“Gunfights and well-choreographed scenes of carnage abound . . . This is pure, visceral action.” — Publishers Weekly

Shortlisted for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel

“You set me loose. Everything that happened was because you saw fit to use me as bait. And what was I on the hook for? You just wanted a bust you could attach your name to so you could get ahead. Don’t try to pretend that you’re Dudley Do-Right. You’re just an opportunist with a badge.”

They should have known better than to look for him. Wilson had been gone for two years until his old boss forced him to come home to be a grinder again. Wilson did the job he was blackmailed into doing and settled things, his way, with everyone. He was free — for two minutes.

A random car accident destroys everything and puts Wilson into the crosshairs again, but this time the gun is in the hands of a cop. Justice isn’t blind in the city; it’s as bent as the tip of a bullet. Dirty cops are using Wilson as bait and the only way for him to stay out of cuffs is to help put someone worse in them. Wilson picks a fight with the Russian mob and lures both cops and robbers into his own trap. Everyone is crooked in the city, but not everyone is a survivor.

In Plain Sight is the third book featuring reluctant mob-enforcer Wilson, following Darwin’s Nightmare (2008) and Grinder (2009).

“Readers who like their mean streets really mean will be thoroughly satisfied.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review, on Grinder

Mike Knowles lives in Hamilton, Ontario. He is the author of the Wilson Mystery series: Darwin’s Nightmare, Grinder, In Plain Sight, and Never Play Another Man’s Game.

Mike Knowles' profile page

• Short-listed, Arthur Ellis Award - Best Crime Novel

“Hamilton author Mike Knowles performs character analysis with a Colt 45 in his hand … The writing is cool and poised: abrupt, punchy dialogue, economical storytelling. Knowles strikes the emotional core of a setting with one consuming burst of words … In Plain Sight comes at you like a tsunami — hard, relentless, fast. Knowles is exploring invigorating new pathways in Canadian thriller-noir writing.” — Hamilton Spectator

“Gunfights and well-choreographed scenes of carnage abound … This is pure, visceral action.” —Publishers Weekly

“If any book deserved the description of gritty crime drama, it is In Plain Sight by Mike Knowles. Written in narrative style with dialog only when necessary, you get directly into the mind of Wilson who is a very good, bad guy. This is a vicious, bloody and violent story with the Russian mob, crooked cops, and people who get in their way.” — Book Visions

“Knowles’s prose is appropriately terse and utilitarian, enhancing the grinder’s menace. Wilson is a bad guy you can root for, because the other bad guys — not to mention the cops — are so much worse … Wilson’s raw brutality draws readers in, and the book’s frenetic pace is enough to keep them hooked until the bloody climax.” — Quill and Quire