[I should have been guest blogging on Thoughts in Progress today, but with Blogger gone awry I don´t know when the post will be up.]
This Canadian police procedural is the fourth John Cardinal story, but the first I have read by this author. See my teaser.
Though I found the story interesting and appealing, it was hard to read as it begins with the death of Catherine Cardinal, John´s beloved wife, who suffered from very severe depressions and is supposed to have committed suicide. The description of his grief and his self-reproach are very realistic, meaning that the story made a great impact.
Besides, there is a story about child abuse. Always a tough theme, but Blunt never goes into uncanny details so for me the theme of depression was harder to handle.
Soon John Cardinal begins to wonder if Catherine really did take her own life, but even though Lise Delorme, a close colleague and friend, offer him some support, the main reaction is that it is just Cardinal´s unwillingness to accept his wife´s suicide.
My overall impression: a really fine mystery with great characters and a fine sense of place. I bought the book myself, and Giles Blunt has gone on the list.
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6 kommentarer:
Dorte - A fine review :-). I like Giles Blunt's writing style and I agree that he gives readers a real sense of place. I want to pay more attention to him, too.
Margot: thank you. And when I have forgotten how tired I am of Blogger, please remind me :D
This sounds like a disturbing, yet very interesting novel.
I would switch from Blogger to WP in a heartbeat if my internet capabilities would allow. However, I found out when I tried to transfer my Yahoo360 blog to WP I couldn't do it. Maybe I should have started over there instead of Blogger (but then I might not have met some of my favorite bloggers!!).
Kelly: it was extremely hard to read the first chapters because I know quite a lot about depressions, and the description here was sooo real
Friends who have changed to Wordpress say it did not cause any trouble so I will probably try, but not until the summer holidays.
Dorte: I have been trying to decide whether to read Blunt again. I found his series so graphic in descriptions of violence. Sometimes I was bothered by them. He is a good writer. I am not sure I am up to reading him
Bill: I think he has changed, then, because this one did not strike me as graphic in any way. What was hard to get through was his very credible description of Catherine´s depression and her husband´s grief.
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