This police procedural set in 1970s Montreal is “an enjoyable read . . . that immerses readers in a tumultuous period in Canadian history” (Publishers Weekly)

A high-profile heist at the 1976 Olympics and the deaths of two teenagers baffle the police, and Constable Eddie Dougherty must prove himself

In the weeks before Montreal is set to host the 1976 Summer Olympics, the police are bolstering security to prevent another catastrophe like the ’72 games in Munich. But it isn’t tight enough to stop nearly three million dollars being stolen in a bold daytime Brink’s truck robbery.

As the high-profile heist continues to baffle the police, Constable Eddie Dougherty gets a chance to prove his worth as a detective on another case. He’s assigned to assist in a Quebec suburb investigating the deaths of two teenagers returning from a rock concert across the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Were they mugged and thrown over the side? Or was it a murder–suicide? With tensions running high in the city and his career at stake, Dougherty is about to confront one of the most challenging cases of his life.

John McFetridge co-authored Below the Line with Scott Albert, who, like John, had spent many years working in the film industry. John is also the author of the Toronto Series crime fiction novels Dirty Sweet, Everybody Knows this is Nowhere, and Swap. He has written the screenplays The Shrew in the Park and The Protector, the CBC radio drama, Champions, as well as episodes for the CBS/CTV television series The Bridge. John lives in Toronto.

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“Eddie Dougherty is the kind of guy who grows on you, and now, in John McFetridge’s third Dougherty novel, Eddie is in full bloom as a solid character and an intuitively smart cop … A McFetridge book at his excellent best.” — Toronto Star

“Dougherty is a believable, complicated and yearning character in another fine McFetridge achievement.” — London Free Press

“Dougherty is once again a basically decent working-class bilingual cop — who, it must be pointed out, sometimes beats information out of lowlifes — who serves as our window on our unknown or forgotten socio-political history, educating us slowly while awakening to the real world around him and solving crimes in another superb McFetridge whodunit.” — Winnipeg Free Press

“Several things can be said about One or the Other. It’s a crime story, it’s a historical novel, it’s charming — and above all it’s utterly, extremely Montrealish … The cover copy calls One or the Other a mystery and in fact Dougherty spends a lot of time investigating a killing. But the book reads more like a sweet love letter to the Montreal of four decades ago.” — National Post

“McFetridge seamlessly weaves these period details into a fast-paced narrative … This is an enjoyable read brimming with colorful characters that immerses readers in a tumultuous period in Canadian history.” — Publishers Weekly