Book ~ "Miss Montreal" (2013) Howard Shrier

From Goodreads ~ 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.

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.

Book ~ "Boston Cream" (2012) Howard Shrier

From Goodreads ~ David Fine is not the kind of guy to go missing. Or so his father tells PI Jonah Geller. A brilliant young surgeon-in-training, devout, devoted to his parents- - last seen two weeks ago leaving the Boston hospital where he worked. 

Still recovering from a concussion, Jonah and partner, Jenn Raudsepp, soon find out that David fled for his life after a vicious Irish crime boss tried to abduct him. And that he's more likely dead than alive. 

Then Jenn joins the ranks of the missing and Jonah needs help from former hit man, Dante Ryan, and two local wise guys as he races the clock to save her life, one step ahead of the Boston law. 

Jonah Geller is a private investigator in Toronto.  He gets hired by David Fine's parents, who live in Toronto, to find their son, a surgeon-in-training in Boston.  Jonah and his partner, Jenn, head to Boston to see what happened to David.

Disappearing is not characteristic of David, who is studious and serious.  In searching his apartment, Jonah discovers books on how to play poker, history on David's computer that he's played on poker sites and $5000 in cash.  As Jonah continues to dig, he discovers that David is running from Irish crime boss, Sean, and there are many in David's small circle who could be involved is his disappearance in one way or another.

When Jonah and Jenn get too close, Jenn is kidnapped and Jonah calls his friend, Dante Ryan, a former hit man who now owns a restaurant in Toronto, for help.  Ryan doesn't hesitate to do what he has to do.

This is the third in the Jonah Geller series (and the third that I've read by this author) and I enjoyed it.  I found it started a bit slow but picked up pretty quickly.  I liked the writing style.  It kept me wanting to read more to see what was going to happen.  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 look forward to reading more by this author.

Book ~ "Buffalo Jump" (2008) Howard Shrier

From Amazon ~ Toronto investigator Jonah Geller is at a low point in his life. A careless mistake on his last case left him with a bullet in his arm, a busted relationship and a spot in his boss's doghouse. Then he comes home to find notorious contract killer Dante Ryan in his apartment — not to kill him for butting into mob business, as Jonah fears, but to plead for Jonah's help.

Ryan has been ordered to wipe out an entire Toronto family, including a five-year-old boy. With a son of his own that age, Ryan can't bring himself to do it. He challenges Jonah to find out who ordered the hit. With help from his friend Jenn, Jonah investigates the boy's father — a pharmacist who seems to lead a good life — and soon finds himself ducking bullets and dodging blades from all directions. When the case takes Jonah and Ryan over the river to Buffalo, where good clean Canadian pills are worth their weight in gold, their unseen enemies move in for the kill.

I read Shrier's second Jonah book last month and liked it so I wanted to go back and read the first one.

I enjoyed this book ... I like mysteries and there aren't a lot that are based in Canada or Toronto.

I found, though, that there were a lot of characters and it was hard to keep everyone straight.

I like Jonah and I hope Shier continues with the series.

Book ~ "High Chicago" (2009) Howard Shrier

From Amazon ~ Toronto investigator Jonah Geller has opened his own agency, World Repairs, and he and his partner, Jenn Raudsepp, are immediately drawn into investigating the apparent suicide of a young girl — and the high-stakes world of construction and development on a long-neglected parcel of Toronto’s waterfront. 

Clues lead them to suspect that fabled real estate tycoon Simon Birk — the partner of the dead girl’s father — is killing people who get in the way of the project but the evidence isn’t rock solid. And Jonah has to craft an audacious plan to take down one of Chicago’s most powerful men.

There aren't many stories that are based in Toronto so I was drawn to this one ... especially because it was a mystery.

It took me a couple chapters to get into it but once I did, I found it interesting.

This is the second in the series so I'm going to go back and read the first one.

I find it curious that male investigators must have lesbian partners ... why?