Blackfly Season
By the Time You Read This
Giles Blunt
Seal Books
One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to try to read more Canadian Literature. How hard could that be, right? Our country has produced some amazingly talented writers over the last hundred years and there are thousands of great books just waiting to be explored. I could absolutely get lost forever in the novels of Martel, Atwood, Ross, Davies, Blais, Galloway, Laurence, Richler ... you get the idea.
My goal, however, was a little more specific. I wanted to read the books that I wouldn't find in the "Fiction and Literature" section of the bookstore. That is to say, I want to read books outside of the Canadian literary canon. In the past, I've made a pretty big dent in the Fantasy genre by consuming novels by Steven Erikson, Guy Gavriel Kay, Kelley Armstrong, and Charles deLint. A few weeks ago, I decided to look for something in the mystery genre. Enter Giles Blunt.
Set in Algonquin Bay, this series of novels focus on homicide detective John Cardinal and his sometimes partner Lise Delorme. John, like my boyfriend John Rebus, is a complicated man. He sensitive, single-minded, relentless, gentle, funny, caring, and very, very good at his job. Blunt's writing is sharp, fast-paced, yet surprisingly detailed. The best part is that his stories don't come across as formulaic which is why, I think, I was able to read three of his novels back-to-back without getting sick of the characters or the plots. Maybe that's why he's an award-winner. Three sliver daggers out of five.
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