Customer Reviews

Forty Words for Sorrow

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

An excellent police procedural that takes place in one of the most overlooked locales in the genre. Here in the states, we're quite familiar with the top British and American mystery writers, but Australian and Canadian authors tend to be ignored unless they have American or British publishers. Consequently, it's not often that icy, small town Canada is used as a fictional backdrop. Blunt's descriptions are so well done that the climate itself plays a role as an obstacle in the investigations. In addition to the nice character work that the author has accomplished, the ending ties up all of the loose edges quite neatly, thus setting the stage for the next book in the series.

Algonquin Bay in northern Ontario is not just bitterly arctic---it spends the long winter snowbound and the cold is a living force that invades like a sledge hammer. Could-be, dirty cop John Cardinal has spent a fruitless, expensive five months trying to locate missing 13-year old Katy Pine. His credibility is suspect with his superiors. When Cardinal finds the missing girl brutally murdered in a mineshaft near an isolated lake, he is given the dubious honor of leading the investigation of this clueless, highly publicized crime. He is assigned a partner who may or may not be investigating his background. The killings increase in number along with the frustrations of the police force.

The pace picks up a bizarre momentum when the killer is brought into the narrative. His machinations always are two jumps ahead of the authorities, and he seems hopelessly invincible. This tale is for the steely of heart, for the violence is graphic and horrific. Yet there are light moments as when the police are questioning a well-known burglar and asking him about his known associates. Burglar says in tones of disgust "If I wanted to MEET people, I'd be a mugger." One of Cardinal's fellow detectives is a constant complainer, and his rants about everything from the Mounties to his ex-wife are brilliant, ferocious and unending.

"Forty Words For Sorrow" has an "it's not over till it's over" gambit that enchants me every time. The suspense becomes well nigh unbearable, and entirely unpredictable. I'd nominate this book for best title of the year and certainly one of the very good reads.

To those of you who thought the villains were too black-and-white evil, consider that this story is obviously based on the Homolka-Bernardo killings. Details like the video tapes and sadism are very much the same. And Homolka and Bernardo were much, much worse. Edie is at least pitiful in her low self-esteem and craving for love in whatever ugly form it takes.

And Blunt deals with murderers much more, well, bluntly. Bernardo is still in prison, and Homolka served 12 years before being released. I think Canada is still scarred by the murders and furious over Homolka's release, so the novel serves to tie up loose ends rather neatly.

I liked very much that Cardinal wasn't entirely virtuous, and liked even more the resolution with his wife.

The detective characters and the corruption sub-plot reminded me of Louise Penny's Cruelest Month.

Giles Blunt, Forty Words for Sorrow (Berkeley, 2001)

Giles Blunt first came to the attention of critics everywhere as a staff writer for Law and Order, one of the strongest television series in history. And when reading Blunt's first novel, the reader who is a Law and Order fan is likely to know, even without knowing Blunt's allegiance to the show, that there are similarities. Needless to say, for the Law and Order fan, this means you've pretty much got a free pass on this one; you're going to love it.

John Cardinal is a cop with his career in the toilet and a clinically depressed wife. His usual partner is tied up in court on another case, so Cardinal is assigned another one, Lise Delorme, who's just come to homicide from Special Bureau (Americans, think "internal affairs"). Cardinal, who some folks in the branch suspect of being crooked, immediately suspects she's been paired with him in order to investigate him. But he's got too much on his plate to spend much time worrying about that; first, his wife goes into the hospital with a particularly nasty bout of depression. Second, a body is found in a mineshaft, believed to be that of Katie Pine, a missing girl whom Cardinal always suspected of being murdered; his obsession with her case got him demoted from homicide in the first place. Who can worry about whether you're being investigated by your partner or not?

Perhaps the most intriguing thing about Forty Words for Sorrow is the tension between Cardinal and Delorme, and trying to decide whether a romance is getting underway. The two of them are very deftly handled, and while they seesaw back and forth between being nice to one another and loathing one another, there's never a sense that anything is being exaggerated for the reader; the perils of having a new partner, and one of the opposite sex.

That said, the best-written scenes in the book are those between Cardinal and his wife in the hospital. Cardinal is hopelessly adrift, completely unsure of how to handle himself around her as she struggles in the mire of her depression. Both characters are painted spot-on in these scenes, and they alone are enough to warrant the purchase price of the book.

What's missing from the above two paragraphs is the mystery itself. And, ultimately, the mystery takes a back seat to the characters. This is not a bad thing, as long as the characters can sustain the novel (and they certainly do here). But the end result is that the mystery becomes somewhat predictable, especially for regular watchers of (you knew I'd get round to it sooner or later) Law and Order. The twists and turns in the plot will be easily recognizable to the show's rabid cult following. Again, not that this is a bad thing; in fact, regular Law and Order viewers have come to expect this, and will feel right at home. (Non-regular viewers, or those who have never seen the show, may not find anything here predictable at all.)

A good, solid work, Forty Words for Sorrow, a promising debut from a promising writer. John Cardinal is coming back soon in Blunt's second novel, and if the first one is anything to go on, it will be just as well worth reading. *** ½

According to the brief bio in the back of this book, author Blunt has written scripts for such notable shows as Law & Order. It is clear that he brings a lot to the table: a fine sense of narrative timing, strong skill at characterization, and a crisp writing style. These gifts all come into play in Forty Words For Sorrow. From the outset, the wretched cold is as integral to the plot as the characters. Blunt succeeds in evoking the climate both of a mythical northern Ontario town and of the local police force, where personalities clash and collide and, ultimately, pull together to solve the mystery of who has murdered a number of missing kids. There are finely wraught characterizations with not a stock character in sight. The issue of mental illness is addressed with sensitivity and insight. And at the point where the narrative focus shifts from who the villain might be to the interior rationale(s) behind the crimes, the momentum moves into high gear and stays there. The tension is spread across several lines: detective Cardinal's anxiety over his secrets and personal sorrows; the heightened fears and sorrows of those related to the victims; and the ongoing investigation of Cardinal's past by his new partner, Lise Delorme, who is torn by conflicting emotions and relentless ambition. This is a can't-put-down book, lean and taut. I'll be eagerly waiting for the next in the series.
Highly recommended.

I skipped whole chapters because they were just too dark for me -- serial killers torturing victims.

On the other hand, I read the book straight through (aside from those chapters), because although you knew halfway through the book "who-done-it," there was a life at stake and you wondered if the police would figure it out in time. There was a wonderful sense of place -- northern Ontario in the winter -- that helped compensate for other problems with this book.

The problems included a secondary plot that was probably unnecessary and just detracted from the story -- soul-searching over right and wrong was a significant part of this book.

A more serious problem involved the female characters. I was uneasy about how women were portrayed in this book: clueless daughter who should have been suspicious; mentally ill wife (not clear why her illness was not being controlled by medications); female cop apparently without much in the way of conscience or loyalty; ugly loser willing to do anything for her man; grannie in bed, whiny, demanding, and neglected... I think perhaps that the author believed he was portraying at least some of the women positively, but I would have to question that. Of course, few characters in this book come off very well, so it might be argued that the men in this book are just as bad. I think we're supposed to like the flawed hero-detective, but this character didn't make up for the problems with the women in this book. I think sometimes men have trouble writing about women, and that may have been the problem -- or subliminal misogyny.

I expect I'll be reading more in the series, however.

I won't rehash the plot as others here have already done so and probably much better. Everything about this book was believable, from the characters, situations, dialogue to the well-below zero weather. I liked the fact that you know who the killers are part way through the book -- the pace of the story quickens as you are now going back and forth between added characters and situations. I also like that I had compassion for Cardinal concerning the situation with his mentally ill wife, but it was woven into the story in such a way that I felt it wasn't overkill. I found myself towards the end jumping ahead of the story because I couldn't stand the suspense and then I went back and read more slowly. Also, just when you think it's all over and resolved . . .SURPRISE! Highly recommended

I haunted the same streets of North Bay as did the author at about the same age and time. For me, reading this book was like going home...but what a place. Far less interesting things happened in our home town and for Giles to turn the place into the fictional Algonquin Bay is amazing. His writing (and note..this was his second novel...not his first) is tight, the characters believeable (and angst-ridden) and the story line interesting without being far-fetched. I enjoyed immensely this book and can't wait to read the new one.

By some ironic twist of fate, the last two "mystery" novels I have read were based in Canada. This one and Lost Girls by Andrew Pyper. Of the two "Forty Words" was by far the better. For readers tired of the "series" novels where the detctives are cardboard cutouts that Dashiell Hammett used almost a century ago, this book is for you. The characters are all well developed and real (some real frightening). The book avoids the vices of most mystery books (the sexy feamle who may or may not be trusted, the deep dark secret that would change evertything, etc.) Some reviews have suggested that the book is too sadistic, but the sadism only makes the book seem more realistic.

Time is a precious commodity so there's always some degree of risk to start a novel by an author I'm unfamiliar with. In this case, the time devoted to read enough to decide if it was worth continuing was short. The story of an investigation of the murders/disappearances of three young people starts with the discovery of a body while describing the main characters in the setting of bitter cold Algonquin Bay, Canada. The cold winter weather is expertly described and matches the cold, detached feelings of the heartless killers. Once they are introduced, the pace of the story quickens. The technique of alternating between Cardinal and Delorme ( the primary investigators ) and the killers and their captive heightens the tension and accelerates the pace so by the time the storyline is clearly established, the investigation is in overdrive. The subplot allows the reader to witness the internal struggle of conscience in one of the characters and the total emptiness and lack of conscience within the other killer. The comparison offers enough contrast to lift the story above the run of the mill thriller by offering the reader some substance and material for reflection. To put it simply, invest the time, it'll pay off.