Cover

Half Title

Copyright

Copyright © 2019 Dundurn Press. Originally published in French under the title De vengeance. Copyright © 2017 Les éditions de L’instant même. Published by Dundurn Press Limited under arrangement with Les éditions L’instant même, 237 rue Louise, Longueuil, QC, Canada. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (except for brief passages for purpose of review) without the prior permission of Dundurn Press. Permission to photocopy should be requested from Access Copyright.

All characters in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

The translator, Pablo Strauss, thanks Aleshia Jenson for an illuminating first edit, and Kate Unrau for her copy edit.

Acquiring editor: Scott Fraser | Editor: Kate Unrau | Cover illustration and design: Sophie Paas-Lang Printer: Marquis

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: Of vengeance / J.D. Kurtness ; translated by Pablo Strauss.
Other titles: De vengeance. English
Names: Kurtness, J. D., 1981- author. | Strauss, Pablo, translator.
Description: Translation of: De vengeance.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190053348 | Canadiana (ebook) 20190053364 | ISBN 9781459743755 (softcover) | ISBN 9781459743762 (PDF) | ISBN 9781459743779 (EPUB)
Classification: LCC PS8621.U785 D413 2019 | DDC C843/.6—dc23

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We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program. We also acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Ontario, through the Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit and Ontario Creates, and the Government of Canada. We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the National Translation Program for Book Publishing, an initiative of the Roadmap for Canada’s Official Languages 2013–2019: Education, Immigration, Communities, for our translation activities.

Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in this book. The author and the publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any references or credits in subsequent editions.

The publisher is not responsible for websites or their content unless they are owned by the publisher.

Printed and bound in Canada.

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Dedication

Revenge is sweet.

Contents

1 Standard Introduction

2 Fiset

3 Spray-Foam Insulation

4 Early Days

5 Good Dogs

6 Big City

7 Walks

8 Out on Parole

9 Humidex

10 Indian Summer

1

Standard Introduction

Let’s be honest: Who hasn’t fantasized about shooting someone in the face with a hunting rifle? It doesn’t matter why. In the heat of the moment, one reason’s as good as the next. When the reasons still seem good after enough time has passed, I take action.

Every day I look a murderer in the eye. There she is, through the looking glass. An inverted image of the same person standing on my side of the mirror. I’m a murderer; the murderer’s face is my face. Voilà. I know exactly what a murderer looks like. Hey, friend.