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The Delicate Storm
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A long trudge down a cold trail, but not without rewards
Disappointing and convoluted follow-up to Blunt's first outing
Like Six Hours of the Weather Channel, eh?
It's a metorological thing
Police Work Through A Prism Of Ice

The Delicate Storm (Marian Wood Book)
Giles Blunt
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0399148655
Release Date: 2003-05-29

Book Description

The author of Forty Words for Sorrow-winner of Britain's Silver Dagger Award-returns with a crime thriller challenging our most cherished belief: that, in fiction, there is no such thing as the perfect crime.

The small city of Algonquin Bay in northern Ontario: A freak warm front has moved in, making it feel like April and rousing hungry bears from hibernation. So when Ivan Bergeron's dog brings him the chewed-off arm of a white male, it's assumed the victim met a natural if ugly end. Except, as it turns out, the owner of the arm was dead before the bears got to him.

A second victim is found: a woman, apparently raped. There has to be a connection-two bodies abandoned in the woods within days of each other can't be a coincidence. Then police records reveal a long-unsolved murder with the same MO: a woman found in the woods, seemingly raped. It isn't long before homicide detectives Delorme and Cardinal are led back thirty years to another unsolved murder, this one linked to Quebec terrorists. Logic suggests the Algonquin Bay murders are connected to this case. Evidence is less convincing. And somewhere, a murderer-smart and powerful-is walking free.

Customer Reviews:

A long trudge down a cold trail, but not without rewards.......2006-04-23

Giles Blunt's sophomore effort is set, once again, in the chilling Canadian town of Algonquin Bay. When a dismembered body is found in the woods, Cardinal starts work on what he suspects is a mob hit, only to discover it's connected with a case Delorme is working: the murder and apparent rape of a local female doctor. The trail leads them to Montreal, deep into the history of French separatist terrorism, and back to the Bay when they realize that a supposed pillar of the local community may not be quite what, or who, he seems...Blunt's second crime novel has been praised for its psychology, tension and excellent plotting - but, for me, those are precisely the elements that are lacking here. Unlike his previous effort which explored the minds of the killers as much as the cops, this one is heavy on procedure without much in the way of action or tension to enliven it. Lots of interviews, lots of talking, lots of backstory. The pieces fall into place quite nicely, but there's no urgency to it, no ticking clock driving the plot forward. Nothing's at stake. When the motive behind the murders is fully exposed, it's actually a pretty good yarn. But getting there is a slow slog. The ice storm of the title is used only tangentially, but at least Blunt resists the urge to deploy it in the climax: he's good at setting up anticipation of obvious, convenient resolutions and then avoiding them. There's an effective and occasionally moving subplot about Cardinal's father here, too, but it's insufficiently connected to the main plot, thematically, to be as useful as it might have been.

Disappointing and convoluted follow-up to Blunt's first outing.......2006-02-28

While I still like the characters of John Cardinal and Lise Delorme, the history of Canada's radical movement in the seventies was quite boring. The book starts with a grizzly murder as body parts are found in the woods. At first, it seems a bear is the culprit. Then another body is found in the woods. As Cardinal and Dolorme try to establish the connection between the two killings, they learn about a cover-up by the nation's intelligence organization, the CSIS, the involvement of the CIA, and the kidnapping and killing of a prominent cabinet member. This isn't as strong as the first book, and the link between Quebec's radical past and the killing of the young, female doctor is tangential, at best.

Like Six Hours of the Weather Channel, eh?.......2005-11-30

OK, I exaggerate, but "The Delicate Storm" is under the weather when compared to Blunt's shocking debut, "Forty Words for Sorrow", and "Black Fly Season", his well crafted recent release. Back is John Cardinal, the tight-lipped detective of the fictional town of Algonquin Bay on the very real shores of northern Ontario's Lake Nipissing. "Storm" gets off to a promising start as a body, dismembered and partially eaten by bears, is found in the woods. Cardinal and partner Lise Delorme are on the case, uncovering inconsistencies in the obvious attempt to cover-up the murder, as well as the identity of the corpse. Before long, the Canadian Mounted Police and their CIA-like wing are mucking up the investigation. Through razor-thin ties that strain credibility, the murder is soon connected to a three-decades old Quebec Separatist's terrorist plot that ended in the assassination of a Cabinet member. This is a convoluted plot, but Blunt possesses the necessary skills to pull it off, were it not for the obsession with rain, freezing rain, fog, more rain, degrees-below-Centigrade, and more rain that overpowers the story. We kind of get that the weather in Canada is lousy - that's why nobody lives there, eh? Also, as in previous works, Blunt seems obsessed with keeping Cardinal distracted with family medical problems. This time around, manic-depressant wife Catherine is thankfully stable, so Cardinal's attention shifts to his ailing curmudgeon of a father. Between the weather forecasts and hospital visits, the murder investigations fade into the fog while the main story line wanders off to a premature and less-than-satisfying conclusion. In the end, while Blunt fans will want to add this to their libraries, first-timers would be better off starting with either the first or third of the series.

It's a metorological thing.......2005-10-06

I am not sure I can tell you anymore about the plot than what other reviewers have already written. Therefore, I will focus in other areas and generalize a bit.

The weather definitely plays big in this--the latest crime-stopper--novel from Giles Blunt, and I am sure Canadians will certainly commiserate with Detective Cardinal and the citizens Algonquin Bay, Ontario, when an unusual January ice storm virtually shuts down the town. Of course the weather never seems to affect the criminals amongst us!

Blunt's a great story teller and a gifted writer, this story is testament to that fact. Do you know how you can be readying and enjoying a good book, then hit a spot that seems to do little to advance the story, and all of a sudden you are skimming over the words rather than reading and absorbing them? Of course you do! Well in this book, that never occurred for me. The book was not particularly suspenseful nor would you call it a thriller, but it was interesting throughout and each page, paragraph, and sentence, made a contribution. Blunt uses the entire book, like a trail of bread crumbs, to guide the reader to a final realization of whodunit. Try this--and this is not a spoiler--stop when you get to the middle of the book and try to figure out who the killer is, you will have been introduced to all the characters by then. Bet you can't do it!

A believable crime story, with real-life characters. It could happen like this somewhere and probably already has!

Police Work Through A Prism Of Ice.......2005-08-25

Blunt's book is unique in the detective mystery genre in its careful attention to character development. Much of the book is devoted to the internal musings and thoughts of Detective John Cardinal and his partner Detective Delorme. The partners are working a 17 year old murder case, and the interaction with the people related to the case is vital and very intricate.

Blunt weaves a complicated tale of connections that typifies normal excellent police work. On the way, there is some "high jingo" (higher up manipulation) of the evidence and the information. In addition, the book concentrates on interagency cooperation in Canada. Since the victim is American, the investigation falls in the province of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but the lead investigators on the case are local police Cardinal and Delorme.

As the reader moves through the book, slowly the information unfolds. One of the beauties of this book is that the connections and information are so complex, that it is virtually impossible to guess the most likely suspect. Blunt is masterful in creating characters for the reader to ponder, and always with good character development.

In short, Blunt is one of the finest detective mystery writers today. All those interested in the genre should read this book.

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The Delicate Storm
Giles Blunt
Manufacturer: Book Club Associates
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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