Customer Reviews

No Such Creature

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I have long been a fan of Canadian Giles Blunt and his John Cardinal crime series. Blunt is another one of those authors I just know is going to be a good read.

I was surprised to find that this was not part of the series, but a stand alone book. After the first twenty pages I was hooked and could not put it down.

Owen has been raised by his great uncle Max since he was orphaned at twelve. Max is a failed thespian, but is a very accomplished but genteel thief. Owen is now eighteen and their road trips across America robbing rich Republicans have honed his skills as well. Using acting skills, disguises and charm they have so far steered clear of violence. Owen is thinking of packing it in after this summer to attend Julliard and study drama. He plans to tell Max soon. It is in Vegas that things start to go sour. There is a shadowy legend among thieves about a gang called the Subtractors - mysterious men who steal from other thieves and use whatever means necessary to get what they want. And it looks like they want the riches from Owen and Max's last job. On the road with them now is Sabrina, the daughter of a former 'associate' of Max, who is running from a problem as well - named Bill.

As Sabrina says "Living with a criminal - or being one - is like living on the Titanic. You just know it isn't going to end well."

This is a story that grabs you and just doesn't let go. I kept turning pages well into the night. The plot is great but it is the witty dialogue and characters that stand out for me. The character of Max fairly leaps off the page, larger than life. Max's soliloquies, his manner of speech and pronouncements on life are funny yet poignant. Although we know they are thieves, Max's gang - including the trivia obsessed Roscoe and Pookie - are likable and Max, though flawed, is lovable even. Certainly he loves Owen.

This is a story of larceny, love, heartache, humour and life. Definitely not your typical crime story, but boy is it a good one!

Cancel your plans for the next few days! This one is hard to put down. Giles Blunt has given us an exciting ride through the States in the company of a likeable and complex set of characters. The details of the various settings, were triggering memories of my own travels to places like San Francisco. It was as if a movie was playing in my head. The description left me expecting to look up from the book and find the characters in my room. The story is unpredictable with twists that leave you satisfied until the very end. I felt like a fly on the wall of the Winnabago! This book was a treat!

With No Such Creature the author of the John Cardinal series makes a departure - a very big departure - from his earlier books. A quick aside, if you are unfamiliar with this author and enjoy for instance Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series, you won't go wrong with this author's previous books - well written, somewhat dark police procedurals that take place in Canada.

This stand-alone tale tracks the travels and at times, illegal escapades, of an 18 year old young man, orphaned at an early age, and his eccentric British great-uncle, who adopted him. During the summer the two take to the road equipped with disguises, a clever ruse, and rob rich Republicans. The portly uncle, an ex-actor, enjoys turning these criminal events into performances including roles, scripts and the occasional Shakespearian quotation. He also hires on quirky "extras" for these capers including a trivia addicted side-man.

Early on in our story while on the road, our duo meets up with the uncle's mentor's daughter - young and beautiful - who has her own problems with a born-again bible-thumping, proselytizing stalker. To add to the mix, all of them are being followed and terrorized by a psychopath who preys on fellow criminals, stealing their ill-gotten gains. And just to cap it off the elderly uncle is also slowly slipping into dementia.

If this all sounds somewhat like a Carl Hiassen novel to you, well I thought the same thing. The plot is crazy enough and the characters kooky enough to be funny or at least satirical. And occasionally the author tip-toes up to the comedic line but then just as quickly retreats. And that was the problem I had with this book, it was neither fish nor fowl, i.e. not serious enough to be a thriller nor funny enough to be satire. No Such Creature is interesting and even funny at times, but overall, just so-so. Again don't judge this author by this book - his earlier ones are excellent.

I was very disappointed in this book. Mr, Blunt's other books that I read, I thought were great and very well written. This book I thought was slow and boring, in fact I didn't even read all of it. I will wait for a new book by this author, since I really liked all his others.

An orphan for years, eighteen year old Owen Maxwell has toured the country with his verbose Shakespearean actor Uncle, Magnus "Max" Maxwell conning wealthy Republicans. However after doing this for a few years, Owen has a chance to attend Juilliard. He tries to persuade his uncle to give up the criminal life as Max is getting on in years and should retire, and the teen wants to attend the drama school.

As they leave San Francisco for Vegas with their latest loot, Zig and the Subtractors come after them; the gang is known for catching up with thieves in order to rob them after they pound the crap out of their prey. On the run from the Subtractors the duet meet twenty year old Sabrina Bertrand, daughter of the legendary jailed felon Pontiff. With her also in trouble from a security guard obsessing on her, she joins the uncle and nephew as they flee across the country

Although none of the key players are full blooded though they bleed, NO SUCH CREATURE is a zany crime caper that seems on the verge of going out of control, but never quite does. Leaving Canada for the States (giving Homicide Detectives John Cardinal and Lise Delorme a breather), Giles Blunt provides an over the top chess game between violent criminals and rakish criminals. Bluntly fans of Elmore Leonard will want to join the cross country marathon.

Harriet Klausner