THE RELUCTANT CRIMINAL by Jan Jongstra

The Reluctant Criminal is a crime novel in which the main character, Frank, without knowing, gets involved in an illegal trading scheme. Frank is a modest data entry clerk in a Toronto import/export company. The company unexpectedly promotes Frank to an enviable position in Amsterdam clearing containers through customs. The containers are filled with merchandise supplied by a Shanghai-based wholesaler. Frank is suspicious about the goods in the containers, but he enjoys his new job that comes with a big increase in salary, a free apartment in downtown Amsterdam, and frequent travel all over Europe. Two violent company enforcers, capable of torture and murder, discourage Frank from asking questions about his work. Even after he finds out that the company fills the containers with illegal merchandise, he is unwilling to quit his job and reluctantly continues his work. But after discovering that some goods he helps to import into Europe put peoples’ lives in danger, Frank pairs up with friends to develop a plan to stop the illegal trade. Frank and his friends need to be creative to avoid the attention of the company enforcers. In The Reluctant Criminal˂/b˃, we see Frank develop from a modest, low-level administrative clerk to a decisive young man who wants to put things right. This transformation unfolds through a maze of twists and turns that keep the readers guessing, but is never confusing.