Synopses & Reviews
In this eagerly awaited new novel from Canada's king of crime, Detective John Cardinal faces his most personal case yet.
For years, John Cardinal's wife, Catherine, has battled severe depression. People are saddened when she finally takes her own life, but they are not really surprised. Cardinal, of course, is devastated. Despite the suicide note in Catherine's own handwriting and the coroner's finding that there is no evidence of foul play, Cardinal cannot bring himself to believe that Catherine has really killed herself.
When hateful notes about his wife's death begin to arrive in the mail, he begins to suspect murder - perhaps revenge from one of the many criminals he has put away over the years. But because the police have not opened a case, he is forced to investigate on his own. Even his longtime colleague Lise Delorme can't help
him - she's wrapped up in a nasty case of her own.
Cardinal enlists the help of Catherine's psychiatrist to help him figure out who is behind the notes. And as he investigates further, he uncovers an alarming rash of suicides in Algonquin Bay - far more than would seem natural for such a small city. Is it possible that they are, in fact, murders?
I'm acting, Cardinal thought. I'm acting like a man having a conversation. This is how it's done: you listen, you nod, you ask a question or two, but I'm not here. I'm not even alive. I'm as gone as the World Trade Center. Catherine is dead. My heart is ground zero.
-From By the Time You Read This
Review
“Emotionally involving and intellectually challenging, with all the excitements of a good crime story.”—Reginald Hill, author of
The Stranger House “Ingenious.”—Marilyn Stasio,
The New York Times Book Review
“A thought-provoking, complex novel of suspense, with one of the most chilling literary villains since Hannibal Lecter.”—Bookpage
“The most beautifully written, deeply felt page-turner of the year.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “The fourth crime novel featuring Detective John Cardinal may give acclaimed Canadian author Blunt the popular recognition he is due. . . Suspense and a relentless sense of doom pervade . . . even the most minor characters are rendered in vivid detail. . . . In Blunts dark world, even the seemingly well-meaning are eyed with suspicion, for demons lurk in places civilized souls least expect.” —Booklist (starred review)
“An unexpected yet utterly realistic twist lifts this novel into extremely exciting (and entertaining) territory. Sharp dialogue, complex characters and a satisfying conclusion should help Blunt, who has won Britains Silver Dagger and Canadas Arthur Ellis Award, win new readers in the U.S.”—Publishers Weekly
“Blunt makes his characters starkly real. And the grimness of his plot aside, his touch with local color makes his native Canada in early autumn seem almost idyllic.”—St. Louis Dispatch (Named one of their Best Mysteries of the Year)
“Brilliantly paced. . . . Blunts best novel. Its guaranteed to satisfy fans of the Cardinal series and attract new readers looking for an intense psychological thriller with astonishing depth.”—The Tucson Citizen
“Giles Blunt poses two major puzzles in [his] most affecting Algonquin Bay novel to date.”—Toronto Star
“[Blunt] once again proves he can set the scene better than almost anyone else in the crime genre, putting the reader right into Algonquin Bay with all its autumnal glory, its painful lives and sordid little secrets. There is something else Blunt excels at, and that is shedding light on the chilling inner workings of the criminal mind.”—The Globe and Mail
Review
“Ingenious.”—Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review
"Tremendous.”—Lee Child “The most deeply felt page-turner of the year.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Quite simply, a great book by a writer at the top of his form.” —Calgary Herald
“One of the most chilling villains since Hannibal Lecter.”—BookPage
Synopsis
As autumn approaches, Algonquin Bay is rocked by an unusual number of suicides, including the wife of Detective John Cardinal, but a string of hateful anonymous notes leads him to suspect that her death had been a homicide, despite the disbelief of his colleagues, including his partner Lise Delorme, who is investigating a nasty case of child pornography.
Synopsis
Detective John Cardinal is on the hunt for an ingenious killer even as he mourns his own wifes tragic death in this thriller of heart-stopping suspense Autumn has arrived in Algonquin Bay, and with it an unusual spate of suicides. The most shocking victim yet is Detective John Cardinals wife, who has finally succumbed to her battle with manic depression. As Cardinal takes time to grieve, his partner, Lise Delorme, handles an unsavory assignment: a young girl appears in a series of unspeakable photos being traded online, and background elements indicate she lives in Algonquin Bay. Delorme is desperate to find the girl before she suffers more abuse. When Cardinal receives a string of hateful anonymous notes about his wifes death, he begins to suspect homicide. His colleagues believe he is too distraught to think clearly, and hes forced to investigate alone. In doing so, he comes up against a brand of killer neither he—nor the reader—has ever seen before. In his most masterful and thrilling novel yet, Giles Blunt confirms his reputation as a rising international star in crime fiction, and positions Detective John Cardinal among the finest characters in the genre.
Synopsis
Named Best Mystery of the Year by The Globe & Mail
In Algonquin Bay, Detective John Cardinal suffers a devastating loss. He arrives at a grisly crime scene only to discover that the victim is his own wife, who left a suicide note at the scene. But when Cardinal begins to receive a series of threatening letters, he suspects that his wife may not have taken her own life—and that there may be more to her suicide note than meets the eye.
BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS
While Cardinal takes time to grieve, his partner, Sargeant Lise Delorme, is investigating a high-profile sex crime involving a young girl whose abuse is being broadcast online—and who appears to be a resident of Algonquin Bay. Things are heating up in this quiet, costal town as both Delorme and Cardinal find themselves tracking predators so diabolical that the accepted bounds of criminal justice no longer apply…. “The most deeply felt page-turner of the year.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Synopsis
In Algonquin Bay, Detective John Cardinal suffers a devastating loss. He arrives at a grisly crime scene only to discover that the victim is his own wife, who left a suicide note at the scene. But when Cardinal begins to receive a series of threatening letters, he suspects that his wife may not have taken her own life—and that there may be more to her suicide note than meets the eye.
While Cardinal takes time to grieve, his partner, Sargeant Lise Delorme, is investigating a high-profile sex crime involving a young girl whose abuse is being broadcast online—and who appears to be a resident of Algonquin Bay. Things are heating up in this quiet, costal town as both Delorme and Cardinal find themselves tracking predators so diabolical that the accepted bounds of criminal justice no longer apply….
About the Author
Giles Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario. After spending over twenty years in New York City, he now lives in Toronto. He has written scripts for Law & Order and he is the author of four John Cardinal novels, including Forty Words for Sorrow, for which he won The British Crime Writers' Macallan Silver Dagger Award, and the most recent By the Time You Read This, which was short-listed for the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the most prestigious crime fiction award in the world.