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By the Time You Read This: A Novel
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Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
Author: Giles Blunt
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $6.99
You Save: $ 12.96 ( 65% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
Author: Giles Blunt
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Average Customer Rating:
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By the Time You Read This: A Novel Description
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Henry Holt and Co.
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2007-02-06
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Product Release Date: 2007-02-06
Studio: Henry Holt and Co.
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Henry Holt and Co.
Manufacturer: Henry Holt and Co.
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 352
Publication Date: 2007-02-06
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Product Release Date: 2007-02-06
Studio: Henry Holt and Co.
Editorial Review of By the Time You Read This: A Novel
Detective John Cardinal is on the hunt for an ingenious killer even as he mourns his own wife’s tragic death in this thriller of heart-stopping suspense
Autumn has arrived in Algonquin Bay, and with it an unusual spate of suicides. The most shocking victim yet is Detective John Cardinal’s wife, who has finally succumbed to her battle with manic depression. As Cardinal takes time to grieve, his partner, Lise Delorme, handles an unsavory assignment: a young girl appears in a series of unspeakable photos being traded online, and background elements indicate she lives in Algonquin Bay. Delorme is desperate to find the girl before she suffers more abuse.
When Cardinal receives a string of hateful anonymous notes about his wife’s death, he begins to suspect homicide. His colleagues believe he is too distraught to think clearly, and he’s forced to investigate alone. In doing so, he comes up against a brand of killer neither he—nor the reader—has ever seen before.
In his most masterful and thrilling novel yet, Giles Blunt confirms his reputation as a rising international star in crime fiction, and positions Detective John Cardinal among the finest characters in the genre.
Customer Reviews of By the Time You Read This: A Novel
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: By The Time You Read This- Giles Blunt
Review: I am an avid reader of Giles Blunt and purchased this novel with great anticipation only to be disappointed when it arrived as I had already read it . In Australia it is sold under the cover of Feilds Of Grief may I make a suggestion that when different covers are used for different regions that the publishers make a note of this on these books- please.
I had checked Giles Blunts web site b4 purchasing this novel after returning to his web site I notice that it has identified that it is sold in the UK under the different cover but no mention of Australia.
This is a great read,you wont be disappointed and I can hardly wait for his new book !!!!!By the Time You Read This: A Novel
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: BORING
Review: I plodded along and got half way though this book and just quit. NOTHING happens! How this can be labeled a thriller is beyond me - talk, talk, blah, blah and mor talk. NOTHING HAPPENS! I don't even know how it got published, let alone got so many glowing reviews. NOTHING HAPPENS! I gave up because I couldn't stay awake while reaing it - oh, did I tell you? NOTHING HAPPENS - it' BORING!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beware
Review: This is a well written murder mystery. Despite undisputable evidence, detective John Cardinal has a nagging suspicion that a shocking suicide isn't what it seems. But beware, there is plenty of grief and depression described in vivid detail in this story as the killer is revealed. It's not for everyone.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Half of this series is great...
Review: ...but it's not two of the books, it's half of each book.
I've read the 4 books in this series over the past month and they all have the same problem in my opinion. The chapters which involve the cops Cardinal and Delorme are terrific, but the books contain many chapters which instead follow the criminals involved and I found them uniformly dull and unbelievable. I plodded through them just wanting them to be over.
I wish I could give the series a higher rating because I love the northern setting and the exploration of mental illness in a relationship. I was sorry to read the event of the first chapter of this one despite the lack of surprise due to the foreshadowing of another relationship throughout the series. I was also sorry to see Cardinal's past criminal act swept under the rug as the series progressed. If another book appears in the series I'll read it, but I wish the author would change his formula and keep his main characters involved throughout the book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Into the dark places
Review: John Cardinal, a small-town policeman, seems pretty run-of-the mill, like his community. Algonquin Bay sits on a lake, surrounded by Northern Ontario rocky forests. There are the usual little crimes and petty injustices to deal with. One night, however, while on the discomforting task of exposing an adultery situation, John is called to an accident scene. A woman has fallen from a new high rise. Or was she pushed? Or did she jump? This is of particular importance to John, because it turns out the woman is his wife, Catherine.
A photographer who often went out on solitary picture excursions - even in an Ontario winter - Catherine is also a depressive. She's been in the dark places. She's been hospitalised several times, returning to a warm homecoming and declaring "How lucky I am!" to have a family which can deal with her problems. That luck seems to have run out, or is it eroded? The last option, suicide, appears to be the cause of her death. There's even a note: "By the time you read this . . .". That should close the case and John Cardinal should take some time to work through his grief. His own dark time is just beginning.
John and Catherine were together too long and they knew each other too well for this copper to rest on easy answers. The note is an enigma, not clarified by some disturbing mail John receives. Little bits of information, imparted willingly or inadvertently, build suspicions in his mind, and he must follow them through. To get to the resolution, John encounters some disturbing elements. A child pornography "ring" on the Internet has reached his town. In fact, it might be centred in Algonquin Bay as Cardinal's colleague Lise Delorme is undertaking to determine. How dark is that news to a town where vulnerable children are supposed to be a rarity? A psychiatrist, Dr Frederick Bell, the doctor counselling Catherine, has a checkered background. What relevance do all these things have to the death of his wife?
A good mystery should command your attention, and Giles Blunt gets you up and running from the opening pages. He weaves an intricate tale, populated by some fascinating characters. He portrays them skillfully - none are seriously overdrawn, and all are plausible. The plot shifts are carefully handled, but Blunt isn't a mystery "mechanic". Events are under the control of the people involved and it's their reactions to changing circumstances that keep this book interesting. If you're a mystery buff, this should make a welcome addition to your collection. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
Review Summary: By The Time You Read This- Giles Blunt
Review: I am an avid reader of Giles Blunt and purchased this novel with great anticipation only to be disappointed when it arrived as I had already read it . In Australia it is sold under the cover of Feilds Of Grief may I make a suggestion that when different covers are used for different regions that the publishers make a note of this on these books- please.
I had checked Giles Blunts web site b4 purchasing this novel after returning to his web site I notice that it has identified that it is sold in the UK under the different cover but no mention of Australia.
This is a great read,you wont be disappointed and I can hardly wait for his new book !!!!!By the Time You Read This: A Novel
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: BORING
Review: I plodded along and got half way though this book and just quit. NOTHING happens! How this can be labeled a thriller is beyond me - talk, talk, blah, blah and mor talk. NOTHING HAPPENS! I don't even know how it got published, let alone got so many glowing reviews. NOTHING HAPPENS! I gave up because I couldn't stay awake while reaing it - oh, did I tell you? NOTHING HAPPENS - it' BORING!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Beware
Review: This is a well written murder mystery. Despite undisputable evidence, detective John Cardinal has a nagging suspicion that a shocking suicide isn't what it seems. But beware, there is plenty of grief and depression described in vivid detail in this story as the killer is revealed. It's not for everyone.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Half of this series is great...
Review: ...but it's not two of the books, it's half of each book.
I've read the 4 books in this series over the past month and they all have the same problem in my opinion. The chapters which involve the cops Cardinal and Delorme are terrific, but the books contain many chapters which instead follow the criminals involved and I found them uniformly dull and unbelievable. I plodded through them just wanting them to be over.
I wish I could give the series a higher rating because I love the northern setting and the exploration of mental illness in a relationship. I was sorry to read the event of the first chapter of this one despite the lack of surprise due to the foreshadowing of another relationship throughout the series. I was also sorry to see Cardinal's past criminal act swept under the rug as the series progressed. If another book appears in the series I'll read it, but I wish the author would change his formula and keep his main characters involved throughout the book.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Into the dark places
Review: John Cardinal, a small-town policeman, seems pretty run-of-the mill, like his community. Algonquin Bay sits on a lake, surrounded by Northern Ontario rocky forests. There are the usual little crimes and petty injustices to deal with. One night, however, while on the discomforting task of exposing an adultery situation, John is called to an accident scene. A woman has fallen from a new high rise. Or was she pushed? Or did she jump? This is of particular importance to John, because it turns out the woman is his wife, Catherine.
A photographer who often went out on solitary picture excursions - even in an Ontario winter - Catherine is also a depressive. She's been in the dark places. She's been hospitalised several times, returning to a warm homecoming and declaring "How lucky I am!" to have a family which can deal with her problems. That luck seems to have run out, or is it eroded? The last option, suicide, appears to be the cause of her death. There's even a note: "By the time you read this . . .". That should close the case and John Cardinal should take some time to work through his grief. His own dark time is just beginning.
John and Catherine were together too long and they knew each other too well for this copper to rest on easy answers. The note is an enigma, not clarified by some disturbing mail John receives. Little bits of information, imparted willingly or inadvertently, build suspicions in his mind, and he must follow them through. To get to the resolution, John encounters some disturbing elements. A child pornography "ring" on the Internet has reached his town. In fact, it might be centred in Algonquin Bay as Cardinal's colleague Lise Delorme is undertaking to determine. How dark is that news to a town where vulnerable children are supposed to be a rarity? A psychiatrist, Dr Frederick Bell, the doctor counselling Catherine, has a checkered background. What relevance do all these things have to the death of his wife?
A good mystery should command your attention, and Giles Blunt gets you up and running from the opening pages. He weaves an intricate tale, populated by some fascinating characters. He portrays them skillfully - none are seriously overdrawn, and all are plausible. The plot shifts are carefully handled, but Blunt isn't a mystery "mechanic". Events are under the control of the people involved and it's their reactions to changing circumstances that keep this book interesting. If you're a mystery buff, this should make a welcome addition to your collection. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]