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Black Fly Season (A John Cardinal Novel)
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Manufacturer: Berkley
Author: Giles Blunt
Publisher: Berkley
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Berkley
Author: Giles Blunt
Publisher: Berkley
Average Customer Rating:
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Black Fly Season (A John Cardinal Novel) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425209578
ISBN: 0425209571
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2006-05-02
Publisher: Berkley
Studio: Berkley
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780425209578
ISBN: 0425209571
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 400
Publication Date: 2006-05-02
Publisher: Berkley
Studio: Berkley
Editorial Review of Black Fly Season (A John Cardinal Novel)
When a woman stumbles into a tavern, covered in black fly bites, with a bullet in her brain and no memory, homicide detectives John Cardinal and Lisa Delorme know someone left her for dead. And if word gets out that she isn't, someone will try again
Customer Reviews of Black Fly Season (A John Cardinal Novel)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: I've Got to Go with Gary Griffith's Review
Review: Read GG's review first.
Black Fly Season was also my first introduction to the author. I agree with Gary in all respects. I would add that the emotional portraits of both the manic-despressed wife of one of the protagonist, and the drug addicted brother of one of the main characters are spot on. These passages resonate with authenticity, especially the section on how addicts kid themselves continuously that they will quit "next Monday."
I also enjoyed the healthy dose of entymology and near-voodoo religion. Blunt was very factual yet entertaining in introducing these themes and they added greatly to the book.
One of the other reviewers downplayed Blunt in comparison to Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series placed in the UP of Michigan. Those were nice, but there is far more characterization and plotting in this book than in either of the first two by Hamilton.
I am getting my hands on everything Blunt has written with high hopes they're all as good as Black Fly Season.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Murder, eh?
Review: I enjoyed this novel. This is my 2nd Giles Blunt novel, the first being Delicate Storm. I liked this one better. For one thing, it seemed somewhat more plausible. It was certainly gripping. There were enough strange but plausible twists, oddball characters, and unexpected developments to keep me going, wondering what would happen next.
There are several specific things I like about this, or perhaps Blunt's writing in general. First, and perhaps most important for me, is the sense of place. The locations, the dialogue, and the characters, all come across as very authentic. Even some of the screwier characters that appear in passing are sketched very nicely. Blunt is to northern Ontario as Mankell is to the Skane region in Sweden.
The characters, the action, and the dialogue generally seem very natural. As the plot unfolds, at each step the characters' actions and dialogue seem reasonable given the context. Things go right or wrong, people react, and move on. Even in the face of very complex or unpleasant situations, the characters seem low-key and their reactions fairly professional. I contrast this approach to writing with that in some other contemporary mystery series, where it seems like everything the lead characters do or say has to be over-the-top in order to sustain the reader's interest.
As some of the other reviews mentioned, there is a side-plot involving the medical condition of Cardinal's wife. Normally this sort of thing really turns me off. I really dislike mysteries that spend more time talking about the main characters' issues, whether alcoholism, illness, or a relationship, than they do about the main plot. I am thinking in particular here of some of the Rebus novels, which in a few cases became more about Rebus and his personal demons than about solving a mystery. Fortunately, Blunt keeps the elements involving the wife's condition in check, and the related passages are brief enough that they are not an annoying and melodramatic distraction in the way that such digressions often are.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A decent police procedural set in Canada
Review: I bought this book based upon the review of Gary Griffiths who has a spotlight review on this book here. I think we are not supposed to refer to other reviews here, and I am not going to do so. I am going to refer to the reviewer though because I think he does a fine job and I admire his reiews a lot. Gary writes honest, insightful reviews and if he thinks a book is great then there is a fair-to-middlin' chance I am going to think it is great too. We don't always agree though and this book is one of those instances.
I thought this was a good book but not a great book. All the pieces were there. Interesting, sympathetic characters, with interesting human-scale problems of their own, a puzzling crime, interesting forensics, clever/weird bad guys, and a great setting that is unusual: the north of Canada. Somehow though, somehow....when I finished this book my honest summation is that this is good, really good actually, but it doesn't quite reach that memorable plateau which defines a novel as "great". Perhaps I should have started at the beginning of the series and worked forward for a better appreciation of the characters and their devleopment because as it stands I don't think this book and the characters will be that memorable to me. If I was going to make a recommendation for a "northern" mystery series I would recommend the Alex McKnight series by Steve Hamilton first. In my mind that is a truly great series.
So my opinion is this is a solid, good mystery that won't disappoint you at all. You'll enjoy reading it and won't regret the investment of time and money. Yet for a truly great series of reads, in a similar setting and environment, check out the McKnight series by Hamilton. It's first-class, memorable stuff that is wonderful enough to make you anxiously await the annual next installment year after year.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I loved Blunt's first book and was extremely happy to note that this second one is even better. He paints a brooding, uncomfortable picture of a Canadian town, but contrast the gruesome storyline with very human and at times gentle lead characters.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Procedural
Review: Perhaps starting in the middle of a series has lessened the impact, but I found this to be just average. I'll have to go and look for the beginning.
Review Summary: I've Got to Go with Gary Griffith's Review
Review: Read GG's review first.
Black Fly Season was also my first introduction to the author. I agree with Gary in all respects. I would add that the emotional portraits of both the manic-despressed wife of one of the protagonist, and the drug addicted brother of one of the main characters are spot on. These passages resonate with authenticity, especially the section on how addicts kid themselves continuously that they will quit "next Monday."
I also enjoyed the healthy dose of entymology and near-voodoo religion. Blunt was very factual yet entertaining in introducing these themes and they added greatly to the book.
One of the other reviewers downplayed Blunt in comparison to Steve Hamilton's Alex McKnight series placed in the UP of Michigan. Those were nice, but there is far more characterization and plotting in this book than in either of the first two by Hamilton.
I am getting my hands on everything Blunt has written with high hopes they're all as good as Black Fly Season.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Murder, eh?
Review: I enjoyed this novel. This is my 2nd Giles Blunt novel, the first being Delicate Storm. I liked this one better. For one thing, it seemed somewhat more plausible. It was certainly gripping. There were enough strange but plausible twists, oddball characters, and unexpected developments to keep me going, wondering what would happen next.
There are several specific things I like about this, or perhaps Blunt's writing in general. First, and perhaps most important for me, is the sense of place. The locations, the dialogue, and the characters, all come across as very authentic. Even some of the screwier characters that appear in passing are sketched very nicely. Blunt is to northern Ontario as Mankell is to the Skane region in Sweden.
The characters, the action, and the dialogue generally seem very natural. As the plot unfolds, at each step the characters' actions and dialogue seem reasonable given the context. Things go right or wrong, people react, and move on. Even in the face of very complex or unpleasant situations, the characters seem low-key and their reactions fairly professional. I contrast this approach to writing with that in some other contemporary mystery series, where it seems like everything the lead characters do or say has to be over-the-top in order to sustain the reader's interest.
As some of the other reviews mentioned, there is a side-plot involving the medical condition of Cardinal's wife. Normally this sort of thing really turns me off. I really dislike mysteries that spend more time talking about the main characters' issues, whether alcoholism, illness, or a relationship, than they do about the main plot. I am thinking in particular here of some of the Rebus novels, which in a few cases became more about Rebus and his personal demons than about solving a mystery. Fortunately, Blunt keeps the elements involving the wife's condition in check, and the related passages are brief enough that they are not an annoying and melodramatic distraction in the way that such digressions often are.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A decent police procedural set in Canada
Review: I bought this book based upon the review of Gary Griffiths who has a spotlight review on this book here. I think we are not supposed to refer to other reviews here, and I am not going to do so. I am going to refer to the reviewer though because I think he does a fine job and I admire his reiews a lot. Gary writes honest, insightful reviews and if he thinks a book is great then there is a fair-to-middlin' chance I am going to think it is great too. We don't always agree though and this book is one of those instances.
I thought this was a good book but not a great book. All the pieces were there. Interesting, sympathetic characters, with interesting human-scale problems of their own, a puzzling crime, interesting forensics, clever/weird bad guys, and a great setting that is unusual: the north of Canada. Somehow though, somehow....when I finished this book my honest summation is that this is good, really good actually, but it doesn't quite reach that memorable plateau which defines a novel as "great". Perhaps I should have started at the beginning of the series and worked forward for a better appreciation of the characters and their devleopment because as it stands I don't think this book and the characters will be that memorable to me. If I was going to make a recommendation for a "northern" mystery series I would recommend the Alex McKnight series by Steve Hamilton first. In my mind that is a truly great series.
So my opinion is this is a solid, good mystery that won't disappoint you at all. You'll enjoy reading it and won't regret the investment of time and money. Yet for a truly great series of reads, in a similar setting and environment, check out the McKnight series by Hamilton. It's first-class, memorable stuff that is wonderful enough to make you anxiously await the annual next installment year after year.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Highly recommended
Review: I loved Blunt's first book and was extremely happy to note that this second one is even better. He paints a brooding, uncomfortable picture of a Canadian town, but contrast the gruesome storyline with very human and at times gentle lead characters.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Procedural
Review: Perhaps starting in the middle of a series has lessened the impact, but I found this to be just average. I'll have to go and look for the beginning.