Cipher: A Mystery

by John Jantunen

A high school football star who chooses a tour of duty in Afghanistan over a potentially lucrative career in the pros. A woman whose career as a nine-ball champion was cut short at the Nationals. A motorcycle accident that leaves a boy in a wheelchair. A gun containing a single bullet. Fires destroying homes throughout Regina. An elusive best friend who makes an incredible and awful sacrifice.And Ruby Yee’s spicy black bean balls.All of these factors come together when Curtis Mays, football star and local hero, returns home unexpectedly to find his city mourning the death of a little girl ― the granddaughter of Saskatchewan’s wealthiest man. As he begins to piece together what has happened, and how his actions may have helped cause it, he realizes that you can try to outrun the past, but you can never escape it.

300 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2014

Reviews

[Tilly Wark · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of modern-day first-person POV, which this book was written in. I couldn't figure out if the story had one narrator or multiple... third-person POV might've helped with that. I also struggled to keep up with what was going on. People got killed, a murder was possibly solved, but I'm genuinely not sure. I'm still trying to figure out who was who, apart from the CFL player, and what, exactly, their roles were. This read like a creative writing project, which is fine, it just wasn't for me.

The book gets a second star simply for being Canadian, and for the constant references to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. I happen to like that football team.

[N Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good read... takes a little to get into, but then I really enjoyed it. I think some of the reviews are far to negative... I don't think you can provide a review - positive or negative, if you didn't even finish it.

[Rachel Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Convoluted in the extreme. Disappointing read.

[Angie]

DNF @ 12%. I just couldn't get into it. POVs are confusing.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was a difficult read, I just couldn't seem to get into it.