Tooling across the American southwest in their giant Winnebago, Max and his nephew, Owen, seem harmless enough, the actorly old fellow spouting Shakespeare like a faucet while his young charge trots him through select tourist destinations along the road. But appearances, as you might imagine, can be deceiving.

Old Max is actually a master thief, and young Owen's summer vacation is his careful apprenticeship in a life of crime. Pulling heists is scary enough, but ominous signs point to the alarming fact that The Subtractors are on their tail, criminal bogeymen who stop at nothing to steal from other thieves. The road trip soon turns into a chase, by turns comic and horrifying. The most disturbing twist: Owen's slow realization that the person he loves most in the world is the one who can do him the most harm.


From the Hardcover edition.

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“One of Canada’s best crime novelists.”
— The Globe and Mail

“The reader won’t soon forget the cast from this top-notch thriller.”
— Ottawa Citizen

“A strange, enthralling, wonderful novel.”
— The Vancouver Sun


From the Hardcover edition.

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Visit Giles Blunt's website

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Giles Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario, and is the author of the acclaimed crime fiction series featuring John Cardinal. The most recent Cardinal novel, By the Time You Read This, was a Globe and Mail Best Book and was nominated for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the most prestigious crime fiction award in the world. After spending twenty years in New York City, Giles Blunt now makes his home in Toronto.


From the Hardcover edition.

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