3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Into the dark places, Jun 17 2007
John Cardinal, a small-town policeman, seems pretty run-of-the mill, like his community. Algonquin Bay sits on a lake, surrounded by Northern Ontario rocky forests. There are the usual little crimes and petty injustices to deal with. One night, however, while on the discomforting task of exposing an adultery situation, John is called to an accident scene. A woman has fallen from a new high rise. Or was she pushed? Or did she jump? This is of particular importance to John, because it turns out the woman is his wife, Catherine.
A photographer who often went out on solitary picture excursions - even in an Ontario winter - Catherine is also a depressive. She's been in the dark places. She's been hospitalised several times, returning to a warm homecoming and declaring "How lucky I am!" to have a family which can deal with her problems. That luck seems to have run out, or is it eroded? The last option, suicide, appears to be the cause of her death. There's even a note: "By the time you read this . . .". That should close the case and John Cardinal should take some time to work through his grief. His own dark time is just beginning.
John and Catherine were together too long and they knew each other too well for this copper to rest on easy answers. The note is an enigma, not clarified by some disturbing mail John receives. Little bits of information, imparted willingly or inadvertently, build suspicions in his mind, and he must follow them through. To get to the resolution, John encounters some disturbing elements. A child pornography "ring" on the Internet has reached his town. In fact, it might be centred in Algonquin Bay as Cardinal's colleague Lise Delorme is undertaking to determine. How dark is that news to a town where vulnerable children are supposed to be a rarity? A psychiatrist, Dr Frederick Bell, the doctor counselling Catherine, has a checkered background. What relevance do all these things have to the death of his wife?
A good mystery should command your attention, and Giles Blunt gets you up and running from the opening pages. He weaves an intricate tale, populated by some fascinating characters. He portrays them skillfully - none are seriously overdrawn, and all are plausible. The plot shifts are carefully handled, but Blunt isn't a mystery "mechanic". Events are under the control of the people involved and it's their reactions to changing circumstances that keep this book interesting. If you're a mystery buff, this should make a welcome addition to your collection. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Police Procedural, Oct 6 2008
This was the second John Cardinal Mystery I read from Giles Blunt. I loved both books. I'm often put off by writers who don't research the procedural aspect of law enforcement and the justice system as Blunt properly does. It makes a much better read. Of course, having such great characters, dialogue and an ever-developing plot helps this book too. I would certainly recommend it.
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