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Émile Cinq-Mars #3
River City
On the night of the Rocket Richard Riot in 1955, the legendary Cartier Dagger is stolen from Montreal’s Sun Life Building. Many believe the dagger gives whoever possesses it mystical powers, and its journey through history is as spectacular as it is bloodstained. The same night, a police informer is found murdered in a nearby park with a dagger wound to his heart. But who murdered him, and why? Thirteen years later, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is prime minister, and the separatist movement is gaining momentum in Quebec. The case is still unsolved, and a young constable named Émile Cinq-Mars is asked to investigate. Suspenseful and labyrinthine, River City is at once a prequel to John Farrow’s bestselling novels City of Ice and Ice Lake , a panoramic window onto a city’s storied past, and a brilliant novel of politics, greed, murder and myth.
1278 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
6 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
John Farrow
33 books73 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
John Farrow is the pen name of Trevor Ferguson, a Canadian writer who has written seventeen novels and four plays and has been named Canada's best novelist in both Books in Canada and the Toronto Star. Under the name John Farrow, he has written ten crime novels featuring Émile Cinq-Mars which have been highly acclaimed and popular around the world. He was raised in Montreal and lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
John Farrow is the pen name of Trevor Ferguson, a Canadian writer who has written seventeen novels and four plays and has been named Canada's best novelist in both Books in Canada and the Toronto Star. Under the name John Farrow, he has written ten crime novels featuring Émile Cinq-Mars which have been highly acclaimed and popular around the world. He was raised in Montreal and lives in Victoria, British Columbia.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
April 6, 2025
This is the 4th mystery book featuring Montreal City police officer and detective, Emile Cinq-Mars that I have read since early this month, and have a 5th one waiting. When I began reading River City on my Kindle, I had no idea how epic and monumental this book would be. Later I discovered it was 1016 pages in length, but it was so compelling that I was reluctant to put it aside. Part history and part a more recent theft and murder mystery, I frequently felt compelled to google real persons and events to discover how much was true history and to separate historical facts from literary fiction and embellishments.
The previous books were complex, straightforward mysteries with a linear format. River City has a very unusual, even bizarre structure. The chapters go back and forth in time, encompassing the history of Montreal from its beginning and ends with the October Crisis in 1971. We meet its earliest explorers and founders such as Jacques Cartier, Samuel Champlain, Radisson, and many other politicians, priests and business tycoons vital to the city’s history throughout the ages. These come vividly alive on the pages, unlike my dull, boring school textbooks. John Farrow could write a text which would get school children enthusiastic about Canadian history, but ghastly, horrendous scenes of torture would need to be edited out as well as the fact that Champlain married when he was 40 a 12-year-old girl.
The history chapters alternate with a more modern mystery which features older police captain, Armand Touton and Emile Cinq-Mars as a new police officer. Actual premiers and mayors from the 1950s to the 1970s are featured as characters in the mystery. Pierre Trudeau has a major role in the story.
The mystery revolves around a legendary relic, a priceless dagger said to have belonged to Jacques Cartier and believed to have mystical powers. This dagger holds the historical chapters and the more recent mystery together, as it recounts people and institutions possessing the artifact since the early 1500s.
In 1955, Montreal was in the midst of a Hockey Riot, and in the uproar, fires, and looting the dagger was stolen from a secured place in the Sun Life Building. It was found in the chest of a man who was stabbed to death. This man was a thug, informer and friend of police captain, Touton. The coroner transporting the murdered man and the weapon was shot to death and the dagger stolen again. Emile Cinq-Mars was put on the theft and murder case, but it takes years to solve.
The characters are superbly drawn, and the atmosphere of the city drew me in. The French/English division, Quebec separation, and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church are discussed.
Quoting from a review in Walrus Magazine: " River City stands as a genre apart from its predecessors. It may constitute a genre apart from most novels ever published. A boldly original creation...Epic."
The previous books were complex, straightforward mysteries with a linear format. River City has a very unusual, even bizarre structure. The chapters go back and forth in time, encompassing the history of Montreal from its beginning and ends with the October Crisis in 1971. We meet its earliest explorers and founders such as Jacques Cartier, Samuel Champlain, Radisson, and many other politicians, priests and business tycoons vital to the city’s history throughout the ages. These come vividly alive on the pages, unlike my dull, boring school textbooks. John Farrow could write a text which would get school children enthusiastic about Canadian history, but ghastly, horrendous scenes of torture would need to be edited out as well as the fact that Champlain married when he was 40 a 12-year-old girl.
The history chapters alternate with a more modern mystery which features older police captain, Armand Touton and Emile Cinq-Mars as a new police officer. Actual premiers and mayors from the 1950s to the 1970s are featured as characters in the mystery. Pierre Trudeau has a major role in the story.
The mystery revolves around a legendary relic, a priceless dagger said to have belonged to Jacques Cartier and believed to have mystical powers. This dagger holds the historical chapters and the more recent mystery together, as it recounts people and institutions possessing the artifact since the early 1500s.
In 1955, Montreal was in the midst of a Hockey Riot, and in the uproar, fires, and looting the dagger was stolen from a secured place in the Sun Life Building. It was found in the chest of a man who was stabbed to death. This man was a thug, informer and friend of police captain, Touton. The coroner transporting the murdered man and the weapon was shot to death and the dagger stolen again. Emile Cinq-Mars was put on the theft and murder case, but it takes years to solve.
The characters are superbly drawn, and the atmosphere of the city drew me in. The French/English division, Quebec separation, and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church are discussed.
Quoting from a review in Walrus Magazine: " River City stands as a genre apart from its predecessors. It may constitute a genre apart from most novels ever published. A boldly original creation...Epic."
October 4, 2020
*Phew*.....a doorstopper of a book (I have the biceps to prove it) but when the story spans from early 16th century to the 1970's, it needs to be. Absolutely epic.
June 18, 2021
This is the first book I have read by this author. It is a prequel to a series of books he has written about Detective Emile Cinq-Mars. This novel is epic, monumental and totally riveting. It is a mystery/ police procedural embedded within the history of Montreal and Quebec.
The story begins in 1955 during the infamous riot that occurred in Montreal because of the suspension of hockey icon Maurice Richard. During this riot, a man is found murdered with a dagger in his chest. The deceased is an informant and friend of a legendary police captain, Armand Touton.The dagger is the legendary( and fictional) Cartier Dagger, which is believed to have mythical powers and symbolic significance for French Québécois.
This construct sends us spiraling through history and backstory. The structure of the book contains alternating chapters of history and mystery, spanning from 1535 through October 1971. The thread that coheres these alternating chapters is the Cartier dagger’s history. We meet a multitude of historical personages in this saga, ranging from Samuel Champlain to Pierre Trudeau. Along the way, the author vividly illuminates this segment of history, highlighting the tensions between English and French citizens of Quebec province. The politics and motivations of individuals and groups are brought to the fore.
The history surrounding the dagger and the sixteen year pursuit of the culprits in the 1955 murder provide a narrative that both enthralls and educates the reader. This novel is a lengthy and superb book.My paperback edition is one thousand pages. The length should not deter one from enjoying this book. The characters are superbly created and the narrative moves at a brisk pace. I found myself checking historical facts to gain greater texture to the historical narrative that unfolds.
The journey through this book is exciting, informative and very rewarding.
The story begins in 1955 during the infamous riot that occurred in Montreal because of the suspension of hockey icon Maurice Richard. During this riot, a man is found murdered with a dagger in his chest. The deceased is an informant and friend of a legendary police captain, Armand Touton.The dagger is the legendary( and fictional) Cartier Dagger, which is believed to have mythical powers and symbolic significance for French Québécois.
This construct sends us spiraling through history and backstory. The structure of the book contains alternating chapters of history and mystery, spanning from 1535 through October 1971. The thread that coheres these alternating chapters is the Cartier dagger’s history. We meet a multitude of historical personages in this saga, ranging from Samuel Champlain to Pierre Trudeau. Along the way, the author vividly illuminates this segment of history, highlighting the tensions between English and French citizens of Quebec province. The politics and motivations of individuals and groups are brought to the fore.
The history surrounding the dagger and the sixteen year pursuit of the culprits in the 1955 murder provide a narrative that both enthralls and educates the reader. This novel is a lengthy and superb book.My paperback edition is one thousand pages. The length should not deter one from enjoying this book. The characters are superbly created and the narrative moves at a brisk pace. I found myself checking historical facts to gain greater texture to the historical narrative that unfolds.
The journey through this book is exciting, informative and very rewarding.
September 12, 2011
I haven't enjoyed a novel as much as this since Neil Stephenson's baroque trilogy. What they have in common is a rich blend of history and engaging narrative. The book provides some very interesting insights into Canadian, particularly Quebec and Montreal history. It goes back and forth from the 17th, 19th and 20th centuries held together by a mythical object-the Cartier Dagger. In the signal event of the novel the dagger is used in a murder in Montreal during the Richard riots (look that one up in Wikipedia) in 1955. It also plays a role in the October crisis of 1970. Who knew about the neo-fascist past of major Quebec politicians?
The novel is well written and, in particular, Farrow does a great job on dialogue, something that is missing or poorly done, in many works of fiction.
I will be looking for the other two novels that he has written in this series.
The novel is well written and, in particular, Farrow does a great job on dialogue, something that is missing or poorly done, in many works of fiction.
I will be looking for the other two novels that he has written in this series.
July 28, 2013
River City is a long, rambling tale that manages against all odds to entertainingly combine a murder investigation which begins in 1955 with a history of Montreal, beginning with the arrival of Jacques Cartier to its shores in 1535. The link between the two events is a jewel-encrusted dagger which is given to Cartier by a tribe of local natives. Some believe it has mystical powers, others are willing to kill for it because of its incredible value. Farrow gives readers an action-filled Montreal history lesson, following the "Cartier Dagger" as it's passed down through the ages, telling the tale of the establishment of a settlement by French explorers, the city which grew in its place, the wars against the natives and the British, and so on. In the more "modern" era, from the Rocket Richard hockey riot in 1955, through the Quiet Revolution which signaled the awakening of French nationalism in Quebec, up to the bombings and kidnappings of the October crisis in the early 1970s, Detective Émile Cinq-Mars doggedly searches for the people who murdered a local hood and may have stolen the dagger. Historical characters mix with Montreal's police force and underworld in a story which by all rights should be awkward and impossible to follow. It is, instead, a fascinating look back at what went into the founding and creation of Montreal, the constant linguistic tensions between English and French, and the political manipulation that led to the body of a man found with a priceless relic piercing his heart on the night local hockey fans rampaged through the city streets to protest the suspension of their legendary hero, Maurice Rocket Richard. Farrow has skillfully written a great story for fans of murder mysteries as well as historical fiction.
August 29, 2023
"River City" is an Emile Cinq-Mars novel, but one in which Emile does not play the leading role. That role is led by Cinq-Mars' old boss, the redoubtable Armand Touton, and shared by two nonhuman things, one existent in real life and the other fictional, the author's own creation: these are, first, the city of Montreal itself, and second, a historical relic called the 'Cartier Dagger.'
"River City" is not really a police or mystery novel, although policemen (including Cinq-Mars) and mysteries are involved in a tapestry of events stretching over five centuries.
"River City" may fairly be called a crime novel, as its tapestry of events includes many crimes of all sorts--murder, robbery, abduction, fraud, and political corruption, even torture, from beginning to end. Many of these crimes have to be addressed by authorities (again including Cinq-Mars).
"River City" may in a fitting way be called a historical novel, although in service of its plots and subplots the author plays fast and loose with some facts of history, such as occasionally transposing events or locations, and of course, the inclusion of the fictional 'Cartier Dagger' around which events turn, including some repurposed real, historical events and other wholly fictional events.
In the end, perhaps the best label for "River City" is that it is a bible, containing between its covers--over 800+ pages--the foundational myths, legends, and events about the shaping of the world that Emile Cinq-Mars and his colleagues inhabit in all Farrow's other novels. This is where they came from. This is a story and a collection of sub-stories about where they were born and grew up and were educated and ran their careers, and these are some of their friends, colleagues, and family.
Here is the story of a people whose origin and early history resembles that of the ancient Israelites. They left their native land to cross a sea and into a wilderness, following what many of them held to be a divine promise. Many were humble people, even outcasts, but they had leaders of rank and station from the land of origin.
Here are patriarchs, priests and prophets, military heroes, and some remarkable and holy women too. Here is long, intermittent war against people already in the 'promised land' who had to be dealt with.
Here is heroism, diplomacy, passion and sorrow public and private, and also treachery and bloody, sometimes cruel, deeds. Readers who may be put off by graphically described violence, you have been warned.
And here also is another parallel not possessed by the real Quebecois, but which is provided by Farrow: a national relic. In Israelite history this was the Ark of the Covenant. In "River City" it is the Cartier Dagger, which bears some striking similarities to the Ark: a sacred object whose physical custody confers the blessing of God Himself upon the acts, however sordid they may seem, of those who work to advance His kingdom on His promised land.
And the parallels are not only to the biblical Ark of the covenant, but also contain some echoes of Steven Spielberg's 'Lost Ark' as well. It is Farrow's job, after all, to entertain us as a storyteller as well as to create Cinq-Mars' Quebec and its history. The style is reminiscent of some notable authors of historical novels: at times I was reminded of Ken Follett's Knightsbridge novels, John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles, and the sagas of James Michener and Herman Wouk, and, for the intrigue and conflict, of James Clavell's Asian novels; and a whiff of Dan Brown every now and then too.
It is fitting that John Farrow (that itself being a pen name for literary novelist Trevor Ferguson) should provide a 'bible' for his Quebecois world--not the real Quebec of our world, but the fictional Quebec of Emile Cinq-Mars' world which closely parallels ours in many ways, and makes Farrow's novels such good reading. I would say more authors of such series novels should do this, but how many would so this well? Not many, I think.
"River City" is not really a police or mystery novel, although policemen (including Cinq-Mars) and mysteries are involved in a tapestry of events stretching over five centuries.
"River City" may fairly be called a crime novel, as its tapestry of events includes many crimes of all sorts--murder, robbery, abduction, fraud, and political corruption, even torture, from beginning to end. Many of these crimes have to be addressed by authorities (again including Cinq-Mars).
"River City" may in a fitting way be called a historical novel, although in service of its plots and subplots the author plays fast and loose with some facts of history, such as occasionally transposing events or locations, and of course, the inclusion of the fictional 'Cartier Dagger' around which events turn, including some repurposed real, historical events and other wholly fictional events.
In the end, perhaps the best label for "River City" is that it is a bible, containing between its covers--over 800+ pages--the foundational myths, legends, and events about the shaping of the world that Emile Cinq-Mars and his colleagues inhabit in all Farrow's other novels. This is where they came from. This is a story and a collection of sub-stories about where they were born and grew up and were educated and ran their careers, and these are some of their friends, colleagues, and family.
Here is the story of a people whose origin and early history resembles that of the ancient Israelites. They left their native land to cross a sea and into a wilderness, following what many of them held to be a divine promise. Many were humble people, even outcasts, but they had leaders of rank and station from the land of origin.
Here are patriarchs, priests and prophets, military heroes, and some remarkable and holy women too. Here is long, intermittent war against people already in the 'promised land' who had to be dealt with.
Here is heroism, diplomacy, passion and sorrow public and private, and also treachery and bloody, sometimes cruel, deeds. Readers who may be put off by graphically described violence, you have been warned.
And here also is another parallel not possessed by the real Quebecois, but which is provided by Farrow: a national relic. In Israelite history this was the Ark of the Covenant. In "River City" it is the Cartier Dagger, which bears some striking similarities to the Ark: a sacred object whose physical custody confers the blessing of God Himself upon the acts, however sordid they may seem, of those who work to advance His kingdom on His promised land.
And the parallels are not only to the biblical Ark of the covenant, but also contain some echoes of Steven Spielberg's 'Lost Ark' as well. It is Farrow's job, after all, to entertain us as a storyteller as well as to create Cinq-Mars' Quebec and its history. The style is reminiscent of some notable authors of historical novels: at times I was reminded of Ken Follett's Knightsbridge novels, John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles, and the sagas of James Michener and Herman Wouk, and, for the intrigue and conflict, of James Clavell's Asian novels; and a whiff of Dan Brown every now and then too.
It is fitting that John Farrow (that itself being a pen name for literary novelist Trevor Ferguson) should provide a 'bible' for his Quebecois world--not the real Quebec of our world, but the fictional Quebec of Emile Cinq-Mars' world which closely parallels ours in many ways, and makes Farrow's novels such good reading. I would say more authors of such series novels should do this, but how many would so this well? Not many, I think.
March 21, 2018
Excellent
This was a great book on so many fronts. John Farrow is an excellent writer, his stories draw you in while providing rich detail not only about the characters but the locations and the times that they are written in.
The storyline was amazing weaving an intricate knowledge of Quebec history many of the details that have made me look at this province and Montreal in particular differently and with awe. The range of political nuance was layered on top of the historical detail. And finally the mystery itself.
The book is a longer read but deservedly so and on reflection no part of it was extraneous. You slowly are drawn into the book and creatively informed and entertained until you can no longer bear to put it down until the end.
Be prepared to find yourself researching and map reading while you read this book and spending some time ruminating on what you thought you knew and what happens in the book. This is all part of the overall entertainment of John Farrows books especially this one.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read great Canadian writers.
This was a great book on so many fronts. John Farrow is an excellent writer, his stories draw you in while providing rich detail not only about the characters but the locations and the times that they are written in.
The storyline was amazing weaving an intricate knowledge of Quebec history many of the details that have made me look at this province and Montreal in particular differently and with awe. The range of political nuance was layered on top of the historical detail. And finally the mystery itself.
The book is a longer read but deservedly so and on reflection no part of it was extraneous. You slowly are drawn into the book and creatively informed and entertained until you can no longer bear to put it down until the end.
Be prepared to find yourself researching and map reading while you read this book and spending some time ruminating on what you thought you knew and what happens in the book. This is all part of the overall entertainment of John Farrows books especially this one.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to read great Canadian writers.
July 12, 2017
The book begins in 1955 on the night of the Rocket Richard Riot. The “Cartier Dagger” is stolen from its place in the Sun Life Building and a man is found in a nearby park with the dagger in his heart. Thus begins what is actually a history of Montreal aka River City, and a great mystery.
Farrow uses the fictional dagger as a plot point to move the story through history up to the 1970s. The dagger supposedly has mystical power and appears to be present throughout the history of Quebec, changing hands at key moments in time.
The earlier time periods read like a who’s who of early New France. Most of these characters are people we Canadians learned about in grade school and it occasionally felt a little like a YA novel. The modern history is interspersed with the older stories all with the thread of the Cartier Dagger. Farrow’s character from earlier mystery books, Emile Cinq Mars makes his appearance as a young constable enlisted to find the murderer.
This book is a great read and filled with historical characters and events from Quebec history. Highly recommended.
December 11, 2020
This book was a LOT longer than I expected, and I found it to be a lot longer than it really needed to be. I appreciate that half of the book was Canadian history, and written in such a way that it was exciting and memorable. However, the plot that I was interested in, was the mystery-solving part rather than the rich history of Canada part.
For fans of Emile Cinq-Mars this book delivers on psychological mystery solving and is full of memorable characters. But considering the huge portion of the book dedicated to the history of Montreal, I'd say it's my least favourite of the 3 Cing-Mars mysteries.
Recommended for fans of Canadian history, Montreal history, and gritty detective stories.
For fans of Emile Cinq-Mars this book delivers on psychological mystery solving and is full of memorable characters. But considering the huge portion of the book dedicated to the history of Montreal, I'd say it's my least favourite of the 3 Cing-Mars mysteries.
Recommended for fans of Canadian history, Montreal history, and gritty detective stories.
September 11, 2017
76. River City: a Novel by John Farrow
This is actually a prequel to the Emile Cinq-Mars series, but is more of a massive history of the province of Quebec. Starting with the 1955 Rocket Richard Montreal hockey riot, Farrow mixes history and speculation into a great tale. He goes right back to the landing in Canada by Cartier, and invents a primitive but jewel-encrusted dagger that will bring great fortune to the owner. In 1955, the owner was the Sun Life Insurance company, but it is on loan to Clarence Campbell. There a historical facts I never knew, but there is a lot of imagination. What is it about French Canadian detective tales that makes me go back again and again?
This is actually a prequel to the Emile Cinq-Mars series, but is more of a massive history of the province of Quebec. Starting with the 1955 Rocket Richard Montreal hockey riot, Farrow mixes history and speculation into a great tale. He goes right back to the landing in Canada by Cartier, and invents a primitive but jewel-encrusted dagger that will bring great fortune to the owner. In 1955, the owner was the Sun Life Insurance company, but it is on loan to Clarence Campbell. There a historical facts I never knew, but there is a lot of imagination. What is it about French Canadian detective tales that makes me go back again and again?
December 13, 2018
A murder mystery that starts with Jacques Cartier and ends with Emile Cinq-Mars. It's a long book, a wonderful historical fiction (over parts of it) and a coming of age story for Constable Cinq-Mars. I enjoyed the historical parts and I explored history to check on parts that I was pretty sure were fictitious and that made the book longer, but even more enjoyable. I learned a lot about Montreal / Quebec / Canada history and enjoyed the experience. Too bad history classes weren't this entertaining. A very good to a great book, truly an enjoyable read. Many sections left me wanting more and unable to put the book down and upset that I had more important things to do.
March 12, 2019
A fascinating read and an impressive feat of writing! Kept me interested and turning pages quickly through 997 pages of a crime thriller mixed with real and fictional history. A challenge for the writer and accomplished with flair. Kept me guessing (and occasionally checking Google and Wikipedia to check historical factual versus fictional characters and events.) Testing my knowledge of Montreal history and political intrigue added to the pleasure.
I'm looking forward to another read of Farrow's novels in the Emile Cinq-Mars series.
I'm looking forward to another read of Farrow's novels in the Emile Cinq-Mars series.
August 29, 2019
A love story to the city of Montreal, this excellent murder mystery begins with the Rocket Richard riots, then bounces back and forth through history to span Montreal's beginnings, and tracks right up to the FLQ and the October crisis. Though it's fiction, starring an eager young detective, Emile Cinq-Mars, the novel also features a slate of 'real' characters: from Jeanne Mance and Paul Chomedy de Maisonneuve through Duplessis, Drapeau, Rene Levesque and includes a major plot role for Pierre Trudeau. Loved it - bought two more by the same author.
February 12, 2019
I have been reading the Cinq-mars series and very much enjoying them. Being set in Montreal makes them that much better. This one was different from the others in the series as it included a history of New France, Quebec, Montreal and the language issues that seem to follow the province. The history lesson was great but it did cause parts of the book to drag. I look forward to reading the next two in the series.
Read
April 8, 2021Remarkable historical background in 844 pages from the 16th century explorers/exploiters of the new land of Canada intertwined with Emile Cinq-Mars younger self starting his detective career in early Montreal 1970's. Enjoyed it hugely. What characters!
January 20, 2022
Great goofy fun and full marks for ambition but the bold experiment doesn’t really work, although the experience is vastly improved by simply skipping the hundreds of pages not directly dealing with the primary characters. Very well done otherwise.
January 5, 2018
A good read, a blend of fiction with historical events and people, and an explanation of Quebec's past and position in Canada.
July 29, 2020
For a book with so many pages, Emile Cinq-Mars appears in too few...
November 1, 2023
A complete and total mind f**k if you see what he has done with history. Brilliant
March 14, 2024
Way too long, but being a Canadian, it did refresh my memories of some of our history.
March 10, 2013
River City is the third novel in the Émile Cinq-Mars series, and is the prequel to City of Ice: A Novel and Ice Lake. Cinq-Mars plays a pivotal role in this murder/mystery, although the book is really John Farrow’s (Trevor Ferguson) ode to the city of Montréal. In a city with a 500 year history, there are hundreds of stories that comprise its mythology. In this book, that spans the early 1500’s to the mid 1970’s, Farrow manages to fit in many of the events and people that form the city, and he starts with an event that occurred 60 years ago; one that still resides in the collective memory of the province.
On March 13, 1955 Maurice “Rocket” Richard was on his way to winning the National Hockey League scoring championship, and the Montreal Canadiens were the hands down favorite to win the Stanly Cup. That night they were playing the Boston Bruins, in Boston. During the game (in an era where hockey was much rougher than it is today), the Bruins' Hal Laycoe highsticked Richard, opening a cut that would take 5 stiches to close. Richard retaliated, cross checking Laycoe across the shoulders and face. He continued to attack Laycoe, despite being restrained by the linesmen, eventually breaking his stick across Laycoe. Finally he broke free from the linesmen and knocked Laycoe out with his fists. Unfortunatly, he also punched one of the linesmen during the altercation.
In the disciplinary hearing that followed, NHL president Clarence Campbell handed Richard the longest suspension in NHL history; Richard was suspended for the remainder of the 1955 season, including the playoffs. Outside of Quebec, most people thought that the suspension was light; some anticipated a lifetime ban. In Quebec, most thought that it was the English again trying to subjugate the French, and the suspension was too severe.
At the time, the NHL was headquartered in the Sun Life building in Montréal, and Clarence Campbell made a point of attending every Montréal home game. On March 17th, the Canadiens were playing the Detroit Red Wings. When Campbell arrived (despite being asked not to attend), he was pelted with tomatoes and attacked by one of the fans. Smoke and tear gas grenades went off and the game was cancelled. The fans left the building and began a riot that moved up St. Catherine street, destroying most of the stores along the street and causing over $100,000 in damage. That same night, the Cartier Dagger, a (fictional) knife owned by the French explorer Jacques Cartier was stolen from the Sun Life building (strangely left untouched by the rioters) in a robbery that left two men dead.
This forms the backdrop for this lengthy (844 pages) novel. The book is interweaves the hunt for the murderers, led by Captain Armand Touton, who enlists a rookie policeman Émile Cinq-Mars, with the history of the dagger, starting with Cartier, and including many historical figures including Jeanne Mance, Paul de Chomedy (Maisonneuve), Champlain, and Radisson. Central to the story are historical figures such as Camillien Houde, Maurice Duplessis and a young Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The story ends in the 1970’s, where Cinq-Mars plays an instrumental part in the capture of the members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) that captured the British Diplomat James Cross during the October Crisis of 1970.
River City spans the ages, covering the major events of the city’s history. For someone who grew up in Montréal, the novel brought back many memories, and quite a bit of the history of Canada. While the book has a distinctive anglo slant to it, it is non-the-less a great read. This is highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of Montréal, or a re-imaging of the background of a young Pierre Trudeau. Oh, and it’s a good Cinq-Mars mystery as well.
On March 13, 1955 Maurice “Rocket” Richard was on his way to winning the National Hockey League scoring championship, and the Montreal Canadiens were the hands down favorite to win the Stanly Cup. That night they were playing the Boston Bruins, in Boston. During the game (in an era where hockey was much rougher than it is today), the Bruins' Hal Laycoe highsticked Richard, opening a cut that would take 5 stiches to close. Richard retaliated, cross checking Laycoe across the shoulders and face. He continued to attack Laycoe, despite being restrained by the linesmen, eventually breaking his stick across Laycoe. Finally he broke free from the linesmen and knocked Laycoe out with his fists. Unfortunatly, he also punched one of the linesmen during the altercation.
In the disciplinary hearing that followed, NHL president Clarence Campbell handed Richard the longest suspension in NHL history; Richard was suspended for the remainder of the 1955 season, including the playoffs. Outside of Quebec, most people thought that the suspension was light; some anticipated a lifetime ban. In Quebec, most thought that it was the English again trying to subjugate the French, and the suspension was too severe.
At the time, the NHL was headquartered in the Sun Life building in Montréal, and Clarence Campbell made a point of attending every Montréal home game. On March 17th, the Canadiens were playing the Detroit Red Wings. When Campbell arrived (despite being asked not to attend), he was pelted with tomatoes and attacked by one of the fans. Smoke and tear gas grenades went off and the game was cancelled. The fans left the building and began a riot that moved up St. Catherine street, destroying most of the stores along the street and causing over $100,000 in damage. That same night, the Cartier Dagger, a (fictional) knife owned by the French explorer Jacques Cartier was stolen from the Sun Life building (strangely left untouched by the rioters) in a robbery that left two men dead.
This forms the backdrop for this lengthy (844 pages) novel. The book is interweaves the hunt for the murderers, led by Captain Armand Touton, who enlists a rookie policeman Émile Cinq-Mars, with the history of the dagger, starting with Cartier, and including many historical figures including Jeanne Mance, Paul de Chomedy (Maisonneuve), Champlain, and Radisson. Central to the story are historical figures such as Camillien Houde, Maurice Duplessis and a young Pierre Elliot Trudeau. The story ends in the 1970’s, where Cinq-Mars plays an instrumental part in the capture of the members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) that captured the British Diplomat James Cross during the October Crisis of 1970.
River City spans the ages, covering the major events of the city’s history. For someone who grew up in Montréal, the novel brought back many memories, and quite a bit of the history of Canada. While the book has a distinctive anglo slant to it, it is non-the-less a great read. This is highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of Montréal, or a re-imaging of the background of a young Pierre Trudeau. Oh, and it’s a good Cinq-Mars mystery as well.
August 8, 2013
This is the third book by John Farrow following the exploits of Montreal Urban Police Detective Emile Cinq-Mars. This book is somewhat of a prequel, as a large portion of the volume concerns Cinq-Mars as a rookie officer in the early 1970s. The book accounts the history of a fictional relic from its creation by Jacques Cartier and through the hands of most notable figures in the history of New France, Montreal and Quebec (From Cartier, Champlain and Radisson to Sun Life Assurance, Clarence Campbell, Pierre Trudeau and the FLQ). The book commits one of what I consider to be the cardinal sins of literature, using figures from the recent past as characters in the plotline (in this case Camillien Houde, Jean Drapeau, Trudeau, Rene Levesque, etc.). It is difficult to really develop characters that were so larger-than-life in reality. Books that employ this device tend to come out as hokey, with unbelievable stories. However, while there are some moments that border on the implausible, Farrow tends to pull it off - largely due to the gripping storyline of the young Cinq-Mars and his mentor, Captain Armand Touton of the Night Patrol. In conclusion, River City is a weaker effort than the first two books (City of Ice and Ice Lake), but still a worthy addition to Canadian pop literature. Farrwo is a pen-name for Trevor Ferguson, a writer of ���serious” Can-Lit, so the language and style of River City is a cut above that of most pulp novels. It is also refreshing to read a noir-style mystery set in a Canadian locale and around familiar locations. River City is definitely worth the read.
August 2, 2011
I can't really improve on the dust jacket for this one - most Canadian mystery plot, evar:
On the night of the Rocket Richard Riot in 1955, the legendary Cartier Dagger is stolen from its protective glass case in Montreal's imposing Sun Life Building. The dagger, which once belonged to the explorer Jacques Cartier, has been on loan to Clarence Campbell, the controversial president of the NHL. Many believe the dagger gives whoever possesses it mystical powers; as a result, its journey through history is as spectacular as it is bloodstained. On the night of its theft, a man is found murdered in a nearby park, with a dagger wound to his heart. Detective Armand Touton quickly recognizes the dead man as his friend and informer Roger Clement, a local hoodlum. But who murdered him, and why?
Thirteen years later, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is prime minister and the separatist movement is gaining momentum in Quebec. The case is still unsolved. Touton asks Emile Cinq-Mars, a young constable, to continue the investigation, warning him to proceed with caution. Wanting to impress Touton, Cinq-Mars works quickly to wrap his mind around this puzzling case.
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This is a bruiser of a novel that takes you through the history of Quebec from its beginnings to its fermenting separatism in interlaced vignettes. The characters put me in mind of Ondaatje's "In the Skin of a Lion" - immigrants, politicos, on many sides of law and beliefs.
I'll definitely check out Farrow's other stuff.
On the night of the Rocket Richard Riot in 1955, the legendary Cartier Dagger is stolen from its protective glass case in Montreal's imposing Sun Life Building. The dagger, which once belonged to the explorer Jacques Cartier, has been on loan to Clarence Campbell, the controversial president of the NHL. Many believe the dagger gives whoever possesses it mystical powers; as a result, its journey through history is as spectacular as it is bloodstained. On the night of its theft, a man is found murdered in a nearby park, with a dagger wound to his heart. Detective Armand Touton quickly recognizes the dead man as his friend and informer Roger Clement, a local hoodlum. But who murdered him, and why?
Thirteen years later, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is prime minister and the separatist movement is gaining momentum in Quebec. The case is still unsolved. Touton asks Emile Cinq-Mars, a young constable, to continue the investigation, warning him to proceed with caution. Wanting to impress Touton, Cinq-Mars works quickly to wrap his mind around this puzzling case.
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This is a bruiser of a novel that takes you through the history of Quebec from its beginnings to its fermenting separatism in interlaced vignettes. The characters put me in mind of Ondaatje's "In the Skin of a Lion" - immigrants, politicos, on many sides of law and beliefs.
I'll definitely check out Farrow's other stuff.
September 16, 2015
River City is a rich smorgasbord of a book: history, politics, romance, mystery, mythology-- and those are just the highlights. It is not just that the list of characters is lengthy, or surprising, but just so much darn fun. The reader will be making his way through a murder amidst a riot and Pierre Eliot Trudeau pops up complete with sardonic humour and languorous ease.
Who knew Champlain was such a schemer or Cartier such an egoist? We kind of guessed Rene Levesque was a womanizer, but the love scenes between him and Anik are hilarious. The James Cross and Pierre Laporte kidnappings and Mr. Laporte's sad ending resonate with the desperation and chaos of their time. The Trudeau gang, Marc Lalonde, Gerard Pelletier, Jean Marchand and company are a welcome diversion with their wonderful dialogues.
Corruption and idealism, church and state, management and unions, larceny and law and order all swirl around in this amazing literature stew. And running through everything is the story of the magical dagger handed down through this complicated history of Montreal from Jacques Cartier until the night of the infamous Rocker Richard riots. You'll need a scorecard, but its a fascinating read.
Who knew Champlain was such a schemer or Cartier such an egoist? We kind of guessed Rene Levesque was a womanizer, but the love scenes between him and Anik are hilarious. The James Cross and Pierre Laporte kidnappings and Mr. Laporte's sad ending resonate with the desperation and chaos of their time. The Trudeau gang, Marc Lalonde, Gerard Pelletier, Jean Marchand and company are a welcome diversion with their wonderful dialogues.
Corruption and idealism, church and state, management and unions, larceny and law and order all swirl around in this amazing literature stew. And running through everything is the story of the magical dagger handed down through this complicated history of Montreal from Jacques Cartier until the night of the infamous Rocker Richard riots. You'll need a scorecard, but its a fascinating read.
January 29, 2013
WOW! What an amazing book. An incredible mix of events surrounding the theft of the Cartier Dagger on the auspicious night of the Richard riots. Each alternate chapter goes back to the past, beginning with Cartier`s first visit in 1534. The history was right on, although I learned a few things. Because the case took 20 years to solve you are projected further in history. Reliving the FLQ crisis was frightening all over again as the recall of events was still near the surface. The weaving of fact and fiction left our group wondering about a few things and questioning what an author was allowed to say about real people. If I was still teaching I would use this book for my IB History students.
January 24, 2022
I am currently doing a back to back re-read of all of Trevor Ferguson aka John Farrow's Detective Emile Cinq-Mars series. River City is book 3 of currently 9 novels, with 2 more on the way! Woo hoo!
From Jacques Cartier's early exploration days to the Rocket Richard riot, River City takes us on a wild and very interesting ride in the search of the fabled cartier Diamond Dagger, with the two stories ultimately intertwining into one, big, exciting 845 page tome!
Next up is The Storm Murders. The cold weather outside is continuing to provide a good reason to continue to re-read these excellent novels!
From Jacques Cartier's early exploration days to the Rocket Richard riot, River City takes us on a wild and very interesting ride in the search of the fabled cartier Diamond Dagger, with the two stories ultimately intertwining into one, big, exciting 845 page tome!
Next up is The Storm Murders. The cold weather outside is continuing to provide a good reason to continue to re-read these excellent novels!
March 3, 2013
A big book with a big story to tell -- the story of Montreal. It's got everything and more -- Cartier, Champlain, Raddison, Iroquois, Huron, War of 1812, and a more modern murder mystery on the night of the Richard Riot in 1955. It finishes up with the FLQ crisis which star Trudeau. A lot of stories that do work together. It is long, started slow and does bog down in places, but it is a worthwhile read -- entertaining as well as educational.
January 12, 2017
A huge epic of the history of Montreal entwined with a murder mystery. Many stories of many people, yet even the minor characters come to life. All the threads of many plots, all involving the mythical Cartier Dagger, somehow entwine, come together and resolve. A masterpiece of complexity that somehow stays riveting for the whole 900+ pages. I haven't enjoyed a book as much as this in several years.
June 27, 2012
This historical novel/crime thriller, 844-page blockbuster, the 1st book in Farrow's Montreal trilogy, is a thoroughly researched, broadly conceived book throbbing with vitality. Farrow has cast his net over the entire 450 years of the city's history, threaded it through meticulously with the raucous tale of the Cartier dagger, and pulled it off with panache. Bravo, John Farrow!!
Want to read
October 11, 2015I can only find this on ABE for lots of money for a paperback, is it going to be republished since Mr Farrow is now getting the attention he deserves in the US?
I think I will wait for awhile, $96.00 is too much for a paperback.
I think I will wait for awhile, $96.00 is too much for a paperback.
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