Review: The Delicate Storm

Blunt sets his books in a small town in Northern Ontario, featuring the police detective duo of John Cardinal and Lise Delorme. In this entry in the series, a local businessman is startled and sickened when his dog strolls up dragging a human leg. The remainder of the body is discovered strewn around the wooded environs of the town, obviously having provided a snack for several bears. Cardinal and Delorme are hampered in their investigation by the misdirection of the Canadian national security agency, but they eventually learn the identity of the victim, and begin to trace his movements and phone calls.

To their surprise, they find themselves following the traces of terrorist activities from almost thirty years ago, interviewing the surviving members of a group who kidnapped several government officials and murdered one of them.

Another body is discovered, this time a local doctor has been murdered, her body also stripped of clothing and dumped in the woods. The inescable conclusion is that the two deaths are connected, but in what manner?

In John Cardinal, Blunt has created a very appealing variation on the classic "flawed protagonist" tradition in mystery fiction. Still carrying the stigma of the misdeeds we learned of in the first book in this series, Cardinal walks a fine line between his daily duties and the subtle prejudice of his coworkers who know of his past. Cardinal and Delorme are learning to work together with efficiency, but the path to full partnership & cooperation isn't always smooth.

The weather of Northern Ontario during a freak ice storm, and the failing health of Cardinal's father combine to provide a harrowing backdrop to the events in the story.

Blunt is one of the best authors of suspense fiction to come on the scene in recent years. The book jacket promises that he is working on a third novel in this series. I'm really looking forward to it!

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Woodstock - RAM

Book Review: The Delicate Storm