Almost Criminal

by E.R. Brown

Overview

2014 Edgar Award - Mystery Writers of America — Shortlisted, Best Paperback Original

Medicinal marijuana can be murder.

Charming, wealthy Randle Kennedy has a secret: he’s British Columbia’s most prolific producer of boutique marijuana. He’s developed strains of B.C. Bud to please the most sophisticated palates and produce any desired effect, from a light contemplative buzz to the most mind-warping stone. His medical varieties offer relief for conditions ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. Come legalization, he’ll be the first on the market with marijuana’s answer to single-malt Scotch. Until that day, he runs a tight operation with terrorist-cell security.

Tate MacLane is brilliant, miserable, and broke. Since graduating from high school at age 14, he’s failed at university, failed to support his family, failed at everything except making a superb caffe latte.

Randle wants a fresh face to front his transactions. Tate desperately needs a mentor and yearns for respect. And money …

Then there are the bikers, the muscle with the cross-border connections that Randle needs to bring his product to the American market. Soon Tate finds out that it’s harder to get out of the business than to get in.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781459705852
Publisher:	Dundurn Press
Publication date:	04/20/2013
Series:	A Crime in Cascadia Mystery , #1
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
File size:	653 KB

About the Author

E.R. Brown is an award-winning advertising writer whose fiction has been heard on CBC Radio 3 and seen in national magazines. Born in Montreal, he lives in Vancouver.

E.R. Brown is an award-winning advertising writer whose fiction has been heard on CBC Radio 3 and seen in national magazines. Born in Montreal, he lives in Vancouver.

What People are Saying About This

Rick Mofina bestselling author of They Disappeared

E.R.Brown hits it out of the park with this wonderful page-turner - great characters and storytelling evocative of Elmore Leonard.

Deryn Collier author of Confined Spaces

Almost Criminal is an intriguing combination of a coming-of-age story and a crime novel. Brown's Tate MacLane is an innocent who can bluff his way through most situations. He's also desperate for money and eminently likeable - in other words the perfect tour guide for a journey into the secret world of B.C. bud.

Robin Spano author of the Clare Vengel Undercover novels

Almost Criminal is a wildly fun read. The concept is original, characters are vivid and fleshed-out, and the story surprised me at each turn, with its unlikely teen hero turning conventional morals upside down. E.R. Brown is an exciting addition to the Canadian crime scene.

Deryn Collier

Almost Criminal is an intriguing combination of a coming-of-age story and a crime novel. Brown's Tate MacLane is an innocent who can bluff his way through most situations. He's also desperate for money and eminently likeable - in other words the perfect tour guide for a journey into the secret world of B.C. bud.

From the Publisher

Almost Criminal is a wildly fun read. The concept is original, characters are vivid and fleshed-out, and the story surprised me at each turn, with its unlikely teen hero turning conventional morals upside down. E.R. Brown is an exciting addition to the Canadian crime scene.

Almost Criminal is an intriguing combination of a coming-of-age story and a crime novel. Brown's Tate MacLane is an innocent who can bluff his way through most situations. He's also desperate for money and eminently likeable - in other words the perfect tour guide for a journey into the secret world of B.C. bud.

E.R.Brown hits it out of the park with this wonderful page-turner - great characters and storytelling evocative of Elmore Leonard.

Robin Spano

Almost Criminal is a wildly fun read. The concept is original, characters are vivid and fleshed-out, and the story surprised me at each turn, with its unlikely teen hero turning conventional morals upside down. E.R. Brown is an exciting addition to the Canadian crime scene.

Rick Mofina

E.R.Brown hits it out of the park with this wonderful page-turner - great characters and storytelling evocative of Elmore Leonard.

Editorial Reviews

The book is impeccably researched . . .

Quill & Quire

. . . the novel is instructive for its insights into the finances of the grow op business.

Toronto Star

. . . some surprising revelations and resolutions lead to an enjoyable read.

From the Publisher

This is funny and twisted in the same vein as Breaking Bad (but very Canadian on the crime) with tons of great Lower Mainland vibes. This is Brown’s debut and it’s an auspicious one.

The Globe and Mail

Well-researched and convincingly told, ALMOST CRIMINAL is a revealing look at the dark world of the illicit pot business from the perspectives of grow-ops, distributors, users, and the gangs that lie behind them.

Reviewing the Evidence.com

If you took a gritty crime novel and a coming-of-age story and squashed them together, you might get something very close to this excellent book.

Booklist [starred review]