Book Reviews for Giles Blunt

From Canada:

". . . what does one do if the penalty for any kind of protest, any sign of less than complete enthusiasm for the horrors at hand, is torture and death? This novel does not answer that question. It presents us with it as experience. Brilliantly. Exactly as a good novel about these horrors should. . . . I won't say more than that the outcome . . . is credible, and moving, and oddly reassuring, without a single breath of sentimentality." — The Globe and Mail

"Breaking Lorca is a tautly written novel that takes readers on a harrowing journey into the heart of political darkness." — Guelph Mercury

From Canada:

"Giles Blunt's clever, witty No Such Creature stands out. . . . By turns funny and touching, No Such Creature is a classic "road" novel and a coming-of-age story. . . . A wonderful tale from a master storyteller." — The Globe and Mail

"With his sixth novel, celebrated Canadian crime writer Giles Blunt picks us up out of northern Ontario, domain of homicide detective John Cardinal, and hurls us into a battered Winnebago speeding through the American southwest. While the four-book Cardinal series is inventive in its own right, there's something especially captivating about two itinerant actors who steal from Republican dinner parties -- staying one step ahead of the law, a group of criminal wild cards called the Subtractors and a born-again, love-crazed ex-cop. Call it a detour de force, if you will." — Calgary Herald

"Full marks go to Giles Blunt for refusing to write another typical mystery with a dysfunctional cop as the main character. From his first novel Cold Eye, published in 1989, to his most recent and sixth, No Such Creature, Blunt shows he is a writer seeking fresh, unusual situations with unlikely characters and unpredictable plot. . . . No Such Creature is a farce. Thieves scrap with thieves, bodies get thrown aside like excess baggage, and touches of humour and romance are added in the right places. — The Chronicle Herald

"No Such Creature is a strange, enthralling, wonderful novel that uses elements drawn from thrillers, domestic dramas, romances and caper stories to tell the story of the summer when everything goes bad. . . . Yes, it was a risk for Blunt to branch out in this way, but it certainly pays off. And it's definitely not a risk for the reader." — The Vancouver Sun

"Authors of successful, well-regarded crime series who are willing to switch . . . to fresh settings and characters, are taking a considerable risk.   In No Such Creature, the risk pays off for readers. Blunt successfully walks several distinct lines as he combines a dab of satire, a domestic comedy of sorts and traditional crime fiction replete with the necessary menace and suspense, all to good ends." — The London Free Press

"Everyone, from the cold sociopath of the rival gang . . . to the most minor character in Blunt's rogue's repertoire is wonderfully realized and memorable. The reader won't soon forget the cast from this top-notch thriller." — The Edmonton Journal

"No Such Creature is masterfully written with a tongue-in-cheek point of view, a Robin Hood morality and a razor-across-the-throat-in-the-wink-of-an-eye reality that is fused together by a storytelling prowess that keeps you reading and smiling." — The Hamilton Spectator

"At once road novel, coming-of-age story, and playful examination of the boundaries of reality and illusion, it is the characters in No Such Creature that will stick in the reader's mind long after the book is finished. Just as the delicate and compassionate investigation of human relationships made the John Cardinal series something far more than police procedurals with blackflies, the warm, sympathetic, yet unsentimental treatment of the inevitable unravelling of the connection between this quasi-father and substitute son reassures us that though Blunt may have left his series in the far north, he has retained all those qualities that sustained it even as he moves to the sunny southwest." — Reviewing the Evidence

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From the U.S.:

"Blunt pulls off a remarkable feat: He makes a story drenched in sadness almost unbearably exciting.
The result is the most beautifully written, deeply felt page-turner of the year." — Kirkus

"An unexpected yet utterly realistic twist lifts this novel into extremely interesting (and entertaining) territory. Sharp dialogue, complex characters and a satisfying conclusion." —Publishers Weekly

From Canada:

"In By the Time You Read This, Blunt, who has received Canadian and International awards for this series, once again proves he can set the scene better than almost anyone else in the crime genre, putting the reader right into Algonquin Bay with all its autumnal glory, its painful lives and sordid little secrets. . . . Blunt, unlike some series authors, never writes the same book twice." — The Globe and Mail

"Giles Blunt's fourth and most affecting crime novel. . . . makes for great sleuthing. It also makes for heart-breaking stuff, the kind of thing that forces the reader to turn away from the page and give the horror a rest. — Toronto Star

"You always expect a crime novel to throw curves at you. With the good ones, it is the unexpected twists that keep the reader engaged and turning the page.
With the latest John Cardinal adventure in By the Time You Read This, Canadian author Giles Blunt delivers a true heart stopper. . . . a taut, bleak thriller that takes readers on a roller-coaster ride of high emotion, deception and suspicion." — Edmonton Journal

"Giles Blunt's fourth novel is cause for celebration. . . . His award-winning work continues to grow. By the Time You Read This is the best of an excellent quartet." — The Hamilton Spectator

“In a series that has already taken home numerous awards, this volume, Blunt’s fourth, stands out for its grace, compassion and the elegance of his writing. . . . It is a poignant literary work that nonetheless offers all the gritty satisfaction of a standard police procedural. This is, quite simply, a great book from a writer at the top of his form.” — Calgary Herald

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	From the U.S.: "[A] searing portrait of a cop unable to prevent his wife's self-destruction." — Kirkus "Blunt spins a highly disturbing but truly memorable tale about a Canadian cult's murder spree. . . . The action will glue readers to the page, but the plot is equally moving in its quieter, more poignant moments when Cardinal, whose wife suffers from bouts of severe depression, must take time to handle family matters. Based on a true crime, the pulsing, tightly plotted narrative again shows why Blunt (Forty Words for Sorrow) should be considered among the new practitioners of crime drama's elite." — Publishers Weekly
	From Canada: "The rapacious insects . . . amount to a single, malevolent character . . . a fit match for the novel's bloodthirsty murderer. . . . Blunt's script-writing experience shows in his crisp dialogue and rapid-fire intorduction of minor characters, while his literary gifts are apparent in Cardinal's tortured soul." — Maclean's "Blunt has quickly [become] one of the top crime writers in Canada, indeed internationally, and deservedly so. . . . A few more novels like Blackfly Season and Blunt may well achieve literary iconic status himself." — The Globe and Mail "Blunt writes easily and compellingly. . . But the details are what set Blackfly Season "Crime buffs will revel in the painstaking detail of the ensuing investigation -- lovingly researched by Blunt . . . . There is a memorable watering-hole scene in Blackfly Season, and the success of the series (the first two books are Forty Words for Sorrow and The Delicate Storm) suggests that Blunt won't have to get back behind a bar anytime soon. The Cardinal books have received positive reviews and earned Blunt fans around the world." — Canada Press
	From the U.K.: "A hard-hitting crime story given a sharper edge by infusions of the occult." — Northern Echo "Blunt's plot grabs you by the throat and won't let go until the suspense is played out on the final page. Excellent." — Western Daily Press
	From the U.S.; "Both [Forty Words for Sorrow and The Delicate Storm] are notable for their subtly nuanced, mordantly poetic images in which what you might call the formerly human has been transmogrified by violence into a part of this natural setting. . . . The Canadian landscape . . . [is] rendered with a gritty photorealism that makes Blunt's writing unusually cinematic." —Joyce Carol Oates, The New York Review of Books "Blunt writes with the flashing grace of an ice skater skimming over a frozen pond." —New York Times Book Reivew "Blunt scores again . . . . The plot races toward the finish line but not at the expense of the characters." —Library Journal "Blunt stands as a master craftsman who shows us not only darkness, but also decency." —Publishers Weekly "A humdinger of a plot." —Kirkus
	From Canada: "It's almost a crime how beautiful Blunt's prose is . . . You are preternaturally there with these characters, crunching across frozen parking lots, shivering at stakeouts in the woods—ordinary cop scenes that in the hands of a stylist like Blunt become means of ratcheting up suspense." —Quill & Quire "Blunt has woven together fictional characters with recent history to create a narrative both instructive and compelling." —The National Post "Blunt gets into the minds of killers, much to his readers' pleasure. This is not murder for murder's sake. It's literary murder." —Ottawa Citizen "The prose bristles with tension and Blunt presents a conspiracy starring all the right acronyms—CSIS, the RCMP, the CIA and the FLQ. The Delicate Storm is the second novel featuring Det. John Cardinal and I hope it won't be the last." —Chatelaine "It is a multi-layered, elegantly written story that manages to transform ancient politics into unput-downable reading." —Calgary Herald
	From the U.K.: "The action . . . is skilfully paced and full of the kind of ambiguities which face real detectives." —Sunday Telegraph "This is a sharp, offbeat, witty book . . . Refreshing and, above all, entertaining." —Sherlock "The weather plays a big part in this spectacularly good psychological thriller." —Glasgow Evening Times "The pace of Blunt's complex plot develops with increasing intensity, permeated by the lethal eerie winter. . . . This is a gripping thriller." —The Oxford Times "Giles Blunt's The Delicate Storm confirms his early promise as the leading Canadian crime writer of his generation, with a satisfying knack of convincingly portraying the cold and often desolate terrain of his native country." —Birmingham Post "Cardinal and Delorme make wonderful protagonists, but it's the weather that takes centre stage in Giles Blunt's excellent psychological thriller. . . . I adore this visual book for its underplayed characterisation and delicious subtlety. . . . The Delicate Storm is crime fiction at its best. It's also literature." —Irish Examiner

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	From the U.S.; “The most horrifying story since The Silence of the Lambs. The plot is satanic, the tension relentless.” –Los Angeles Times “Brilliant. One of the finest crime novels I’ve ever read.” –Jonathan Kellerman “Polished, at times poetic but more frequently horrific, and especially moving in dealing with Cardinal’s wife Catherine. Blunt is a helluva storyteller, and his John Cardinal probably has a long career ahead of him.” –Kirkus “The plangent atmosphere gradually permeates the reader’s consciousness…. Sorrow is palpable, and readers making their way through the book will feel like they’re walking hunched over against a steady, chilling wind—but the final destination, like Cardinal’s final redemption, is well earned and well worth the trip.” –Publishers Weekly “A thinking person’s thriller, one that deserves attention.” –Denver Post “I wish I had written Forty Words for Sorrow. Blunt has a tremendous talent. If you miss Forty Words for Sorrow, you’ll miss one of the best novels of 2001.” –Tony Hillerman
	From Canada: “An exquisitely plotted mystery. The scene that gives the book its title is unforgettable. Don’t read it just because it’s a good crime novel and because once you’ve begun, you won’t put it down until you’re finished. Read it because it’s excellent.” –The Globe and Mail “Blunt is so meticulous and pitiless in describing Algonquin Bay’s winter that the reader, just turning the pages, feels in danger of coming down with chilblains, frostbite and Arctic fever.” –Toronto Star “A bleak, disturbing tale and one that will likely stay with you.” –Ottawa Citizen “Raises the bar of Canadian crime writing. A dead-certain nomination for multiple writing awards.” –National Post “Best Mystery of the Year” –The Globe and Mail
	From the U.K.: “An atmospheric account, extraordinary for its psychology and tension. Giles Blunt manages to inhabit the minds of killer, victim, and investigator alike, a feat that very few writers can manage. It moves his work to a different level.” –The Independent “A taut and enthralling tale. Humane, intelligent, and gripping, Forty Words for Sorrow is a haunting journey into the human heart in all its complexities.” –Val McDermid “As fresh as morning dew. Never less than fascinating throughout.” –The Independent on Sunday “A tour de force.” –Evening Standard

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From the U.S. & Canada:

"The reader is swept along on a superbly rendered descent into modern-day hell. Blunt is a TV writer whose literary debut is sensational." —Publishers Weekly

"His characters are vivid originals. He knows what makes Nick tick. He knows the world of galleries and painters. And he knows what violent death look like. The result is a chilling blend of the horror and detective story, along with the dream, and anguish, of trying to produce great art." —The San Diego Union

"Giles Blunt manages to move the traditional Faustian theme into a smoothly written contemporary story. Moreover, he instills an atmosphere of dread and terror without resorting to the monsters and mutilations of most modern horror fiction." —The Toronto Star

From the U.K.:

"The strengths of Blunt's writing are the sophistication of the portrayal of the relationships and the clarity of the description. . . the tension is not lost for a moment." —Sunday Times

"Giles Blunt has a truly inventive mind and he can write—a talent to watch." —The Bookseller

"A novel of original power, which builds to a truly terrifying climax." —British Publishing News

"Masterpiece of a thriller. . . . Corker of a first novel from a screenwriter who makes no mistakes in his new genre. . . . The close is chilling and masterly." —Daily Mail

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