Remembering Michael Van Rooy

Fans of Canadian crime fiction were shocked this week at the death of up-and-coming Winnipeg author Michael Van Rooy. Van Rooy died of an apparent heart attack on Thursday: he was 42. He was traveling on a book tour in support of his latest novel at the time of his death.

Van Rooy was the author of the Monty Haaviko thriller series. The series focuses on a ex-con who has gotten out of the game and wants nothing more than to settle down and live a quiet life: but his past, and circumstance seem to conspire against him. Set in the author’s home town of Winnipeg the series contained three titles, starting with An Ordinary Decent Criminal and was praised in reviews in Canada and the US (including the Globe and Mail, Booklist magazine and Kirkus magazine). The books are described as fast paced, noir fiction with a touch of humour, with the main character Monty Haaviko at the centre of the stories.

The other two books in the series are Your Friendly Neighbourhood Criminal and A Criminal to Remember.