Dark, atmospheric and terrifying psychological serial killer thriller set in a freezing Ontario winter, guaranteed to chill readers to the bone: 'Forty Words for Sorrow is brilliant' Jonathan Kellerman When four teenagers go missing in the small northern town of Algonquin Bay, the extensive police investigation comes up empty. Everyone is ready to give up, except Detective John Cardinal, an all-too-human loner whose persistence only serves to get him removed from homicide. Then the mutilated body of thirteen-year-old Katie Pine is pulled out of an abandoned mineshaft. And only Cardinal is willing to consider the horrible truth: that this quiet town is home to the most vicious of killers. With the media, the provincial police and his own department questioning his every move, Cardinal follows increasingly tenuous threads towards the unthinkable. But time isn't only running out for him: there's also another young victim tied up in a basement wondering how and when he will die.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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'Intensely vivid characters, terrible crimes and a brutal deep-frozen landscape all prove beyond a reasonable doubt that cold nurtures good and evil as readily as heat!and that Giles Blunt is a really tremendous crime novelist' Lee Child 'One of the finest crime novels I've ever read. Giles Blunt writes with uncommon grace, style and compassion and he plots like a demon. This book has it all -- unforgettable characters, beautiful language, throat-constricting suspense' Jonathan Kellerman 'A taut and enthralling tale that is as dark as the Canadian winter setting is cold. Humane, intelligent and gripping, Forty Words for Sorrow is a haunting journey into the human heart in all its complexities' Val McDermid 'A fine debut that deserves to do well, and promises much from a talented new author' Jim Driver, Time Out 'A superior Canadian police procedural with an evocative sense of place: the frozen lakes and forests are as integral to the plot as the flawed detective ! an impressive achievement' Maxim Jakubowski, Guardian
About the Author
Giles Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario, and now lives in New York City. He's written scripts for Law & Order, Street Legal and Night Heat. He is at work on his next crime novel, The Delicate Storm, also set in the fictional town of Algonquin Bay, and featuring John Cardinal.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
was this Blunts first book?,
By
This review is from: Forty Words for Sorrow (Paperback)
'Forty Words for Sorrow' is not a very good book. Where to start...
Perhaps most annoying and by far the cheesiest aspect of this book is the climax. I cant really go into it because I try not to give away the endings of books in my reviews. However, if you do or have read this story, take a look at how events transpire after weeks of something the author writes about. The cavalry rides in at the exact last moment possible. Jesus, give me a break with that one. Second, what was up with the second story line occurring here? Silly add on that that tries to be a deep look at the frailties of humanity only to end up as totally uncalled for. On the other hand, this might have been a more interesting story unto itself than the way over-hashed serial killer one that Blunt focus' on. Third, the story lacks suspense. I think that Blunt has yet to find the flowing narrative that builds to a level that more seasoned writers such as James Patterson are capable of. I hate Patterson, but he can suck the reader in. Blunt is slow. Slow as the Canadian snowy winters that he writes about here. And because he is so slow, the story drags on in an almost intollerable fashion. I think I am being a little harsh here. I was able to finish it. I was just so mad that Blunt was inept at creating a better ending. I think he blew it big time.
5.0 out of 5 stars
engaging heroes, evil villain,
By KF "ex pat" (Guatemala City) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Forty Words for Sorrow (Paperback)
John Cardinal is an engaging hero. Vulnerable, smart, loyal, folksy. The supporting cast is plausibly Canadian The villain is violent and manipulative as only a prolonged adolescent can be. Blunt is a careful story teller with an observant, clear, detailed eye. I guess his TV experience has helped lend a visual element to his writing that is easy to appreciate. I am not in the minority as his "Silver Dagger" award for this book would indicate.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Multi-character perspective adds interest to police procedural,
By
This review is from: Forty Words for Sorrow (Paperback)
"One of the finest crime novels I've ever read," raves Jonathan Kellerman, according to the front cover of my edition. My first thought is that Jonathan needs to get out more, or at least widen his reading. Giles Blunt's debut police procedural, set in the chilling Canadian town of Algonquin Bay, is hardly groundbreaking. At times it's almost comical in the massive leaps of illogic, near-supernatural forensics and sheer coincidence by which the police finally solve their case. Nevertheless, it's a very engaging read. I found myself devouring it. I think this was mainly because Blunt takes the unusual step of revealing the identity of his killers barely 100 pages in. Far from pole-axing the novel, it actually gives it legs. Exploring the psyches of killers, victims and cops in almost equal measure adds both a narrative and psychological richness you don't often find in this genre. Still, the novel is let down by unnecessarily silly plotting and a hero, John Cardinal, who has the requisite private angst but not really enough going for him as a cop to make him interesting. Blunt's language is perfectly clean and functional, just as the genre requires, and is liberally sprinkled with wry, hardboiled observations, but it doesn't break any new ground - except for perhaps the first published usage of the word "mucilaginous" (p.362). I suppose I should confess that I rarely read crime fiction, and only picked this up because I liked the title (which turns out to be all but irrelevant) and the synopsis on the back cover. (Publishing house wage-slaves take note: your work matters!) Would I pick up the next John Cardinal mystery? Yes, but only because Blunt was a staff writer on the peerless "Law & Order" and I'd be hoping a little more of that old magic shines through.
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