Hollister Thrillers

Category: Characters

All Characters within the book.

  • Why Did I Choose to Make My Main Antagonist Albanian?

    When researching human trafficking for my novel Hollister- The Corridor, I had my choice of criminal gangs to choose from for my main antagonist.  I chose Albanian because they are now one of the fastest growing criminal organizations in the world.

    Largely unheard of until the end of the Balkan wars in 2000, the Albanian mob has quickly expanded throughout North and South America and Europe.  Following the war, which devastated huge swaths of the former Yugoslavia and left many people stateless, a wave of Albanian refugees flooded recipient countries.  Unfortunately, among these were many with criminal ties to Albania, Macedonia and the former Kosovo.

    War has a way of creating its own problems that extend long after the cessation of battles. 

    Following WWII, scores of former American GI’s returned to their country feeling lost and abandoned.  They became the roots of today’s Hell’s Angels which was formed in 1948 in California.  Today, Hells’ Angels are the largest and most international of all outlaw motorcycle gangs in the world, with chapters in 66 different countries.

    At the conclusion of the Vietnam war, a mass exodus of Vietnamese refugees emigrated to the West.  Faced with systemic challenges including a lack of employment and discrimination, some of the younger men joined criminal gangs which terrorized major cities throughout the 1980’s.  Their ties to existing smuggling routes in Southeast Asia made them key players in the heroin trade.

    More recently, some refugees from Somalia, Venezuela and Colombia, all countries with recent conflicts, have added to the diaspora of criminal organizations.

    All of these criminal organizations play some role in the prevalence of human- and sex-trafficking in Canada, however the Albanian mob stands out for several reasons.  Not the least is their ability to collaborate with other criminal organizations including Italians and OMG’s, as I wrote in the novel.

    My imagination was stirred when I ran across a news story from 2012.  A major Albanian crime boss fugitive from New Jersey, Kutjin “Timmy” Lika, was captured in Toronto after an international manhunt and his being featured on an episode of America’s Most Wanted.

    When he was arrested, Lika was living in a second-floor apartment near Eglinton and Mount Pleasant Road.  He was described as “disheveled” and no longer living high on the hog.  Readers of The Corridor will recognize that I “borrowed” this story in reverse.  My character Dobromir flees to New Jersey and evades arrest for several years before he is found living in a second-floor apartment over shops.

    While creating the character of Milos Radovan, I knew I wanted to make him somewhat conflicted.  Had the war in the Balkans not occurred, Milos may very well have become the corporate executive he aspired to be. Instead, necessity made him a soldier, and he learned an entirely different set of skills.  When he emigrated to Canada, he found few legal ways to survive and turned to his connections in the Albanian community.  I don’t think he set out to be a master criminal.  He made choices along the way that led him to that position over a period of 20 years. 

    In making him gay, I wanted to contrast his need to hide his true self from the world with his somewhat undeserved reputation as a ruthless monster.  In the end, Milos simply wants to find happiness, as most of us do.  That he chose the path in life that he did predestined him to never achieve that aspiration.

    As I pointed out in the story, of the millions of immigrants who have come to Canada over the last 150 years, a very small number resort to crime, often victimizing their own countrymen in the process.  Thankfully, as time passed, each new wave of immigrants has become part of the vast multicultural diaspora that makes Canada such a great country in which to live.  So, while I wrote about the Albanian mob, they represent a tiny percentage of the thousands of former Albanians and Kosovans who have made Canada their home.

  • Why Stopping Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs Should Matter to You

    Many years ago, when I was still a teenager, I played clarinet for a time with the 48th Highlanders Military Band in Toronto.  My Nana Northey lived in an ancient walkup apartment on Main Street at Gerrard that she had occupied since the 1930’s.  At the time, the area was a mix of retail, industrial and working-class residential.  Beneath her apartment was an old storefront that had been turned into a clubhouse for one of the criminal motorcycle gangs active at the time.  Nana proudly described the men downstairs as polite and friendly.  She couldn’t understand why people said they were evil. She called them “her boys”.  They helped her bring her groceries up the stairs and always greeted her warmly when she came and went. 

    I stayed with Nana for a week in 1973 while performing with the 48th in the military tattoo at the CNE. One day, she took me down to show me off to the bikers in my scarlet tunic, kilt and feather bonnet. 

    Not long after, it was reported that they had been arrested for kidnapping and gang-raping a young girl in the clubhouse.  From that day forward, Nana refused to engage with them.  They moved out shortly thereafter.

    Nana’s misplaced perceptions about “her boys downstairs” is not unique.  There are a lot of misconceptions about outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMG’s) stemming in part from confusion between them and the 99% of motorcycle riders and clubs that are law-abiding.  While they may look alike, with their leather, patches and general appearance, OMG’s are neither benevolent or law-abiding.  One of the reasons it is hard for law-enforcement to infiltrate OMG’s is because becoming a member requires the candidate to commit a criminal act before acceptance.

    In direct contrast to most criminal organizations which tend to shun the spotlight, OMG’s operate openly, even flaunting their membership through their look, their patches and their mode of transportation.  Some clubs go so far as to maintain social media sites they use to promote club expansions and activities. 

    In my novel, Hollister: The Corridor, one of the main plot points revolves around a fictional OMG called the Road Ninjas.  When I sit down to write, I spend a lot of time doing research.  Because I was interested in writing about human trafficking and in particular human sex-trafficking, I read everything I could find on the subject, including who the key players are.  While virtually every organized criminal organization in Canada devotes at least some of their effort towards prostitution and sexploitation, OMG’s occupy a central role. 

    There are ten outlaw gangs operating in Ontario with an estimated total membership of 1,000 spread across 73 chapters.  It doesn’t sound like a lot of members, but they are among the most active and violent components of organized crime in the province, and their fingerprints are all over drug trafficking, human trafficking, gun smuggling, extortion, white and blue-collar crime, prostitution and the towing industry, among others.

    The three largest are Hell’s Angels, the Outlaws and the Banditos.

    OMG’s are tightly organized and the larger clubs often align with smaller regional organizations, like the fictional Road Ninjas, to perform specific tasks and control larger territories.

    Recently, the OPP Biker Enforcement Task force expressed growing concern about the apparent resurgence of illegal biker activity in the province.  Harley Guindon, son of the original founder of Satan’s Choice, relaunched that brand with several reported new chapters springing up across the country.  That development should alarm all of us because Satan’s Choice notoriously engaged in large-scale turf battles with other clubs during the 1970’s resulting in significant violence including multiple murders, arson and bombings.  What has been a relatively quiet period of inter-club rivalry could be heating up fast.

    Although the provincial police laid more charges in 2024 than in the previous two years combined, it remains to be seen whether that was the result of better enforcement or simply increased activity by OMG’s operating in Ontario.

  • How Canada Got It Wrong…

    We find ourselves in an anomalous, some would say bizarre, situation where almost everything related to prostitution has been regulated by the criminal law except the transaction itself. The appellants’ argument then, more precisely stated, is that in criminalizing so many activities surrounding the act itself, Parliament has made prostitution de facto illegal if not de jure illegal.

    -Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Ontario

    When the Supreme Court of Canada struck down sections of the law governing prostitution, the federal government passed a new bill, C-36, which it called  the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act.  The intent of the act was to criminalize some aspects of prostitution while decriminalizing prostitution itself.  The legislation was patterned after what is known as The Nordic Model and criminalizes clients, third parties and many of the ways sex workers operate.  The intent was to discourage the purchase of sexual services by criminalizing the “johns” and the brothel owners, but not the prostitutes.  That this change was unfolding at the same time the internet was expanding simply compounded the problem. The result was to drive prostitution further underground, off the streets and onto the web, the dark web and into multiple pseudo-sexual enterprises that operate within the grey areas of the law, including escort services, strip clubs and body rub parlors.

    The new legislation also failed to address the full spectrum of those who work in the sex industry, focusing solely on females while ignoring males and transgender sex workers, leaving them essentially unprotected.

    In my novel, Hollister: The Corridor, I make the point that these conditions leave a lot of room for interpretation.  In practice, they virtually ensure that prostitution takes place in secret, behind closed doors, with no discernible impact on the prevalence of prostitution at all.

    The current situation makes it inevitable that organized crime finds the provision of prostitution services lucrative.  Because it is forced to exist in hiding, it facilitates human trafficking, physical abuse and sexual exploitation, including of juveniles.

    There are parallels to the debate around cannabis that played out over the last decade and resulted in widespread decriminalization of its use, cultivation and distribution.  While it did not stop the use of cannabis, it regulates, taxes and monitors the distribution of it, largely disincentivizing organized crime from operating in that space.

    There are several models in Europe that, while not perfect, better address the problems associated with prostitution. Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark allow open prostitution with strict licensing requirements for brothels and workers.  Other countries-Greece, Poland and Spain have legalized prostitution while banning brothels and Portugal and Czechia have removed all restrictions entirely.

     In The Netherlands, where brothels are legal, they are strictly regulated.  They are permitted to operate in specific zones, away from schools and churches.  Prostitutes are licensed by the state and regularly monitored for STD’s.  Most importantly, they operate in protected, secure environments that are inspected regularly.  Workers are covered by existing employment legislation, pay income taxes and benefit from state social services.

    In 1967, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, then Justice Minister of Canada, famously said there’s no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.  While he was referring to homosexuality, abortion and divorce at the time, his message is still appropriate.  Centuries of criminalization of prostitutes and their clients failed to stop the practice anywhere in the world.  

    The roots of anti-prostitution laws are found in both historic conceptions of morality in organized religion and more recently in benevolent attempts to prevent exploitation of vulnerable people in society.  Unfortunately, in the latter case, those attempts have, more often than not, increased rather than diminished the incidences of exploitation.

    Some of the worst examples are in the strict theocratic countries like Iran, Mauritania and Afghanistan where prostitution and child exploitation flourish despite officially significant penalties up to and including death for both women and men.  More often, the women, because of their prevailing status as second-class.

    If Canada wants to get serious about stopping sexploitation, whether of minors or adults, it will need to undertake a serious reexamination of existing legislation to bring prostitution out of the shadows.

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  • A Q&A With the Author

    What inspired you to write this book?

    My childhood aspiration was to be an investigative journalist.  After a 40-year career in media, none of it as a journalist, I created my alter ego Frank Hollister who does the things I wished I had been able to do. Now, at age 71, I am writing about the things that are important to me like human-trafficking and childhood sexploitation through the eyes of my character.

    What is the central theme of Hollister- The Corridor?

    The novel deals with the intersection of organized crime with human trafficking and sex-trafficking, in particular.  My choice of an Albanian mobster as the antagonist stems from the fact that they are now one of the most active, brutal and growing criminal organizations in the world today. 

    Where Does the Story Take Place?

    I set the story in Hollister’s hometown of London, Ontario and along the 401 Corridor that runs between Windsor, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.  London is a place where I lived briefly in the 1980’s.  It’s a university town of around 500,000 people with a charming downtown, beautiful parks and a vibrant local culture.  It’s also home to some of the most active criminal organizatins in the country.

    Tell Us About the Main Characters and the Role They Play in the Story

    Frank Hollister is my protagonist.    He’s a retired, gay investigative journalist who is drawn back in to look for a missing girl.

    Milos Radovan is the antagonist  He was an Albanian soldier during the Balkan wars who emigrates to Canada and builds a massive criminal organization

    Eldon Ashford (Beef) Hollister’s best friend.  Beef is a decorated Afghanistan War veteran who returned home to open a flower shop in London, after vowing to never resort to violence again.  He backs Hollister wherever and whenever he asks.

    CID Detective Inspector Joanna Lewis  Hollinger’s ex wife and confidante.  She’s his main source of information and police support when he needs it.  Every good investigative reporter has someone like Joanna in their life.

    Hollister’s Dad.  Although he has a name (which I reveal in the next novel) he is known only as Dad or Professor Hollister in this book.  He’s the former dean of philosophy at the university and supports his son unconditionally, although he worries about him constantly.

    Why Do You Think This Novel Will Appeal to Readers?

    In Frank Hollister, I have created a unique everyman character that readers will find endearing.

    Hollister walks around with a chip on his shoulder.  He resents that the skills he learned and mastered over 35 years as a print journalist have little value in today’s world.  Like so many of our generation, Hollister resents change, even when he understands that it is inevitable.  He can’t understand the fashion choices of today’s youth, and he stopped listening to modern music sometime in the 80’s. He regards all new things with a degree of cynicism. He worries that his drinking may be out of control and he goes to bed at the sensible hour of 9:00 each night.  Yet despite this, Hollister is an optimist.  He’s loyal.  And he’s curious.

     Deep down, while he knows the world is screwed up, he continues to believe that he can still make a difference.  It’s not enough to know that something is.  He wants to understand why it is.  It’s that quality that made him a good journalist and now, it’s that quality that drives him to solve mysteries others can’t.

    Why is This Book Relevant Today?

    Human trafficking is a significant issue in Ontario, with the province having the second highest rates of reported cases in Canada, primarily involving sex trafficking and labor exploitation.

    In my novel, Hollister: The Corridor, I make the point that existing law around prostitution leaves a lot of room for interpretation.  In practice, it virtually ensures that prostitution takes place in secret, behind closed doors, with no discernible impact on the prevalence of prostitution at all.

    The current situation makes it inevitable that organized crime finds the provision of prostitution services lucrative.  Because prostitution is forced to exist in hiding, it facilitates human trafficking, physical abuse and sexual exploitation, including of juveniles.

    Ontario has just renewed its Human Trafficking Strategy  for 2025-2030. 

    Human trafficking doesn’t have to involve crossing borders. And it’s not just a foreign problem, it’s happening right now in communities across Canada.  It involves recruiting, moving, or holding victims to exploit them for profit, usually for sexual reasons or forced labour. Traffickers can control and pressure victims by force or through threats, including mental and emotional abuse and manipulation.

     -from the Government of Canada Website

    What Makes Hollister- The Corridor Different From Other Books Like It?

    While Hollister: The Corridor fits solidly into the investigative thriller genre, my protagonist solves his mysteries the old-fashioned way, through research and intuition.  He’s an aging gay man who feels that his expertise has no place in the modern world until he discovers that his skills can still find answers that others can’t. Throughout history, popular fiction has played a significant role in bringing about social change.  In this case, highlighting the role that organized crime plays in human trafficking in Canada should help readers understand why existing laws are unjust.

    How Did You Learn About the Topics You Cover in This Novel?

    I’m a voracious reader of both fiction and non-fiction.  My favorite fiction writers are those who include a lot of local color and factual detail- things which I have attempted to do here.  While I was aware of the issues surrounding human-trafficking and “The Corridor”, it wasn’t until I created my character, chose a problem for him to investigate and started researching the topic that I learned all the facts I have included in this novel.

    How Many Other Books Have You Written?

    Although I have written countless editorials in my role as publisher at 27 different newspapers and magazines, acres of ad copy in my role as an advertising manager and hundreds of press releases promoting various interests, this is my first novel.  Hollister’s next adventure- The Commemoration will be coming out at the end of 2026.  In it, I explore themes around the philosophy of ethics.

    F.J. Anderson

  • The Birth and Evolution of Patrick Francis Hollister

    I got a theory a person ought to do everything it’s possible to do before he dies, and maybe die trying to do something that’s really impossible.

    —Patricia Highsmith, Author of The Talented Mr. Ripley

    When I first conceived Frank Hollister, in November of 2025, I thought I was creating a fictional character who had the job I aspired to as a teen. My heroes at the time were Pierre Berton and Gordon Sinclair, both of whom began their careers in journalism at the Toronto Daily Star (the same Torstar where I was employed for my entire career) before becoming nationally acclaimed writers and personalities. Coincidentally, both were also featured panelists on the iconic and long-running CBC show, Front Page Challenge, alongside the beautiful and unforgettable Betty Kennedy. Sinclair notoriously asked every guest on the show how much money they earned.

    I wanted Hollister to represent the adventurist journalist I knew I had hiding inside me, whether it was searching for cannibals in Southeast Asia like Sinclair or exploring the Klondike like Berton. That my own career was anything but adventurous- almost 40 years behind a desk or selling advertising- didn’t discourage me from creating a fictional alter-ego.

    Because I have been a compulsive journal-keeper for many years, acquaintances told me that I should write a memoir. My candid response is that I have done nothing worthy of being read. What I didn’t anticipate was how much of the real me would eventually seep into Hollister’s character as it developed in my story. I’ll leave it to the reader to speculate on what parts are fiction and which are based on my own experiences.

    Hollister walks around with a chip on his shoulder. He resents that the skills he learned and mastered over 35 years as a print journalist have little value in today’s world. He mourns the death of serious journalism, in particular local journalism. At a time when information- any information- is simply a few keystrokes away, he believes we are starving for access to the right information. Information that tells us about what is happening in our own backyards without hyperbole or opinion. Hollister comes from a time when journalists were local experts who mined their relationships and conducted research to uncover the story behind the story.

    He retired, with regret, prepared to live out the rest of his life in obscurity. Almost a lose-leave response to his life up to that point.
    Like so many of our generation, Hollister resents change, even when he understands that it is inevitable. He mourns the loss of institutions like Ryerson Polytechnic and the Dundas Street stop on the subway. He can’t understand the fashion choices of today’s youth, and he stopped listening to modern music sometime in the 80’s. He regards all new things with a degree of cynicism.

    He worries that his drinking may be out of control and he goes to bed at the sensible hour of 9:00 each night.
    When he was younger, he married a woman for all the wrong reasons.

    He finds it hard to make new friends and relies on the few old ones for companionship. He considers himself a failure at relationships and stopped trying.

    Yet despite this, Hollister is an optimist. He’s loyal. And he’s curious. Deep down, while he knows the world is screwed up, he continues to believe that he can still make a difference. It’s not enough to know that something is. He wants to understand why it is. It’s that quality that made him a good journalist and now, it’s that quality that drives him to solve mysteries others can’t.
    When I retired, I worried that I would not be able to find a new purpose in life. A wise former boss told me not to worry. Purpose would find me. He was right. I spent the first twelve years of my retirement buying and restoring abandoned properties in Northeast Missouri while trying to provide leadership in a community that had lost many of theirs to the big cities.
    In November of 2025, while visiting friends in the USA for American Thanksgiving, knowing how much I treasure his books, my husband Wesley bought me a copy of Lee Child’s compendium of essays called Jack Reacher.

    After finishing it, I was inspired to invent my own unique character. Surprisingly, once I created a picture of Frank Hollister in my mind and invented a problem for him to investigate, the story almost wrote itself. I approached each chapter and each challenge the way that I felt I would, given the same circumstances.

    After writing a chapter a day for the first month or so, we left for two weeks in Paris at the beginning of January, 2026. Somehow, the city inspired me even more and I finished the first draft while sitting in the salon of a 17th century apartment in Montmartre. By the time we arrived back in Toronto, I had finished the manuscript.
    Like Hollister, purpose found me in ways that I could never have anticipated. Now, as I live through my character, I know that he will continue to seek justice for the forgotten and try to right things that are wrong. Or, perhaps, he will die trying.