Criminal Minds

Crime Machine
Giles Blunt
Random House

Guess what?  I have a new addiction.  No, it's not any of the usual suspects (at my age, those would be meth, coke, booze or men.)  And no, it's not even books or candy.  Ready for it?  Deep breath -- I've become addicted to the Tour de France.  I know ... Just a few days ago I was telling all of you that I was going to get cracking and get back to blogging.  Forget about writing ... I'm not even reading!   I've plopped myself in front of the television every evening this week to watch the replay of a bunch of skinny dudes on bikes.  Where has this been all my life? 

So, when I haven't been either watching the spandex clad warriors or working like a maniac, I have managed to fit in a couple of chapters here and there  This week I was kept company by Detective John Cardinal of the Algonquin Bay police force.  What I really like about these novels (aside from the fact that I am familiar with a lot of locations) is the unpredictability and complexity of the plots.  Whodunits are never fun when you have them figured out in the first few chapters and I've found that Blunt usually keeps me guessing until the very end. 

In addition to the actual mystery in Crime Machine, the characters of John Cardinal and Lise Delorme are continuing to develop across the series.  I was dead certain in the last novel that with the death of his wife, Cardinal would turn to his partner for a little romance.  Blunt didn't really play it that way and I have found that very intriguing.  I might just have to come back whenever Cardinal surfaces again to find out where he's at.  I mean, he's no John Rebus, but he is interesting.  Three watching the detectives out of five.

PS ... About this whole TdF thing ...they're not all skinny dudes.  I quite like big Thor Hushovd.  Legs like tree trunks and a happy, happy smile.  I'm also cheering for the lone Canadian on tour.  Go Ryder!