from times when it confused, rather than clarified the story.
There is a chapter near the end which goes into detail about what happened to each mobster, many of whom are now dead. While this is interesting information to have, it felt out of place in the context of the book.
Overall, this is a good read for anyone interested in organized crime in Canada. It is informative, but not the kind of non-fiction book that entraps you in the story it is telling.
The book often relies on text messages between the members of the group. This is a very interesting addition and looks good on the page. However, at times it is unclear to someone not familiar with the vernacular what exactly is happening in these conversations. I feel like this method was overused and could have been eliminated from times when it confused, rather than clarified the story.
There is a chapter near the end which goes into detail about what happened to each mobster, many of whom are now dead. While this is interesting information to have, it felt out of place in the context of the book.
Overall, this is a good read for anyone interested in organized crime in Canada. It is informative, but not the kind of non-fiction book that entraps you in the story it is telling.
April 11, 2022
Mais quel intéressant essai qui nous plonge dans les noirceurs de notre beau pays! Dans cet ouvrage, les deux auteurs s’intéressent aux « Jeunes Loups », une organisation regroupant de jeunes criminels usant des technologies récentes pour moderniser le trafic illégal et s’afficher comme d’importants éléments auprès des importants cartels.
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C’est fascinant et intriguant de plonger dans cet univers inconnu qui existe au Canada et dont on entend parler qu’en surface. J’ai vraiment aimé lire cet essai mais je dois avouer que j’étais un brin mêlé parmi les nombreux impliqués. J’aurais pris un organigramme pour m’aider à faire les associations. Mon amour du true crime a bien aimé de se retrouver en terrain canadien.
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Un gros merci aux Éditions de l’Homme pour ce service de presse! C’était excellent!
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C’est fascinant et intriguant de plonger dans cet univers inconnu qui existe au Canada et dont on entend parler qu’en surface. J’ai vraiment aimé lire cet essai mais je dois avouer que j’étais un brin mêlé parmi les nombreux impliqués. J’aurais pris un organigramme pour m’aider à faire les associations. Mon amour du true crime a bien aimé de se retrouver en terrain canadien.
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Un gros merci aux Éditions de l’Homme pour ce service de presse! C’était excellent!
January 17, 2022
A shotgun approach to chronicling organized crime in Canada, with particular focus on the Wolfpack consortium. Thoroughly researched and intensive on details, including intercepted email communications between members. Fascinating insights into the world of organized crime, and just how naïve most of us are to the money involved. I was left pondering just how much blood is spilled, on both sides of the border, for a casual cocaine habit. The societal costs are staggering.
However, the scattershot of characters and aliases left a murky picture of the organization hierarchy and ultimately impacting the reader's understanding.
However, the scattershot of characters and aliases left a murky picture of the organization hierarchy and ultimately impacting the reader's understanding.
April 14, 2022
Half criminal biography and half cartel drug war journalism.
Peter Edwards paints a picture of young guns breaking into an old game with new methods and ideals. Merging gangs, ethnicity and ideology into the modern blend of consumer culture. Kids without any real affiliation to anything other than money. And money for shallow, flashy reasons.
The Wolfpack had a sharp rise and fall story, showing how tempting the easy money can be but how risky.
The story was good, but the writing style came off too much as a list of names, places and toys.
Peter Edwards paints a picture of young guns breaking into an old game with new methods and ideals. Merging gangs, ethnicity and ideology into the modern blend of consumer culture. Kids without any real affiliation to anything other than money. And money for shallow, flashy reasons.
The Wolfpack had a sharp rise and fall story, showing how tempting the easy money can be but how risky.
The story was good, but the writing style came off too much as a list of names, places and toys.
March 16, 2023
Overall the story was very interesting. The parts about Vancouver and the Dhak-Duhre group were very interesting as I lived in Vancouver at the time and remember that period of shootings and rampant violence. The book didn’t do a great job of building the character of some of the smaller mobsters and they probably should have just not been included at all. The author also did a poor job of making the case for how technologically enabled the mobsters were. It didn’t really seem to big a big component of their success. I’d still highly recommend reading.
August 22, 2023
True to its title, this book is a journalistic-style story about the milennial thugs and their crimes following the demise of oldstyle criminal godfather-type mobster families: a network of enterprising young mobsters centered in Canada and desirous of cultivating connections with the Mexican Sinaloa cartel for control of the cocaine market. The [Mexican] Sinaloa cartel has now already exploited the wolfpack's 'invitation' to work together, and has taken over the Canadian market. The cartel's ruthlessness is beyond imagining, and Canada is its prime market. A terrifying read!!!!!
December 30, 2024
The Wolfpack" delves into the emergence of a new generation of criminals in Canada following the death of Montreal Mafia boss Vito Rizzuto in 2013. These millennials, known collectively as the Wolfpack, were not bound by traditional organized crime's codes and hierarchies but instead operated through the internet, social media, and modern technology, creating a more fluid and less geographically defined criminal network. The story of these millennial criminals shows the flaws of their operations and the unintended consequences of their actions
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January 3, 2022I've been trying to get into this for too long, so it's time to give up. I only got as far as 34% but it just wasn't speaking to me. Previous books by the author pulled me right in from the start but I can't say the same for this. I can't and won't rate it. Maybe I'll try again in a few months. Perhaps the times are just too dismal to read about the ruthlessness of drug cartels.
October 13, 2022
I enjoyed the content of the book; However I feel things could have been organized better. The Author is assuming readers know the wolfpack and other criminal organizations. I think he should have put a description of the wolfpack in the beginning of the book; Or included a list of important people at the start of the book. Overall I liked learning about the Canadian criminal underworld.
December 30, 2021
Two amazing investigative journalists uncovering the scum that are the new age millenial drug lords of Canada. Uncovering the mafia leaders lives in Vancouver, Montreal, Woodbridge, Niagara, Stouffville etc. Truly an eye opener. I hope this book inspires even more investigative journalists.
January 11, 2022
Love that one of the mobsters had the password to their encrypted chat network taped to his monitor. The liberal use of quotes from the gangster groupchats adds a lot. It really makes this book. Man
April 13, 2022
Though the drug politics are not of huge interest to me, I did find myself wrapped up in the extensive work required to bring down some of Canada's bad guys. Edwards and Najera have done great research and written the story in a way that keeps your attention even if you aren't a big true crime fan.
December 11, 2023
Like the book on the Bacon Brothers, this book recounts how a small group of upstart gangster wannabes tried to takeover drug running in Canada, only to come up against more established mobsters in Canada and in Mexico, who, one by one, sent them to their graves.
December 27, 2021
Interesting. It would be wonderful if people would stop using illegal drugs, then these drug dealers/smugglers would be out of business once and for all.
February 19, 2022
Interesting read about drug gangs in Canada and their connections to cartels.
April 6, 2022
A very real eye opener on how much the drug cartels have a hold in Canada with a new younger crew running the drugs in our country.
May 30, 2022
feels more like a collection of facts from a court disclosure. wish it had more colour and texture to it and the people it talks about
June 1, 2022
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews