The Delicate Storm

Rating:
Summary: Oh Can-a-da!
Review: A fascinating, well-paced plot, plus interesting historical details concerning the French separatist movement in Canada make this a very worthwhile read. Blunt's Cardinal and Delorme characters take a big leap forward in terms of character development and overall detective skills. Likewise, the narrator's voice appears much more at ease in this second book of the series, and as a result, Blunt displays an excellent sense of humor in addition to the nicely calibrated dialogue. Lots of false leads, twists and surprises in this one, although some of them are telegraphed in advance. Still, this is an excellent read, particularly for anyone interested in a Canadian setting, and I look forward to the next book in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Oh Can-a-da!
Review: A fascinating, well-paced plot, plus interesting historical details concerning the French separatist movement in Canada make this a very worthwhile read. Blunt's Cardinal and Delorme characters take a big leap forward in terms of character development and overall detective skills. Likewise, the narrator's voice appears much more at ease in this second book of the series, and as a result, Blunt displays an excellent sense of humor in addition to the nicely calibrated dialogue. Lots of false leads, twists and surprises in this one, although some of them are telegraphed in advance. Still, this is an excellent read, particularly for anyone interested in a Canadian setting, and I look forward to the next book in this series.

Rating:
Summary: A Flawed, Complex Cop and Secrets from the Past
Review: A warm front had moved into the northern Canadian town of Algonquin Bay on the day Ivan Bergeron's dog brought home a human arm, something Detective John Cardinal really didn't need in his life at this time, because he's got a lot on his plate, like dealing with his irascible father's deteriorating health, the impending release from prison of the drug dealer he'd stolen two hundred thousand dollars from and a tall tale from Robert Henry Hewitt - better known as Wudky, the World's Dumbest Criminal - about the murder of a local trapper who turns out to be alive and well. However he can't ignore the arm and a search turns up the rest of the corpse, well most of it, as the body had been doubling as bear food. Still the bears didn't do in the victim, so Cardinal has a real murder on his hands.

Cardinal and and his partner Detective Lise Delorme, trace the remains to an American tourist ostensibly in town to check out the ice fishing. Now, because the dead guy was an American the case turns into sort of jurisdictional mess, then Cardinal is attacked, but by who?

Meanwhile, Delorme is working on her own case - Dr. Winter Cates, a new arrival to Algonquin Bay - has gone missing and when he turns up in the woods naked and dead, the detectives realize their cases must be connected and during the course of the investigation they wind up digging in past, unearthing the dirty affair of a failed kidnapping and murder by members of the FLQ in the '60s.

The Delicate Storm is a fascinating story that incorporates one of the most terrifying times of Canadian history. There are twists and turns a plenty, complex characters and an ending you won't easily forget.

Sophie Cacique Gaul

Rating:
Summary: well written police procedural
Review: Algonquin Bay, Ontario experiences a rare January warm front that awakens the bears that should remain in hibernation. When a dog brings home a piece of an arm, the local police initiate a search for the rest of the body parts. Through diligent investigative work they conclude that the victim is a former CIA agent who worked in Montreal in 1970 during the French Canadian separatist movement that turned violent.

While Detectives John Cardinal and Lise Delorme work the case, a doctor goes missing until her nude body is found in an isolated part of the town. The police link up the two murders because the rare AB type blood was found in the doctor's office and the first victim's car. They believe the perpetrator was injured and needed medical assistance. To learn who is getting away with murder the two detectives travel to Montreal to try to reconstruct the events that happened over three decades ago to see if one of their interviewees will lead them to the killer.

THE DELICATE STORM is a very well written police procedural that takes the reader back in time to the violence of the seventies during the Vietnam protests and the French Canadian separatist movement. The police methodically follow each piece of new evidence and try to connect all the pieces to form the larger picture, but the cases prove difficult and the detectives frequently become frustrated at their lack of progress. It is very entertaining to follow the investigation with is frustrations and triumphs. Giles Blunt is rapidly becoming one of the best writers of psychological suspense.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Excellent crime writing
Review: I must confess, I wasn't quite so crazy about Giles Blunt's debut, Forty Words For Sorrow, as others were, even though it was certainly very good. However, now, after reading The Delicate Storm I'm quite tempted to revisit his first novel and be prepared to reassess my opinions, because The Delicate Storm is, quite simply, excellent.

It begins when a human arm is discovered on an unseasonably warm day in some woods near the town of Algonquin Bay. The search for other human body parts leads investigators John Cardinal and Lisa Delorme to a remote hunter's cabin that is clearly the scene of the crime, and which holds some useful information. The deceased is soon found to have been an American citizen, and so the Mounties are brought in to assist. But, it is when the Canadian Secret Service also start sniffing around the case that Cardinal comes to uncover something far deeper and darker.

Then, a few days later, a young doctor goes missing, and the glittering woods relinquish a second dead body.

Blunt paces his novel absolutely perfectly. It's not too slow, but nor is it so fast that, come the end, the book feels like sand having slipped through a net. He has also struck a perfect equilibrium between character and plot, giving the book power from both corners, and a nicely rounded feel. The characters are excellent, especially Cardinal and Delorme, who are fascinating (both when working together and apart), and, I am sure, capable of sustaining this series for many books to come. The plot itself is great (although possibly discomforting for those who don't like to confront the possibility of a "perfect" crime), and the plotting is slick, smooth and assured, all stemming from Blunt's excellent narrative control. He also examines, interestingly and convincingly, the past and present Canadian political scene.

However, possibly best of all is the setting, which the author describes brilliantly, giving the book a sharp, edgy and entirely chilly atmosphere that broods over the whole novel like some impetuous deity. The landscape creaks and shimmers under the ice and takes on a forbidding life of its own in a way which few writers can really create.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to everyone who likes a great crime novel, because there is no way you'll be disappointed with this. It's full of interesting characters with interesting lives, great plotting, and an atmosphere that shivers. Giles Blunt is tremendous, and surely the best writer to have emerged from Canada in many a moon. I'm looking forward to the next one already!

Rating:
Summary: CARDINAL LAW
Review: John Cardinal returns in this superb sequel to 'Forty Words for Sorrow'. While this book is not quite as gruesome or suspenseful as its predecessor, the writing, characterization and setting is so well done that it sets its own standard. It is quite excellent.
Once again, Cardinal and Delorme form the foundation of the book, and it's great to see Cardinal's depressive wife, Catherine, behaving so warmly. Cardinal's father, Stan, is also an excellent addition. The relationship etched between John and his father is brilliant in its realism, although the ultimate ending though cautiously foreshadowed, still packs an emotional wallop.
It takes Cardinal and Delorme a long time to find outwho is responsible for the gruesome death of an American tourist. They go through tons of interviews, all leading back to turbulent political times; the connection is there, you just have to wade through a lot of evidence to get to the conclusion.
The ending is a shocker, and it certainly necessitates book # 3 in this excellent series.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Rating:
Summary: A solid follow-up to John Cardinal's debut
Review: Not as graphic as 'Forty Words for Sorrow' but with the weight of a once-in-a-century ice storm covering the investigation into a pair of seemingly unrelated murders, this story is just as compelling. Cardinal remains an interesting figure, not a perfect man, but a decent man, and there are ups and downs in his life and the investigation that mirror reality in its long-on-pain/short-on-bliss manner. If you're looking for that happy-ever-after ending, this is not the book for you. But if you like salt and grit layered in 3 inches of ice, this is one fine police procedural. I only wish I knew if Cardinal ever recommended Kiki B. for a job with Deckard!

Rating:
Summary: Good writing, no resolution
Review: This second adventure of detectives John Cardinal and Lise Delorme is a welcome addition to the series. Author Blunt has created a believalbe, worldly set of characters who are able to keep the action going while dealing with their own personal problems. Although this is one of those stories that grab you at the beginning and keep you reading through the night, it is not a mindless escapade in non-stop thrills, but just a very good story about detectives searching for the truth and their lives outside of the station house. I especially like the setting. The small, rural town locale in Canada seems to add to the suspense. It is a welcome diversion to read about someplace other than the huge metropolitan US cities where most novels seem to take place. Cardinal and Delorme are interesting, entertaining characters who complement each other perfectly. I can't wait for the third novel in this series.