Nice and cool the past couple of days. Poor Bonnie got stung by a wasp we think awhile ago. She came running into the house with her tail between her legs. I don't think she's too bad but she's still aware of it. Poor little girl. Just a few minutes ago the sun burst out of the clouds and then it started raining.. Weird. So anyway, let's take a look at the next author in my thread on favorite authors.
Favorite Authors - Giles Blunt
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| Giles Blunt |
"When four teenagers go
missing in the small northern town of Algonquin Bay, the extensive
police investigation comes up empty. Everyone is ready to give up except
Detective John Cardinal, an all-too-human loner whose persistence only
serves to get him removed from Homicide. Haunted by a criminal secret in
his own past, and hounded by a special investigation into corruption on
the force, Cardinal is on the brink of losing his career — and his
family.
Then the mutilated body of thirteen-year-old Katie Pine is pulled out of an abandoned mineshaft. And only Cardinal is willing to consider the horrific truth: that this quiet town is home to the most vicious of serial killers. With the media, the provincial police and his own department questioning his every move, Cardinal follows increasingly tenuous threads towards the unthinkable. Time isn't only running out for him, but for another young victim, tied up in a basement wondering how and when his captors will kill him." (4 stars)
Then the mutilated body of thirteen-year-old Katie Pine is pulled out of an abandoned mineshaft. And only Cardinal is willing to consider the horrific truth: that this quiet town is home to the most vicious of serial killers. With the media, the provincial police and his own department questioning his every move, Cardinal follows increasingly tenuous threads towards the unthinkable. Time isn't only running out for him, but for another young victim, tied up in a basement wondering how and when his captors will kill him." (4 stars)
"Overall an excellent. A very Canadian feel to it, if I do say so myself, what with RCMP/ CSIS/ the Ontario Provincial Police, mention of the FLQ crisis in Quebec in the late 60's. I enjoyed the fact that his books are set in North Bay, a personal item for me as I grew up there. The characters, especially John Cardinal and Lise Delorme are excellently portrayed. There is nice tension, the ice storm is described very nicely and becomes a character. The historical references to the FLQ separation crisis was put in skillfully. Also even some touching moments between John Cardinal and his father and his relationship with his wife. (4 stars)"
"This is the third John Cardinal story I've read so far. None of them have let me down and this one in particular was excellent. It was a bit grittier than the others, nicely suspenseful and well-paced. I enjoy the main characters, John Cardinal is an interesting protagonist, a good cop, with personal issues as well. Lise Delorme, his partner, is also one I want to be developed more in future stories. The surrounding characters add to the plot and keep the story moving nicely. I especially like that the stories are set in my home town of North Bay, even if he has named it Algonquin Bay in his stories. It's great recognizing the area and locales. The title of this one rings very true; Blackfly Season is well-remembered from my time there and not at all missed. Excellent story and excellent series. (4 stars)"
"Catherine Cardinal, wife
of Sergeant John Cardinal, is dead. Ruled a suicide, it comes as no real
surprise to those who knew her. Catherine had suffered from manic
depression for over twenty years. Long stints of hospitalization were
followed by healthy periods permeated by worry and anxiousness that
everything would once again disintegrate. Her last hospital stay had
been over a year ago. Catherine had been finding peace and fulfillment
in her photography and taking her medication regularly. From years of
experience, Cardinal had taken all of these signs to be positive and
hopeful.
So along with coping with devastating grief, Cardinal is confused. Although a suicide note in Catherine’s handwriting was found at the scene, Cardinal isn’t convinced that his wife was responsible for her own death. She was distracted when she left to take pictures the night she died, but she was nowhere near the despondent state she attained when she was ill. It wasn’t adding up.
Everyone in the department, even his partner, Lise Delorme, believes Cardinal’s refusal to accept his wife’s suicide is only the denial that comes with the agony of his loss. Even his daughter, Kelly, has accepted her mother’s fate. But when Cardinal receives a card with a typewritten note inside taunting him about his wife’s death, he is resolute that someone has murdered Catherine.
In Cardinal’s line of work, a man can pile up a lot of enemies. The first likely suspect that comes to his mind is Kiki B., an “associate” of a drug dealer, Rick Bouchard, who he had sent to prison. Kiki B. knew where Cardinal lived and he had an axe to grind–Bouchard had been killed while serving his sentence.
With Delorme wrapped up in a nasty sex crimes case, Cardinal goes it alone. When Kiki B. turns out to have made a career change, Cardinal moves on to other members of the criminal element he’d had the pleasure to put away. As he moves through a long line of suspects, Cardinal finds himself settling on perhaps the most unlikely suspect of all." (4 stars)
So along with coping with devastating grief, Cardinal is confused. Although a suicide note in Catherine’s handwriting was found at the scene, Cardinal isn’t convinced that his wife was responsible for her own death. She was distracted when she left to take pictures the night she died, but she was nowhere near the despondent state she attained when she was ill. It wasn’t adding up.
Everyone in the department, even his partner, Lise Delorme, believes Cardinal’s refusal to accept his wife’s suicide is only the denial that comes with the agony of his loss. Even his daughter, Kelly, has accepted her mother’s fate. But when Cardinal receives a card with a typewritten note inside taunting him about his wife’s death, he is resolute that someone has murdered Catherine.
In Cardinal’s line of work, a man can pile up a lot of enemies. The first likely suspect that comes to his mind is Kiki B., an “associate” of a drug dealer, Rick Bouchard, who he had sent to prison. Kiki B. knew where Cardinal lived and he had an axe to grind–Bouchard had been killed while serving his sentence.
With Delorme wrapped up in a nasty sex crimes case, Cardinal goes it alone. When Kiki B. turns out to have made a career change, Cardinal moves on to other members of the criminal element he’d had the pleasure to put away. As he moves through a long line of suspects, Cardinal finds himself settling on perhaps the most unlikely suspect of all." (4 stars)
"I don't know if this is my favourite John Cardinal police mystery but it is still an excellent, tense, well-written mystery/ thriller. It is often very gritty and has excellent tension. I've liked the development of John Cardinal, a Canadian police detective from Algonquin (read North Bay) Bay, Ontario and of his partner Lise Delorme. Their relationship develops further in this story, with many ups and downs. The story is somewhat convoluted, alternating between two ongoing cases and with the thread of a story from the past, that seems unrelated to everything taking place in Algonquin Bay, but ultimately, these diverse threads intertwine very nicely and satisfyingly. Giles Blunt has proven himself to be an excellent mystery/ thriller writer. I highly recommend. (4 stars)"
The complete listing of Blunt's books can be found at this link.
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