Rating: 
Summary: Started Off Great, But............
Review: I bought this book thinking it was a little different than the average mystery (Patterson, Cornwell, etc., although great authors), as far as being more toward a "literature" nature, from the reviews I have read.The book at first was scary, especially when you first come upon the culprits of the childs' murders; it gives you the creeps. But unfortunately, the book sells out and is, indeed, just another mystery off the drugstore bookshelf. There is no irony or profundity that I was expecting. The ending just made me say "So what?" What is so fascinating here? There was really no element of surprise. It is predictable when you find out who the killers are; big deal after that. It also is unnessessarily sadistic describing the children's torture, which does not add anything thrilling to the story, it just makes it, well, sadistic for its own sake. Also , I felt the author was too negative of women: Women who are pretty are sluts; women who are ugly are malicious, bitter and desperate; and a woman who is a just an average, good person suffers a breakdown for no apparent reason. Disappointing.
Rating: 
Summary: Yes it is North Bay!!
Review: I haunted the same streets of North Bay as did the author at about the same age and time. For me, reading this book was like going home...but what a place. Far less interesting things happened in our home town and for Giles to turn the place into the fictional Algonquin Bay is amazing. His writing (and note..this was his second novel...not his first) is tight, the characters believeable (and angst-ridden) and the story line interesting without being far-fetched. I enjoyed immensely this book and can't wait to read the new one.
Rating:
Summary: Turn the Pages . . . Fast
Review: I won't rehash the plot as others here have already done so and probably much better. Everything about this book was believable, from the characters, situations, dialogue to the well-below zero weather. I liked the fact that you know who the killers are part way through the book -- the pace of the story quickens as you are now going back and forth between added characters and situations. I also like that I had compassion for Cardinal concerning the situation with his mentally ill wife, but it was woven into the story in such a way that I felt it wasn't overkill. I found myself towards the end jumping ahead of the story because I couldn't stand the suspense and then I went back and read more slowly. Also, just when you think it's all over and resolved . . .SURPRISE! Highly recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Police procedural
Review: O Canada, your Ontario setting was the only good thing in this novel. Everything else was... well, blunt. Come on, Canadians; the stereotype is that you're rather witty - act like it! (D)
Rating:
Summary: 4.5 stars for a chilling and chilly book
Review: The atmosphere of the cold harashness of the canadian landscape is brilliantly evoked by Giles Blunt. When reading it you really juat want to shiver...he mirrors the setting really well in his cold and calculating plot. The plot here is certainly very original, which i tend to like in a serial killer novel. However, the writing did seem to lack assurance...it felt nervous and even though it wasn't. a bit underdeveloped. Some of it niggled me, and didn't really sit right. This book won the English CWA Silver Dagger award for crime fiction, and had excellent reviews. So i was expecting and absolutely sensational read. It didn't quite live up to expectation. it is still a really really good thriller, though. Just perhaps not quite as stupendous as i'd expected. The blurb didn't help. The english versions is somewhat misleading... anyway, with that said, this is still a very good book, especially for a first novel (i'm discounting "Cold Eye" his "real" first book.) The plot IS orignal, and the landscape is evoked well in the atmosphere and overall coldness of the plot. John Cardinal is a really likeable character, and i am looking very much forward to reading about him once more. he is slightly flawed, but for all the right reasons. You really feel for him. He's compelling and interesting. His fierce loyalty to his wife is also a wonder to behold. There are some other great characters too, but Cardinal is the one who really stands out. one of the best and most well developed leads to a book i've read in a long while. The plot is good, original, but the motives of the villains weren't really explained fully enough...just glossed over. However, there were some really great twists, and a stunning climax. This is an extremely worthy book, and any fan of this genre should really like it. It reminded somewhat of Mo Hayder's (an excellent English thriller writer) debut "Birdman". You try to be too original and it just doesn't read as well it might. The two have real similarities here. However, this book is a bit less disturbing than Hayders. Blunt really is very similar in style to Hayder, and he has great potential. with her second book Mo Hayder poroved to me that she was the best serial killer thriller writer we have in Britain. I believe that Giles Blunt may well prove that he is the best from Canada. Well worth a read.
Rating:
Summary: A great disappointment!
Review: This book hooked me on the first page, with its description of just what winter is like in Algonquin Bay, Ontario, in what even Canadians call "the North." John Cardinal is a police detective with a Past and a string of murders of adolescents to solve. His partner is Lise Delorme, six years in Special Investigations (i.e., political cases and what we in the U.S. would call Internal Affairs), whose assignment is to investigate Cardinal, as well as to help solve the murders. So far, so good. Blunt gets you into Cardinal's mind, into the personality of this frozen little town, into the relationship between the local cops and the RCMP . . . and then he blows it completely. One-third of the way into the story, he tells you who the killer is. A serious error on the part of the author. What began as a potentially first-rate murder mystery degenerates into a mediocre thriller. At the two-thirds mark, I gave it up.
Rating:
Summary: Turn the Pages . . . Fast
Review: This is a marvelous book! Giles Blunt has written the kind of novel many mystery writers would "kill" for...Tony Hillerman even admits it.
What makes this such a great book is the development of the characters: John Cardinal, a good man but not necessarily a good cop; Lise Delorme, a special forces internal investigator who is partnered with Cardinal to find out if he is on the take; Edie Somas, a homely, love-starved woman who turns to crime and evil to make up for her loneliness; Eric Fraser, a merciless and cruel killer, who uses Edie to help him attain his goals; there are so many interesting and complex characters in supporting roles, it's impossible to single them all out.
Blunt creates an atmospheric of unbelievable depth; one can feel the frigid environment, see the breaths of the characters.
Dark and disturbing, it is still a tremendous first novel for this talented Candian writer. I couldn't find a thing wrong with it.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: NOT ENOUGH WORDS TO PRAISE THIS STUNNER!
Review: This is a marvelous book! Giles Blunt has written the kind of novel many mystery writers would "kill" for...Tony Hillerman even admits it.
What makes this such a great book is the development of the characters: John Cardinal, a good man but not necessarily a good cop; Lise Delorme, a special forces internal investigator who is partnered with Cardinal to find out if he is on the take; Edie Somas, a homely, love-starved woman who turns to crime and evil to make up for her loneliness; Eric Fraser, a merciless and cruel killer, who uses Edie to help him attain his goals; there are so many interesting and complex characters in supporting roles, it's impossible to single them all out.
Blunt creates an atmospheric of unbelievable depth; one can feel the frigid environment, see the breaths of the characters.
Dark and disturbing, it is still a tremendous first novel for this talented Candian writer. I couldn't find a thing wrong with it.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: A good, solid mystery
Review: This is a superb mystery story. Good dialogue, believable characters and a plot that grabs the reader make for a great read. The locale of the story appealed to me. It was a welcome change of pace to see a small, fictional town in Canada used for the setting instead of the typical big american city. The intimacy of a small town added to the horror of a serial killer on the loose. I hope to see more stories with detective Cardinal and his partner Lise.
Rating:
Summary: This is a super book!
Review: This is a terrific crime novel. The book is set in a fictional frozen Canadian town and our hero is a good (but flawed) cop. The serial murders are interesting. There is a sense of freezing cold everywhere in the book which makes it truly atmospheric. This novel lived up to the hype and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. Highly recommended.
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