Gloves Off - Johan af Ström

When justice fails, the fight begins.

Exiled boxer Marco Carreira thought he'd left Montreal behind for good. Rebuilding his life in Havana, far from the city that let his son's killer walk free, he wants distance. Then a Mexican cartel pulls him back with a job that's supposed to be simple. Clean. Fast. But it never is.

Meanwhile, undercover cop Valérie Rochefort is fighting to dismantle Montreal's criminal networks from the inside, just as her teenage daughter vanishes into the night. When she finds out a cartel has crossed the border, a name from her past resurfaces: Marco Carreira.

As Marco races to finish the job and Valérie searches for her daughter, their paths collide in the city's darkest corners. What they uncover leads them into the heart of a system where judges, prosecutors, and criminals sit at the same table. To survive, they'll have to choose: the law, or what's right.

Gloves Off is a gritty, emotional noir thriller about two broken souls and the cost of fighting back for those you love when the system itself is the enemy. Set against the electric backdrop of Montreal and Havana, in the tradition of Stieg Larsson, Michael Connelly, and Dennis Lehane.

It was written by someone who knows exactly what it costs to fight a broken system.

In 2017, Johan survived a violent murder attempt that left him in a wheelchair. While his attacker walked away practically free, he rebuilt his career, returned to running 365 days a year, earned a Cannes Lion and a Grand Clio Award, and fought for justice for over six years, including three in the Quebec Superior Court.

Gloves Off isn't inspired by the justice system. It was written inside it.