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John Cardinal and Lise Delorme Mystery #2
The Delicate Storm
This one's a stylish, atmospheric, psychological thriller. It follows Giles Blunt's Silver Dagger Award winner, Forty Words for Sorrow.
A gruesome discovery in the wilderness north of Algonquin Bay leads detectives John Cardinal and Lisa Delorme to a remote cabin that has served as an abattoir for a cold-blooded killer…
But the same woods hide other horrors and soon a second body is discovered, naked and shrouded in ice. When one of the victims is identified as an American, the RCMP is called in, but it's the involvement of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that arouses Cardinal's true mistrust. Is their interference due to a suspected terrorist link, or is there something even more sinister behind it?
With Northern Ontario in the grip of an ice storm of once-in-a-hundred-years severity, the woods take on a glittering, lethal beauty. In this winter wonderland John Cardinal must hunt down and confront a killer.
Librarian's note: the characters, settings, pub dates, etc. have been done for the six novels in the author's John Cardinal series: 1. Forty Words for Sorrow (2000), 2. The Delicate Storm (2003), 3. Blackfly Season (2005), 4. The Fields of Grief (2006), 5. Crime Machine (2010), and 6. Until the Night (2012).
A gruesome discovery in the wilderness north of Algonquin Bay leads detectives John Cardinal and Lisa Delorme to a remote cabin that has served as an abattoir for a cold-blooded killer…
But the same woods hide other horrors and soon a second body is discovered, naked and shrouded in ice. When one of the victims is identified as an American, the RCMP is called in, but it's the involvement of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that arouses Cardinal's true mistrust. Is their interference due to a suspected terrorist link, or is there something even more sinister behind it?
With Northern Ontario in the grip of an ice storm of once-in-a-hundred-years severity, the woods take on a glittering, lethal beauty. In this winter wonderland John Cardinal must hunt down and confront a killer.
Librarian's note: the characters, settings, pub dates, etc. have been done for the six novels in the author's John Cardinal series: 1. Forty Words for Sorrow (2000), 2. The Delicate Storm (2003), 3. Blackfly Season (2005), 4. The Fields of Grief (2006), 5. Crime Machine (2010), and 6. Until the Night (2012).
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
59 people are currently reading
1284 people want to read
About the author
Giles Blunt
17 books408 followersGiles Blunt (born 1952 in Windsor, Ontario) is a Canadian novelist and screenwriter. His first novel, Cold Eye, was a psychological thriller set in the New York art world, which was made into the French movie Les Couleurs du diable (Allain Jessua, 1997).
He is also the author of the John Cardinal novels, set in the small town of Algonquin Bay, in Northern Ontario. Blunt grew up in North Bay, and Algonquin Bay is North Bay very thinly disguised — for example, Blunt retains the names of major streets and the two lakes (Trout Lake and Lake Nipissing) that the town sits between, the physical layout of the two places is the same, and he describes Algonquin Bay as being in the same geographical location as North Bay.
The first Cardinal story, Forty Words for Sorrow, won the British Crime Writers' Silver Dagger, and the second, The Delicate Storm, won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for best novel.
More recently he has written No Such Creature, a "road novel" set in the American southwest, and Breaking Lorca, which is set in a clandestine jail in El Salvador in the 1980s. His novels have been compared to the work of Ian Rankin and Cormac McCarthy.
Series:
* John Cardinal and Lise Delorme Mystery
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (2004): The Delicate Storm
Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger
◊ 2001: Forty Words for Sorrow
He is also the author of the John Cardinal novels, set in the small town of Algonquin Bay, in Northern Ontario. Blunt grew up in North Bay, and Algonquin Bay is North Bay very thinly disguised — for example, Blunt retains the names of major streets and the two lakes (Trout Lake and Lake Nipissing) that the town sits between, the physical layout of the two places is the same, and he describes Algonquin Bay as being in the same geographical location as North Bay.
The first Cardinal story, Forty Words for Sorrow, won the British Crime Writers' Silver Dagger, and the second, The Delicate Storm, won the Crime Writers of Canada's Arthur Ellis Award for best novel.
More recently he has written No Such Creature, a "road novel" set in the American southwest, and Breaking Lorca, which is set in a clandestine jail in El Salvador in the 1980s. His novels have been compared to the work of Ian Rankin and Cormac McCarthy.
Series:
* John Cardinal and Lise Delorme Mystery
Awards:
Arthur Ellis Award
◊ Best Novel (2004): The Delicate Storm
Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger
◊ 2001: Forty Words for Sorrow
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 220 reviews
October 1, 2025
4 Stars. Not as compelling as Forty Words for Sorrow, Blunt's debut novel featuring John Cardinal and Lise Delorme - that's one of the greats. But very good. Prepare for interpretations of two dates in Canadian history. The first is the ice storm of January 1998 in eastern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes. A rain storm turned to ice with tens of thousands of trees snapping under the weight, province-wide power lines down everywhere, and people dying in the below 0C cold with no power. The second is the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec. Two small cells of domestic terrorists kidnapped a provincial cabinet minister and the British trade consul. Prime Minister Trudeau, the father of a later PM, brought in the army to quash further incidents. The book opens with a dog discovering a severed arm. It had been mauled by a bear. Soon the body of a young doctor, Winter Cates who had been treating Cardinal's elderly father, is found naked in the woods covered with ice. With the help of the RCMP, but with resistance from Canada's spy agency CSIS, Cardinal and Delorme follow leads to Montreal and the long-ago disappearance of one of the terrorists. Gripping. (Au2022/Oc2025)
December 9, 2023
Fair read, but nothing special.
Cardinal and Delorme are looking for whoever killed a doctor, left her body in the snow, and this following the death of a man whose body was also left in the snow for the bears to eat. The book had an insanely good beginning, then a middling middle and toward the last third a series of talk-talk-talk, info-dumping and so much tell it was almost all tell, no show.
In other words, characters started talking about what they did in the past, while the present-day characters sat around, took notes and listened. I enjoyed Mr. Blunt's first book, but this one is a poor second. Set in Ontario, in the snow, melting snow, ice and snow, the locale and atmospherics are nicely done. You can actually feeeeeeel the cold as you read, but poor John Cardinal and Lise Delorme don't get an awful lot to do as they untangle who's telling the truth, who's lying, and how they got stuck in this book.
Sorry, I do enjoy the characters and the setting and will continue with the series, but this one was sort of dull.
Three stars, or a C-
Cardinal and Delorme are looking for whoever killed a doctor, left her body in the snow, and this following the death of a man whose body was also left in the snow for the bears to eat. The book had an insanely good beginning, then a middling middle and toward the last third a series of talk-talk-talk, info-dumping and so much tell it was almost all tell, no show.
In other words, characters started talking about what they did in the past, while the present-day characters sat around, took notes and listened. I enjoyed Mr. Blunt's first book, but this one is a poor second. Set in Ontario, in the snow, melting snow, ice and snow, the locale and atmospherics are nicely done. You can actually feeeeeeel the cold as you read, but poor John Cardinal and Lise Delorme don't get an awful lot to do as they untangle who's telling the truth, who's lying, and how they got stuck in this book.
Sorry, I do enjoy the characters and the setting and will continue with the series, but this one was sort of dull.
Three stars, or a C-
January 29, 2019
Not quite so gripping or involving as Forty Words For Sorrow, mainly because it focuses on homegrown Canadian politics from 50 years ago, so it's a struggle to relate to. The ending is more than a little anticlimactic, too.
Easy to understand why they chose not to include this storyline in the TV series. But worth reading to understand more about JC's character, his relationship with Delorme, and how his predicament from the past is resolved...
7/10
Easy to understand why they chose not to include this storyline in the TV series. But worth reading to understand more about JC's character, his relationship with Delorme, and how his predicament from the past is resolved...
7/10
June 9, 2023
Another great book in a wonderful, underrated series.
February 18, 2019
Noioso, meccanico, completamente privo di pathos.
Questo mio secondo incontro con Giles Blunt, che avevo scoperto col bellissimo “Quaranta modi per dire dolore”, è stato parecchio deludente. Ho letto la prima metà con sufficiente curiosità, la seconda con l’impellente voglia di arrivare all’ultima riga. Non ho ritrovato quelle fredde e innevate atmosfere canadesi tato amate nel primo romanzo, mi sono persa tra gli innumerevoli nomi dei personaggi e la storia priva di suspense mi ha annoiata. Mi è parso un classico thrillerotto all’americana, dal ritmo molto meccanico, una successione di dialoghi fra poliziotti, capi, informatori, sospetti e nulla più. In “Quaranta modi per dire dolore” l’assassino era stato svelato ben prima della fine, e l’attesa che i detective protagonisti lo scoprissero aveva generato una bella tensione….qui invece abbiamo una lunga linea piatta, che, oltre ad annoiarmi, non mi ha fatto capire più nulla. O forse sono io che non sono riuscita a vederci nulla, complici le aspettative generate dalla lettura del primo romanzo della serie. Romanzo che, a questo punto, temo sia stato un unico e solo colpo di genio. Peccato.
Questo mio secondo incontro con Giles Blunt, che avevo scoperto col bellissimo “Quaranta modi per dire dolore”, è stato parecchio deludente. Ho letto la prima metà con sufficiente curiosità, la seconda con l’impellente voglia di arrivare all’ultima riga. Non ho ritrovato quelle fredde e innevate atmosfere canadesi tato amate nel primo romanzo, mi sono persa tra gli innumerevoli nomi dei personaggi e la storia priva di suspense mi ha annoiata. Mi è parso un classico thrillerotto all’americana, dal ritmo molto meccanico, una successione di dialoghi fra poliziotti, capi, informatori, sospetti e nulla più. In “Quaranta modi per dire dolore” l’assassino era stato svelato ben prima della fine, e l’attesa che i detective protagonisti lo scoprissero aveva generato una bella tensione….qui invece abbiamo una lunga linea piatta, che, oltre ad annoiarmi, non mi ha fatto capire più nulla. O forse sono io che non sono riuscita a vederci nulla, complici le aspettative generate dalla lettura del primo romanzo della serie. Romanzo che, a questo punto, temo sia stato un unico e solo colpo di genio. Peccato.
April 19, 2009
Too much Canadian politics, it was confusing. Then the ending wasn't very satisfying.
July 23, 2019
I liked this one better than the first book in this series. Two bodies are found - but this time there's more emphasis on how our two fine detectives figure out who our killer is. Great deductive reasoning on the part of Cardinal - and Delorme gets a little more of her own "time in the sun" in this one. I like that - she's a good counter balance to Cardinal. The author brings in a bit of Canadian history from the 1970s into the story. Names have been changed but the history is still there. Looking forward to the next book in this series.
June 27, 2014
One of the most superbly Canadian mystery books I have read in years. It is not just Canadian in setting, it does not just draw on Canadian political and social history, from first page to last line the reality of the way different Canadians feel about themselves, each other, their history, their culture suffuses the text.
It is also a well plotted, well paced and entertaining.
It is also a well plotted, well paced and entertaining.
August 12, 2021
This was an very engaging and intresting second book in a series, and it did not suffer as many second books do. Very readable and I'm quite interested in continuing on with the series
May 16, 2019
The Delicate Storm is a strange book. As a follow up to Giles Blunt's Forty Words for Sorrow, readers can be forgiven for expecting a police procedural focused on a new case in Blunt's quasi-fictional Algonquin Bay (which is really just Blunt's home of North Bay, Ontario), but The Delicate Storm defies those expectations with a shift away from focusing on procedural plot, shifting his focus, instead, to characterization, history, and politics.
This book is mostly about Cardinal and Delorme. It is about their day to day lives, their partnership, their relationships with others and each other, their belief systems, their connections to Algonquin Bay, and it's about Cardinal's past (a little). The book works well from this direction but not well enough. It is a step towards deepening their bond and our understanding of them as people, and if this series goes on for ten or twelve books it will be an important step, but at the moment it is merely a beginning.
The Delicate Storm is less about the history and politics, but they are there, and they're important as the meat of the story. The history in question is a foray into Canada's radical past as Cardinal and Delorme find themselves embroiled in the repercussions of Quebec's FLQ crisis. It is here that Blunt's politics become evident, particularly when it comes to the attitudes of Cardinal, and all of this leads inexorably to the novel's surprising ending, which is, itself, a rather depressing political statement.
This is an excellent diversion for a rainy weekend, and if the Cardinal books continue to build on themselves from one volume to the next, this may very well be one of the finished series best chapters. As a one off book, however, I can see it disappointing many, even though I came away from The Delicate Storm quite satisfied.
This book is mostly about Cardinal and Delorme. It is about their day to day lives, their partnership, their relationships with others and each other, their belief systems, their connections to Algonquin Bay, and it's about Cardinal's past (a little). The book works well from this direction but not well enough. It is a step towards deepening their bond and our understanding of them as people, and if this series goes on for ten or twelve books it will be an important step, but at the moment it is merely a beginning.
The Delicate Storm is less about the history and politics, but they are there, and they're important as the meat of the story. The history in question is a foray into Canada's radical past as Cardinal and Delorme find themselves embroiled in the repercussions of Quebec's FLQ crisis. It is here that Blunt's politics become evident, particularly when it comes to the attitudes of Cardinal, and all of this leads inexorably to the novel's surprising ending, which is, itself, a rather depressing political statement.
This is an excellent diversion for a rainy weekend, and if the Cardinal books continue to build on themselves from one volume to the next, this may very well be one of the finished series best chapters. As a one off book, however, I can see it disappointing many, even though I came away from The Delicate Storm quite satisfied.
July 19, 2021
I didn't think this was as good as his debut novel, which I really enjoyed. I liked the various story lines, the characters on the "wrong side of the law" and how they all inter-connected with each other as members of the FLQ, how Cardinal & Delorme tracked them down & figured out who the murder(s) were and those on the "right side of the law". I look forward to the third book of the series to see if the Cardinal/Delorme relationship grows to a more personal one. Funny how office/police politics hinder potential arrests and convictions eh?
I liked the FLQ aspect of the story since I lived through it as an 11-12 year old living on a military base in Ottawa and seeing all those military vehicles parked in the parade square; the discussions of who the FLQ was in the class and seeing the TV reports on the nightly news and then the infamous Pierre Trudeau "Just Watch Me" answers to a reporters question.
Recommend for those who like Blunt's work and/or who've watched any episodes of the Cardinal TV show and yet to read any of these books.
I liked the FLQ aspect of the story since I lived through it as an 11-12 year old living on a military base in Ottawa and seeing all those military vehicles parked in the parade square; the discussions of who the FLQ was in the class and seeing the TV reports on the nightly news and then the infamous Pierre Trudeau "Just Watch Me" answers to a reporters question.
Recommend for those who like Blunt's work and/or who've watched any episodes of the Cardinal TV show and yet to read any of these books.
December 18, 2015
Well written, realistic with very appealing characters. I am really enjoying this series. Made me glad I don't have to deal with Canadian winters.
August 12, 2023
A very generous 3 stars from me. This book is nowhere near as strong as 'forty words for sorrow'. Giles Blunt is a compelling writer and i think his writing is high-quality, but im not really sure what story he was trying to tell here. Most of the story takes place decades earlier, meaning the book is a 'go and talk to old people' affair, which would be fine if the other plots were more compelling, but they just arent. Characters like Stan Cardinal are brought in but dont serve any narrative purpose, they re just there, while characters from the first book that could be developed further arent in it at all. It feels like Blunt hoped all these different little plots would tie together into a cohesive story magically on their own. The ending is unsatisfying and very out of sync, it almost felt like the book just ran out and simply stopped, rather than coming to a satisfying or meaningful conclusion. Hopefully #3 will be better!
December 20, 2013
This is the second book in the series featuring detective John Cardinal. I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as the first one, Forty Words for Sorrow. The murders weren't as weird and gruesome as the serial killings in the first book. However, this book was compelling for its look at two significant events in Canadian history: the ice storm in Ontario, and the political execution of a diplomat by a Quebec terrorist group.
December 28, 2017
It is good. Not as good as “40 Words For Sorrow” or “Blackfky Season”, but the writing is really good. I wasn’t crazy about the story line but it was a good entertainment. I guess I know now the reason the TV series is skipping this one.
June 25, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. More than the first in the series. A mystery with a bit of Canadian history. Enjoyable.
July 29, 2025
In Algonquin Bay im Norden Ontarios wird am Waldrand von einem Hund ein abgetrenntes Bein gefunden. Zunächst glauben Detective John Cardinal und seine Partnerin Lise Delorme, dass der Mann von einem Bären getötet wurde. Doch schon bald werden weitere Leichenteile gefunden und es ist klar, dass es sich um einen Mord handelt. Die Spur führt zu einem amerikanischen Touristen, doch offenbar wurde dessen Name von jemandem missbraucht. Der kanadischen Geheimdienst schaltet sich ein, ist aber keine Hilfe. Cardinal und Delorme finden schließlich heraus, dass das Opfer ein ehemaliges Mitglied der CIA war - und es einen Zusammenhang mit einer frankokanadischen Terrorgruppe gibt, die vor knapp 30 Jahren aktiv war.
Zweiter Fall der Reihe, die in einer fiktiven kanadischen Großstadt spielt. Für mich war besonders der historische Hintergrund interessant, denn der Autor verwebt den aktuellen Mordfall (der Roman erschien allerdings bereits 2002) mit einer realen terroristischen Tat. In der sogenannten Oktoberkrise entführten linksextreme Separatisten einen Diplomaten und den Vizepremier der Provinz Quebec. Der kanadische Staat reagierte mit großer Härte, verhängte gar den Ausnahmezustand. Der Diplomat kam frei, der Vizepremier wurde von den Terroristen ermordet. Die noch nicht vollständig geklärten Zusammenhänge spielen eine Rolle in diesem sehr ordentlichen Krimi.
Zweiter Fall der Reihe, die in einer fiktiven kanadischen Großstadt spielt. Für mich war besonders der historische Hintergrund interessant, denn der Autor verwebt den aktuellen Mordfall (der Roman erschien allerdings bereits 2002) mit einer realen terroristischen Tat. In der sogenannten Oktoberkrise entführten linksextreme Separatisten einen Diplomaten und den Vizepremier der Provinz Quebec. Der kanadische Staat reagierte mit großer Härte, verhängte gar den Ausnahmezustand. Der Diplomat kam frei, der Vizepremier wurde von den Terroristen ermordet. Die noch nicht vollständig geklärten Zusammenhänge spielen eine Rolle in diesem sehr ordentlichen Krimi.
June 18, 2013
Giles Blunt's "The Delicate Storm" is surprisingly unremarkable. It is the second novel in the Cardinal/Delorme series, and it does not match the quality of the first book in the series ("Forty Words for Sorrow"), which is one of the better police procedurals I have read. Maybe the "sophomore slump" effect jinxed Mr. Blunt's effort.
Body parts of a man, severely nibbled on by bears, are found, and detectives Cardinal and Delorme have to determine the identity of the victim, and then find the killer. Another murder occurs, and the roots of the case point deep into the past, back to 1970s. I do not find the plot that interesting, and I have had real trouble to keep focused on the action. The resolution of the plot depends on long and detailed confessions of several people involved in the past events, and to me the circumstances of these confessions seem contrived and implausible.
Of course, "The Delicate Storm" is written well. It is hard for a good writer to suddenly lose the artistry. Toward the end of Mr. Blunt's novel there are some well-written scenes that are dramatic in a real-life sense rather than in idiotic Hollywood-style drama manner. The ending takes place during a severe ice storm and the descriptions of Algonquin Bay and other places during extreme weather conditions feel quite realistic. I have also learned a lot about FLQ (Front de liberation du Quebec) and the portrayal of ridiculousness of a resistance movement that is not universally supported by people is acutely painful. I also like the ambiguous (thus sort of real-life) ending.
I am glad to have read the book, yet it could have been so much better than an average, run-of-the-mill procedural, which it is now.
Two and a half stars.
Body parts of a man, severely nibbled on by bears, are found, and detectives Cardinal and Delorme have to determine the identity of the victim, and then find the killer. Another murder occurs, and the roots of the case point deep into the past, back to 1970s. I do not find the plot that interesting, and I have had real trouble to keep focused on the action. The resolution of the plot depends on long and detailed confessions of several people involved in the past events, and to me the circumstances of these confessions seem contrived and implausible.
Of course, "The Delicate Storm" is written well. It is hard for a good writer to suddenly lose the artistry. Toward the end of Mr. Blunt's novel there are some well-written scenes that are dramatic in a real-life sense rather than in idiotic Hollywood-style drama manner. The ending takes place during a severe ice storm and the descriptions of Algonquin Bay and other places during extreme weather conditions feel quite realistic. I have also learned a lot about FLQ (Front de liberation du Quebec) and the portrayal of ridiculousness of a resistance movement that is not universally supported by people is acutely painful. I also like the ambiguous (thus sort of real-life) ending.
I am glad to have read the book, yet it could have been so much better than an average, run-of-the-mill procedural, which it is now.
Two and a half stars.
December 29, 2015
So glad I discovered Giles Blunt! In this, the sequel to "Forty Words for Sorrow", he weaves an extremely intricate plot that didn't lose steam for even a moment. The finding of a severed human arm leads detectives Cardinal and Delorme down an unexpected path involving not only the current mystery but a number of unresolved crimes from the past as well. The old crimes are of a political nature and, as such, require the mingling of several branches of law enforcement. Which, inevitably, leads to a struggle for control that has our main character gritting his teeth. But, politics and red tape aside, Cardinal will pursue this to the end - and, in fact, these struggles, combined with the more personal woes involving his family, serve to round out this character beautifully.
Enjoying Giles Blunt a lot, and moving on to the next one!
Enjoying Giles Blunt a lot, and moving on to the next one!
January 13, 2018
As I did last year, I read this to coincide with the release of the new season of Cardinal - the show they've based on this series. Only to find out that they skipped this book!
After I'd read for a while I could see why - this was a hard one to get through if you don't already have knowledge of the October crisis and it's ripple effect on Quebecoise independence movements through the years. Which, not being Canadian or having an interest in the field, I didn't!
Additionally, the overall tone is pretty depressing which did nothing to lift the book.
I'll definitely keep going with the series, as I'm sure it gets better; but I don't feel I got much out of it for persisting to the end.
After I'd read for a while I could see why - this was a hard one to get through if you don't already have knowledge of the October crisis and it's ripple effect on Quebecoise independence movements through the years. Which, not being Canadian or having an interest in the field, I didn't!
Additionally, the overall tone is pretty depressing which did nothing to lift the book.
I'll definitely keep going with the series, as I'm sure it gets better; but I don't feel I got much out of it for persisting to the end.
August 7, 2024
Although not as exciting a story as number 1 in the series, this is a first-class mystery. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4, because the author included a 30 year old subplot that described some of the most controversial and divisive events in modern Canadian history - Quebec’s Separatism rallies, the rise of the FLQ and acts of domestic terrorism - culminating in the War Measures Act, declared by PM Pierre Trudeau, during the October Crisis in 1970.
This is a highly atmospheric tale. It is made more compelling in that it takes place during a few weeks of unseasonably warm winter weather, resulting in ice storms, power outages, deaths, general chaos and mortal danger to townsfolk. Mother Nature hampers investigation by local police into two shocking murders. A well written tale with a realistic feel about it. A superior read, imo.
This is a highly atmospheric tale. It is made more compelling in that it takes place during a few weeks of unseasonably warm winter weather, resulting in ice storms, power outages, deaths, general chaos and mortal danger to townsfolk. Mother Nature hampers investigation by local police into two shocking murders. A well written tale with a realistic feel about it. A superior read, imo.
January 2, 2019
John Cardinal features front and center in The Delicate Storm; Lisa Delorme is here, too, but most of the plot and subplots center around Cardinal, both his personal and professional self.
An intriguing investigation ensues after body parts are found, an investigation that is given to Cardinal while Delorme is left with more routine matters until she, too, has a murder investigation on her hands.
An intriguing investigation ensues after body parts are found, an investigation that is given to Cardinal while Delorme is left with more routine matters until she, too, has a murder investigation on her hands.
February 4, 2012
This is a good read in parts, but the ending is disappointing for a mystery/crime novel. I have an idea of how the story could have ended--and it would have been satisfying. But alas, Giles Blunt lost a good opportunity with this book. It's a shame too, because he has good characters and good sense of atmosphere and poetry to his work.
August 10, 2018
Slow start but overall quite an enjoable thriller. I could almost feel the cold 😉 just a bit tough with 37°C all around 😄
July 2, 2020
Too political for me. First book is multitudes better.
June 16, 2022
This was a very boring book in the series. A
I'm not very fan of politics and it was a dread to read. But love how he described the cold 🥶
I'm not very fan of politics and it was a dread to read. But love how he described the cold 🥶
October 11, 2021
I really liked the TV series and the first book, but this one there were too many names/characters, it was difficult to follow.
November 14, 2025
The Delicate Storm takes place under a blanket of ice and plays out like a game of cat and mouse on a frozen chandelier.
John Cardinal and Lise Delorme conduct a complex murder investigation in the shadow of real Canadian historical events. On October 1970, members of Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross in Montreal. The kidnappings resulted in Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act. Laporte was assassinated over the course of the crisis and while this novel was published in 2003, the revoking of human right back then in Canada will make a reader reflect on what the U.S. might be capable of in the 2020’s.
The plot of The Delicate Storm is less grim or personal for our two crime solving protagonists than Forty Words for Sorrow but is an ambitious, impressive piece of storytelling. Bodies appear in odd circumstances, people aren't who they seem and it moves at a steady pace, but never quite reaches the magnificent heights as the previous or following Cardinal/Delorme books in this fantastic series.
Very much in the vein of a Greg Iles mystery that mixes the historical with a modern mystery.
John Cardinal and Lise Delorme conduct a complex murder investigation in the shadow of real Canadian historical events. On October 1970, members of Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross in Montreal. The kidnappings resulted in Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act. Laporte was assassinated over the course of the crisis and while this novel was published in 2003, the revoking of human right back then in Canada will make a reader reflect on what the U.S. might be capable of in the 2020’s.
The plot of The Delicate Storm is less grim or personal for our two crime solving protagonists than Forty Words for Sorrow but is an ambitious, impressive piece of storytelling. Bodies appear in odd circumstances, people aren't who they seem and it moves at a steady pace, but never quite reaches the magnificent heights as the previous or following Cardinal/Delorme books in this fantastic series.
Very much in the vein of a Greg Iles mystery that mixes the historical with a modern mystery.
November 19, 2025
I’m not sure why I didn’t go from the first book straight into this one; I have a feeling I liked the first one and it took a while to get the rest of the books and I wanted to read them all in one shot, or at least have that option. Either way, it seems like I benefited from waiting because the TV series isn’t as fresh in my memory, nor is the book. And coming back to the characters in a much more quiet, character and worldbuilding focus was a really nice way to situate myself back into this world.
Plus, this book was the only one not adapted—probably because it involves Cardinal going to NYC and it is quite a change of pace from the first. But it also holds a lot more connective tissue than the show between all the secondary characters and Cardinal, which felt slightly dropped in within the show. I also really liked the ending in this, as well as the emphasis on Canadian history and politics. I didn’t know I was in the mood for it and it delivered, all the way.
Plus, this book was the only one not adapted—probably because it involves Cardinal going to NYC and it is quite a change of pace from the first. But it also holds a lot more connective tissue than the show between all the secondary characters and Cardinal, which felt slightly dropped in within the show. I also really liked the ending in this, as well as the emphasis on Canadian history and politics. I didn’t know I was in the mood for it and it delivered, all the way.
April 8, 2023
This was actually a great book up until the last chapter when it failed to give an ending. I feel like there was a chapter missing because we suspect who “dunnit” and then no closure. Up until then though an enjoyable read. Maybe it will be resolved in a future book.
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