Iced is a far-reaching, absorbing book about organized crime in Canada. Anybody who thinks Canada has a mostly law-abiding history will find ample proof that we have been home to as many miscreants and criminals as anywhere else. Beginning with the pirate trade in the 17th century and concluding with a chapter called the Return of the Italians about organized crime in Montreal, Iced attempts to cover the full spectrum of crime in Canada.

Stephen Schneider is an associate professor in the department of sociology and criminology at St. Mary’s University in Halifax, and his book occasionally suffers from an odd shift in perspective. Iced swings from reading like a novel to a dry academic treatise and, at times, the book is a bit confusing. Schneider intersperses first-hand accounts and narrative pieces throughout the chapters without always listing the authors. It’s hard to tell if he wrote all the sections himself or included primary sources. Omissions like this make Iced seem like more of a coffee-table book than a scholarly work.

Also unusual, particularly as the author is a professor, Iced doesn’t contain a full bibliography, which would be helpful for readers who want more detail on certain topics. A glossary and index are included, but without a bibliography, Iced misses out on being a comprehensive piece of reference material.

This is a big, dense read. Topics range from the opium trade to the rise of organized gangs in Canadian cities. Iced is filled with anecdotes and stories about criminal activity that make for fascinating reading. His account of a bank robbery in New Hazelton, B.C. reads like an authentic Wild West shoot-out and provides period detail about a unique moment in western Canadian history. Stories like these enliven the period details in the book and bring history to life, but details are sometimes missing, like the date of the bank robbery.

Equally fascinating is his description of modern Canadian crime. Schneider spends several pages covering the rise and growth of outlaw motorcycle gangs in Canada, and makes a good argument that motorcycle gangs flourish in Canada due to our unique mix of Canadian laws and culture.

Iced should appeal to true-crime fans and serious sociology students alike. At almost 600 pages, it is a meaty read, but for those interested in Canadian history or those just looking for a gruesome tale, Iced mostly delivers the goods.