John Lawrence Reynolds

They generate fear, suspicion, and—above all—fascination. Secret societies thrive among us, yet they remain shrouded in mystery. Their secrecy suggests, to many, sacrilege or crime, and their loyalties are often accused of undermining governments and tipping the scales of justice. The Freemasons, for example, hold more seats of power in the U.S. government than any other organization. No fewer than sixteen presidents have declared their Masonic affiliation, and there may have been more. Secret societies have infiltrated pop culture as well. Celebrity members of Kabbalah include Madonna, Demi Moore, and Elizabeth Taylor, among others. From the Mafia and the Yakuza to the Priory of Sion, Skull and Bones and the Templars, Reynolds offers an illuminating and entertaining exploration of the stories—confirmed and fabricated—that surround these societies, as well as provides detailed information on their origins, initiations, rituals, and secret signs. Dispelling myths and providing gripping revelations—such as a direct historical link between the Assassins of the Middle Ages and today’s Al Qaeda—Secret Societies gives us a smart, surprising look at the best known and often least understood covert organizations.

Inside the Freemasons, the Yakuza, Skull and Bones, and the World's Most Notorious Secret Organizations

Secret Societies

Alex Caine

A follow-up to Alex Caine's bestselling Befriend and Betray and the third in his trilogy about big biker gangs, Angel Dust focuses on the Hells Angels. The Angels have built an empire, starting from their days as saddle tramps riding Harleys to becoming multi-millionaires driving high-end SUVs. The organization has moved deeper and deeper into legitimate business, particularly in the entertainment industry, real estate, currency exchange, and online gambling and pornography. Though much has been previously written about the Hells Angels, no author to date has had Caine's combination of experience as an undercover agent and his extensive contacts within gangs and law enforcement. Caine delves into this meteoric ascent and the consequences it has had for the Angels as they transform themselves from outlaw bikers into a new mafia. Using his contacts in domestic and international police forces and Interpol, Caine exposes the inner workings of the club, shows what it's become, and what is on the gang's horizon.

How the Outlaw Biker Gang Became a Criminal Empire

Angel Dust

He was Bay Street's newest whiz kid, an ambitious young man from British Columbia who arrived begging for a job, any job, at a stock brokerage. Within five years, Michael Holoday was a Managing Partner of First Marathon Securities, trading millions of dollars for clients who considered him a generous friend, and an investment genius.In reality, Holoday was the investment industry's most outrageous embezzler, who stole and spent over $20 million, leaving friends and family members emotionally and financially broken.Free Rider traces Holoday's fraud, and the investigation that led to his imprisonment. Included are details of the astonishing excesses of Holoday's escapades and their impact on investors, who discovered the man they had welcomed into their lives as a trusted advisor was a common thief in an Armani suit. Unlike any other tale of embezzlement and fraud you've read before, and paced like a mystery novel, Free Rider will shake every reader's faith in the trust, integrity and principles of the Canadian investment industry.

How a Bay Street Whiz Kid Stole and Spent $20 Million

Free Rider

A beloved local priest brutally murdered in his own church. A cloistered monk in a peaceful seminary shot at point-blank range. A Jesuit teacher slain at night in his classroom. Facing a brutal serial killer with his sights set firmly on the Catholic diocese, Boston homicide detective Lieutenant Joe McGuire—one half of the best homicide team in Boston’s history—is in a race against time to find a killer who seemingly leaves no trace. With the help of the local diocese, McGuire’s investigation leads him to the monstrous, decades-old betrayal of an innocent child. But will McGuire be able to find the killer before he strikes again? The Man Who Murdered God, the first novel in the thrilling Joe McGuire mystery series, won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. It is followed by And Leave Her Lay Dying, Whisper Death, Gypsy Sins, Solitary Dancer, and Haunted Hearts. Praise for The Man Who Murdered God “. . . a compelling and chilling mystery . . . ”—The London Free Press

Joe McGuire Mystery Series

The Man Who Murdered God

Revised and Updated Over 6 million Canadians control more than $500 billion in RRSP and RRIF investments . . . or do they? Do RRSP owners support an industry that feeds on the fear and ignorance of Canadians ill-prepared to manage their retirement assets? While claiming professional status, financial advisors are salespeople often more closely aligned with mutual fund marketers and bond dealers than with their own clients. What's more, the industry insists on a policy of self-regulation, unhindered by direct government supervision. The Naked Investor sounds a wake-up call for Canadians. Through real-life stories, it exposes the dark side of the investment industry, revealing the tactics of greedy brokers and advisors, voracious banks and mutual fund operators, and outright embezzlers. Written with sly humour, The Naked Investor will disturb both an industry that appears more focused on building wealth for itself than for its clients and RRSP investors whose trust too often is misplaced—with devastating consequences.

How To Beat The Odds With The Investment Industry

Naked Investor Revised Edition

Leaving behind the violence of the Boston streets and the politics of the Boston Police Department, homicide detective Joe McGuire is settled in a new life in the Bahamas. When Aunt Cora, his closest living relative, dies McGuire returns home to attend her funeral and settle her estate. McGuire quickly discovers that closing Cora’s affairs is anything but simple. And when suspicions of murder provoke an attempt on his own life, McGuire is forced to dig into his aunt’s past, revealing crimes long past and covered up . . . but not forgotten. Gypsy Sins is the fourth novel in the Joe McGuire mystery series, and won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Mystery Novel. It is followed by Solitary Dancer. Praise for Gypsy Sins “...a sly and ingenious story that keeps one’s attention throughout all its twists and turns.”—Books in Canada

Gypsy Sins

Provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world's most notorious secret societies, chronicling their origins, history, initiations, rituals, beliefs, activities, secret signs, members, and influence.

Frank O'Dea

For entrepreneur Frank O’Dea, it was a long road from street life to the high life. Born in Montreal to an upper-middle class family, Frank’s life took a downturn as a young man when he was sexually assaulted by a priest. He began drinking at an early age and was soon destitute, living in degradation on the streets of Toronto. By way of a sympathetic employer, the Salvation Army, and Alcoholics Anonymous, O’Dea quit drinking and started a small business that developed into the Second Cup coffee chain. Over the years, his philanthropic activities extended to AIDS fundraising, child literacy in the Third World, and landmine removal. His message is simple: HOPE, VISION, ACTION.

When All You Have Is Hope

Roving from the parched wadis of the Middle East, to an isolated farmhouse in rural Quebec, to the crowed boutiques of Beverly Hills, master storyteller and award-winning writer John Lawrence Reynolds explores the most notorious secret societies in history, probing their origins and activities, and revealing secrets maintained and distorted over hundred of years. Reynolds peels away the layers of speculation, paranoia and fear, and shines a brilliant light on individuals and organizations that have generated suspicion and terror over several centuries. He treats the reader to a behind-the-scenes look at rituals and initiations, artifacts and secret signs, influences and dangers. And in the telling, he uncovers a rogue's gallery of assassins, con artists, thieves, racists, drug smugglers, adulterers, pranksters and crooks. But where does the truth lie? Does global power actually control the election of world leaders? Has an ancient mystical religion really been reduced to a length of red string selling for a dollar an inch? Are some secret societies little more than a group of boys playing at secret handshakes? From the Assassins to the Yakuza, from Freemasons to Bonesmen, shadow people and their secrets have flourished throughout history. Some fear them, some dismiss them, but everyone is fascinated by them. Secret societies fuel our imagination, and their shadows continue to fall across our daily lives.

Inside History's Most Notorious Secret Societies

Shadow People

Richard George

The former president of Suncor discusses how his company became the second-largest publicly traded corporation in the country while discussing the future of the oils sands and the energy industry.

Suncor, the Oil Sands and the Future of Energy

Sun Rise

It's almost summer in small town Port Ainslie. Or is it? Temperatures are so far below normal that Police Chief Maxine Benson and her team are wearing sweaters. But is it cold enough to freeze the body of the man found in a ditch on the outskirts of town one morning? Maxine starts to investigate, but she is elbowed aside by the mostly-male provincial police force so she takes charge on her own. Soon she's visiting the victim's cold-hearted widow, tracking the widow's mysterious brother, and confronting the killer alone in a tract of forest. Will Maxine's skills solve this twisting tale of a case?

A Maxine Benson Mystery

Murder Below Zero

A true tale of evil lurking beneath the surface of a sleepy Smoky Mountains town. In November of 1994, a black Jeep carrying the battered body of a young man plunged over the side of a cliff in the Smoky Mountains. The discovery of that body launched a criminal investigation that revealed a shocking tale of tawdry ambition, amoral sex and a spectacularly brutal murder. Shayne Mills Lovera was, on the surface, an all-American girl - beautiful, popular, and the step-daughter of a prominent man. Gatlinburg and its sister towns of Pigeon Forge and Sevierville were, on the surface, classic American small towns - pretty and God-fearing. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The towns dealt in hypocrisy and hid drug dealers and shady deaths. The girl hid a black heart and used manipulation and sex to persuade a young man to help her murder her husband. In Mad Notions, award-winning mystery writer John Lawrence Reynolds peels away the facades of the towns and their people to create a chilling portrait of the dark underbelly of the American dream. The story is as gripping as it is chilling - a fast-paced, suspenseful read destined to become a true crime classic.

A True Tale of Murder and Mayhem

Mad Notions

"I’d rather laugh in bad taste than cry in good taste." That’s how Josie Marshall deals with the death of her detective husband, Gabe, found naked outside their home on the beach with a bullet in his brain. Everyone calls it suicide. Josie knows it isn’t . . . but fears it could be. After all, she had provided Gabe with a motive. The clues are so strong that even Josie begins to believe Gabe shot himself. But when a horrific slaying occurs literally at her feet, she knows Gabe was murdered, and her determination to prove it carries her toward dark corners of the beach strip and exposes the darker sides of its residents. Fending off her fears with humour and outrage, she encounters a drug-crazed drifter, an organized-crime boss with romance on his mind, a woman with a murderous past and a pervert who’s been frequenting her garden shed. When a chance remark leads Josie to the astonishing truth of Gabe’s death, her story takes a shocking turn that no one could have seen coming.

John Lawrence Reynolds

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