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.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written & haunting
Review: This is a wonderful book with well-developed characters that I cared about. A prior reviewer complained that the "killers" were revealed midway through the story & that this detracted from the suspense; I think this misses the point of the story. For me, the suspense was heightened as the Cardinal & Delorme, the investigating police detectives, follow-up on leads that bring them slowly closer to the killers & the latest victim; I was reminded of suspense classics like "Silence of the Lambs" which used this same style of building psychological tension. Hihly recommended !
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written & haunting
Review: This is a wonderful book with well-developed characters that I cared about. A prior reviewer complained that the "killers" were revealed midway through the story & that this detracted from the suspense; I think this misses the point of the story. For me, the suspense was heightened as the Cardinal & Delorme, the investigating police detectives, follow-up on leads that bring them slowly closer to the killers & the latest victim; I was reminded of suspense classics like "Silence of the Lambs" which used this same style of building psychological tension. Highly recommended !
Rating:
Summary: Well written, great suspense
Review: This is the first book I have read by this Canadian Author. It could stand on it's own as literature, as it is just that well written. Though the subject is difficult to read, since the horrific murders on children are for some reason more difficult to read about than that of adults. The description of the events, and the surroundings including the cold of winter is so chilling that I felt cold the full time I was reading this novel.
I fear to tell more as I would hate to give away any of the plot. But I can say that I read at least two books per week and this one is among the best. As for mystery, most of the writers are only OK with of course the exception of some greats such as P.D James, and Elizabeth George. This writer is definitely on par if not greater. This is a must read. But I must caution you, somewhat disturbing.
Rating: 
Summary: What A Chiller
Review: This thriller is set in the bleak winter of Canada's Algonquin Bay. The weather serves to act as a mirror of the mood of the local police force after they discover a body out on the bay.We are introduced to Detective John Cardinal who, we learn, had been obsessed with a number of cases of missing youths. Cardinal was sure the cases were related and could turn out to be more than just missing persons. His superiors disagreed and ended up taking him off the cases. When a body is found, it looks as though it could be one of the missing people, so Cardinal is rushed back onto the case again. The greatest fear of the Algonquin Police Department could actually be reality - they may have a serial killer in the city. When Cardinal is reassigned to work the homicide, he is also given a new partner. Lise Delorme has come straight from Special Operations to help out on the case and, unknown to Cardinal, is secretly investigating him thinking he may have been tipping off a known criminal in return for payoffs. Around halfway through the book we are introduced to the killer and get an insight into his world. The pace of the book suddenly steps up a notch as the two storylines begin to run in parallel to one another, comparing Cardinal's progress in the investigation with the actual focus of his attention. Tension is heightened by allowing us to be privy to the killer's identity, particularly when he takes a new victim. The case then turns into a race against time. I found this to be an excellent thriller combining a tight storyline and methodical detective work with a strong sub-plot that threatens to unravel the whole investigation. The uncertainty provided by this sub-plot was very effective in creating doubt in the reader's mind as to what the outcome could possibly be.
Rating:
Summary: Time Well Spent
Review: Time is a precious commodity so there's always some degree of risk to start a novel by an author I'm unfamiliar with. In this case, the time devoted to read enough to decide if it was worth continuing was short. The story of an investigation of the murders/disappearances of three young people starts with the discovery of a body while describing the main characters in the setting of bitter cold Algonquin Bay, Canada. The cold winter weather is expertly described and matches the cold, detached feelings of the heartless killers. Once they are introduced, the pace of the story quickens. The technique of alternating between Cardinal and Delorme ( the primary investigators ) and the killers and their captive heightens the tension and accelerates the pace so by the time the storyline is clearly established, the investigation is in overdrive. The subplot allows the reader to witness the internal struggle of conscience in one of the characters and the total emptiness and lack of conscience within the other killer. The comparison offers enough contrast to lift the story above the run of the mill thriller by offering the reader some substance and material for reflection. To put it simply, invest the time, it'll pay off.
Rating:
Summary: Creepy, disorienting, and utterly absorbing
Review: Unable to sleep one winter night, I began reading this book at one a.m. while wind whistled and wailed outside the windows. At five a.m., I was nearly finished, having been completely entranced by Giles Blunt's story and its fascinating-yet-flawed characters. Granted, the real-life weather outside helped promote the story's atmosphere of relentless cold, but I think the keen writing and pace would have achieved the same effect had I been on a beach at high noon. John Cardinal was originally assigned to the missing person's case of 13-year-old Katie Pine. Leads turned up no evidence of foul play, and, after an exhaustive search, Cardinal was told he had spent too much time and money on the case. As punishment, he was reassigned to work on burglary cases. The discovery of Katie Pine's mangled body sets him once again on the now-cold (literally and figuratively) trail of her murderer. The process of finding those responsible for her death, and the death of other children whose disappearance mirror Katie's is the path of Cardinal's vindication and absolution. Cardinal is exactly the kind of protagonist a reader can relate to, yet pity. His interactions with his clinically depressed wife, his bright and talented daughter, and his would-be partner, Lise Delorme, are believably awkward, and his inner voice, rife, by turns, with turmoil, determination, and self-loathing, is painfully true. His need to find the killers is hypnotic; his quest becomes ours. Blunt's decision to introduce us to the killers midway through the novel is a master stroke of suspense. Once we find out who they are, and we begin to understand their perverted obsessions, we become helpless voyeurs to their crimes. Whether you're Canadian or from the Lower 48, it's well-nigh impossible not to become engrossed in this tale of serial killings in the dead of winter.
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