Dennis E. Bolen, a former federal parole officer in Vancouver, has written a tough, unflinching and distinctive crime novel, one that's completely compelling.

Kaspoit! (Anvil Press) is told entirely in dialogue interspersed with portmanteau constructions: "GoofLook LeerSneer BlackJean hulkSit." Possibly distracting, in fact, the style quickly grows on the reader. As Bolen strips the humanity from his narrative, the barren rhythms propel the story. After all, people reveal so much of themselves through their own words.

The story concerns a Vancouver motorcycle gang involved in drug grow-ops, prostitution and murder. There are corrupt cops and hired killers, mean streets and houses in Surrey.

The worst acts take place on a farm outside the city limits. There's a booze can and also a trailer where the boys can take advantage of sex workers rounded up from the street. Some of these women don't make it back to the city. The story has echoes of convicted murderer Robert Pickton and the events which occurred on his Port Coquitlam farm. This is a nightmare world, filled with betrayal, violence and horrific, callous brutality towards women. Tragically, shamefully, as the B.C. Missing Women Investigation shows, these scenes are not far removed from reality.

Incidentally, the title apparently refers to the sound of a beer can opening, although I don't hear that myself. No matter. Kaspoit! is a true achievement.

. . .

Jeff Parker is acting director of the creative writing Master's program at the University of Toronto. His story collection, A Taste of Penny (Snare Books) includes some pretty dazzling stuff.

These very smart stories feature unbeautiful losers who find themselves in awkward situations for one reason or another. False Cognate starts off with a misunderstanding involving the words "barber" and "baba," and ends with an encounter with a fetching suicide bomber. The Tower turns a game of Jenga into a commentary on American imperialism and the national psyche.

They're funny, too. One slacker reapplies to reunite with his ex-girlfriend but finds numerous other applicants in Back of the Line. The title story details a method to beat a sobriety test and morphs into a crazy tale of battling salvage firms. A poster reads, "Two Men and a Truck: Moving, AND NOW HAULING TOO." I laughed out loud.

Parker fills this terrific little book with memorable, absurd images, such as the guy who snatches up an emancipated chicken, tucking the bird under his arm like a football.

The back cover features a blurb by American short-story god George Saunders, who calls Parker a master. Who am I to disagree?