Friday, March 02, 2007


By the Time You Read This by Giles Blunt

"In Silver Dagger Award winner Blunt's latest, Det. John Cardinal (Blackfly Season) is back, and this time it's personal. His wife, Catherine, who for several years has been hospitalized on and off for depression, has seemingly leapt off a roof to her death, leaving a note behind. The coroner and police department rule it a suicide, and her psychiatrist, Dr. Frederick Bell, concurs. Cardinal has some doubts when disturbing notes arrive at his home, but he quickly realizes he is the only one with these doubts. Fellow police officer Lise Delorme feels bad for her friend, but she is tied up trying to track down a local pedophile who has plastered pictures of a young girl all over the Internet. More suicides among Dr. Bell's patients in this small Ontario town further convince Cardinal that something is amiss, and, contrary to departmental policy, he continues to investigate on his own while assisting Delorme with her investigation. Ostensibly a police procedural, this beautifully written and unusual story is really more of a suspenseful, psychological study of evil. Strongly recommended for all public libraries."

Review by Stacy Alesi, Palm Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL for Library Journal

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