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Émile Cinq-Mars #2
Ice Lake
As John Farrow's Ice Lake opens, a corpse, shot through the neck, is found under the ice in a fishing hut on a frozen lake near Montreal. It's the dead of winter in a region that Farrow (a pseudonym for literary author Trevor Ferguson, whose critically acclaimed novels include The Fire Line) knows like the back of his hand: its back alleys and distant suburbs, its ethnic diversity and big city evil, the long black nights and searingly bright days of its unrelenting winters. He also reveals intimate knowledge of the diverse power groups that drive the novel's plot: the biker gangs, the Mohawk Warriors, the Mob, the bigwigs in the lucrative pharmaceutical industry looking to cash in on an AIDS cure, the various police forces with their petty animosities and territorial conflicts.
Since the advent of Sherlock Holmes, though, most detective thrillers stand or fall on the qualities of their lead character. In Detective Émile Cinq-Mars (whom he introduced in the bestselling City of Ice), Ferguson has created a man of genuine emotions, highly ethical yet thoroughly practical, an old-style, straight-ahead cop. He doesn't leap tall buildings (or frozen lakes) in a single bound, but he knows how to keep digging in his own dogged style. A likable lead detective, a wintry ice maze of a plot, and a supporting cast of characters some of whom are patently vicious and others satisfyingly complex all make Ice Lake a captivating thriller. --Mark Frutkin
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
6 people are currently reading
254 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 44 reviews
January 19, 2021
3.5 stars. (Somewhere between a 3 and 4 for me.) This is the 2nd book in the brilliant series by John Farrow and the 9th one in the Detective Emile Cinq-Mars I have read this year. It pains me to admit that this was my least favourite book of the series. I did not care for the structure of the complicated first 3rd of the book, where Emile was barely mentioned. There were some fillers, such as complex medical explanations and a sex scene that I found unnecessary. As the series moves around in various decades, this one is set in 1999 in a cold, wintery Montreal. Emile is in his 50s, cranky, and bothered by arthritis.
The premise was intriguing. Large pharmaceutical companies are smuggling and testing unproven and unauthorized AIDS drugs into the USA. These were injected by two women from Montreal, Camille but mainly by Lucy. The medicines were administered by Lucy, with the belief and promise that they would decrease the disease's symptoms or even cure the desperate AIDS sufferers. In fact, the greedy company was speeding up the disease's progress to study its later effects. 42 of these men died.
Detective Emile became involved when the body of a man was found murdered inside a fishing shack under the ice. He was winter fishing in a nearby hut. A young SQ (Provincial) police officer permitted Emile (Montreal police) to become involved, although it was not in his jurisdiction. The dead man presents a mystery. How did a man still in his 20s rapidly rise from a test subject at one pharmaceutical company to head of Security at the other one?
What were his duties and his connections? Emile becomes further involved when strangers invade the yard surrounding his home. He must move his wife away from their home for safety.
We learn much about the austere Emile Cinq-Mars's religious background as well as his marriage and philosophical mind. He is a brilliant detective, intuitive, relentless in his dedication. I wouldn't say I liked the way he was portrayed in the earliest books. He was often grumpy and overtired. I found him arrogant, rude, angry, and he tended to overwork himself. In later books in the series, he is calmer, more patient, and becomes a more likable character. He notices clues that others miss.
Soon, he becomes involved in the disappearance of Lucy, a young Mohawk woman, in Indian territory. It is learned that she was a scientist who worked for a pharmaceutical company. It is believed she was kidnapped for information about the drug trials and may be already murdered. Emile makes the connection that both Lucy and the young man dead in the fishing shack were both working for the drug companies. He is helped in his search for Lucy by Mohawk Peacekeepers and Warriors. He has reason to suspect the young SQ Officer due to his involvement with Camille, a fellow worker and Lucy's friend. What he learns from the SQ Officer gives him more information to connect Lucy's kidnapping to the 42 deaths of the American test subjects who were experimented upon with AIDS drugs.
The plot is further complicated by the appearance of the Mob, Hells' Angels, a monk with vows of silence, and several police forces with territorial conflicts. The involvement of the Mafia adds brutality to the complex investigation.
Before the case is solved, there is a gruesome, prolonged torture scene and murder. It was so gross, heartbreaking, and disturbing I had to take a break.
This was a cleverly plotted mystery with many twists and surprises. I especially liked the character of the brave Mohawk girl, Lucy, and Emile's young Anglophone partner. The antagonists were nasty and well developed. I grow to admire and like Emile in later books when he becomes my favourite fictional detective.
The premise was intriguing. Large pharmaceutical companies are smuggling and testing unproven and unauthorized AIDS drugs into the USA. These were injected by two women from Montreal, Camille but mainly by Lucy. The medicines were administered by Lucy, with the belief and promise that they would decrease the disease's symptoms or even cure the desperate AIDS sufferers. In fact, the greedy company was speeding up the disease's progress to study its later effects. 42 of these men died.
Detective Emile became involved when the body of a man was found murdered inside a fishing shack under the ice. He was winter fishing in a nearby hut. A young SQ (Provincial) police officer permitted Emile (Montreal police) to become involved, although it was not in his jurisdiction. The dead man presents a mystery. How did a man still in his 20s rapidly rise from a test subject at one pharmaceutical company to head of Security at the other one?
What were his duties and his connections? Emile becomes further involved when strangers invade the yard surrounding his home. He must move his wife away from their home for safety.
We learn much about the austere Emile Cinq-Mars's religious background as well as his marriage and philosophical mind. He is a brilliant detective, intuitive, relentless in his dedication. I wouldn't say I liked the way he was portrayed in the earliest books. He was often grumpy and overtired. I found him arrogant, rude, angry, and he tended to overwork himself. In later books in the series, he is calmer, more patient, and becomes a more likable character. He notices clues that others miss.
Soon, he becomes involved in the disappearance of Lucy, a young Mohawk woman, in Indian territory. It is learned that she was a scientist who worked for a pharmaceutical company. It is believed she was kidnapped for information about the drug trials and may be already murdered. Emile makes the connection that both Lucy and the young man dead in the fishing shack were both working for the drug companies. He is helped in his search for Lucy by Mohawk Peacekeepers and Warriors. He has reason to suspect the young SQ Officer due to his involvement with Camille, a fellow worker and Lucy's friend. What he learns from the SQ Officer gives him more information to connect Lucy's kidnapping to the 42 deaths of the American test subjects who were experimented upon with AIDS drugs.
The plot is further complicated by the appearance of the Mob, Hells' Angels, a monk with vows of silence, and several police forces with territorial conflicts. The involvement of the Mafia adds brutality to the complex investigation.
Before the case is solved, there is a gruesome, prolonged torture scene and murder. It was so gross, heartbreaking, and disturbing I had to take a break.
This was a cleverly plotted mystery with many twists and surprises. I especially liked the character of the brave Mohawk girl, Lucy, and Emile's young Anglophone partner. The antagonists were nasty and well developed. I grow to admire and like Emile in later books when he becomes my favourite fictional detective.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 29, 2015
I just finished Ice Lake, the second book in John Farrow’s Emile Cinq-Mars series, and I have come to a conclusion. John Farrow and Emile Cinq-Mars are the Canadian version of Jo Neso and Harry Hole. Farrow’s plots are intricate and fascinating, albeit a little more realistic. Cinq-Mars is flawed and complicated, only more sophisticated. Cinq-Mars dons a suit and uses finesse; Hole prefers jeans and runs roughshod. This is not to say I prefer Farrow over Nesbo, Cinq-Mars over Hole, not at all. I find both authors equally talented and characters equally attractive and exciting. I am thrilled to have found an author that can hold a candle to Jo Nesbo.
As to Ice Lake, obviously I loved this book! I find Detective Emile Cinq-Mars fascinating and I actually prefer a setting outside of the United States, in this case Canada. The plot an action, thriller, drama including the Hell’s Angels, Mafia, Police, pharmaceutical companies, AIDs, deceit, and murder. If you are a fan of Jo Nesbo I believe you will enjoy this series and especially this particular book. I gave Ice Lake 5 stars.
As to Ice Lake, obviously I loved this book! I find Detective Emile Cinq-Mars fascinating and I actually prefer a setting outside of the United States, in this case Canada. The plot an action, thriller, drama including the Hell’s Angels, Mafia, Police, pharmaceutical companies, AIDs, deceit, and murder. If you are a fan of Jo Nesbo I believe you will enjoy this series and especially this particular book. I gave Ice Lake 5 stars.
June 26, 2017
Ice Lake (Émile Cinq-Mars #2) by John Farrow, brings a far different story to the reader from the previous book. The mob and the biker gangs are in the background and their involvement in the story is more geo-political. This plot is about corporate / personal greed (pharmaceutical development / human testing), and how one action can involve so many people willing to go to great lengths to hide their involvement in the action. We have action, less graphical violence, and more view into the personal lives of our characters.
This book is also well written, providing additional character development for our lead detectives, a bit of humor, and additional historical narrative on the Quebec/Montreal area woven throughout the story.
This book is also well written, providing additional character development for our lead detectives, a bit of humor, and additional historical narrative on the Quebec/Montreal area woven throughout the story.
July 16, 2020
This is the only detective novel I have read all year (so far), so I am not particularly familiar with the genre. What got me mostly interested in the beginning was knowing there was a pharmaceutical executive involved with crime, and I’m interested in pharma politics and curious if the author could recreate some drama that would at least seem realistic. While I’m not going to say he did that, the novel was nevertheless a good read. Firstly, there are lots of aspects to the plot, which constantly adds upon itself throughout the book. Then, Emile is a great main character (intelligent and a bit smug, as detectives are). The supporting characters like Lucy, Werner, and Camille are all fantastic as well. Couldn’t get enough of Camille especially, even though she’s the antagonist, her personality is so perfect for this novel (very mischievous and just honestly doesn’t not care at all about anything). Lots of death (multiple people throughout the course of the book die), and a scheme involving the pharmaceutical companies and their patients, in addition to romance and trying to escape the interrogation of the great detective Cinq-Mars by Camille and Werner, realistic police couple drama, and hiding away from things with a monk all make this book great.
June 3, 2008
Meh, it's a mystery, so it's a page-turner. A decent plot-line, to be sure. Unfortunately, the dialogue is frequently stilted and cliche. I'd give you a quote except I vowed to leave the book exactly where I finished it. This means that a Southwest Airlines passenger now has in his/her possession what should be the dictionary definition of an "airplane-book."
How's that for cliche?
How's that for cliche?
September 3, 2023
I've bounced around in John Farrow's catalogue so I therefore don't have a feel for how linear the development of his great Emile Cinq-Mars (ECM) character has been. "Ice Lake" is the 2nd of a pretty long series and at least one of the issues I've had with the series doesn't appear to have shown up yet.
Cinq-Mars is a detective in Montreal, locally famous for his detection skills, clearance rates, and very unique approach to his job. Ice Lake begins in the year 1999 with ECM and his partner killing time ice fishing while waiting for a meeting with an anonymous source. In a nearby hut a fellow fisherman discovers the body of a man beneath the ice, and thus the mystery begins. He'd been shot, but where/when/how and, besides that, he was much larger than the hole in the ice so how the heck did he get under it?
In a nearby town a young Mohawk woman, Lucy, is working for a pharma company that's trying to develop drugs to treat AIDS, which at that time was a full blown plague on some segments of the population. Her role isn't exactly legal, as one responsibility she has is to travel down to NYC to "test" unapproved AIDS drugs on infected people. Her clandestine work is successful (to the extent that she is nicknamed "St. Lucy" by her human guinea pigs) until it isn't and a whole bunch of her test subjects die. All this is background and it's all tied together, but ECM slowly unravels it as it becomes apparent there are some truly nasty people from the business world and local criminal gangs involved in an enterprise that resulted in a guy getting shot and hidden under a couple feet of ice.
Ice Lake seemed to drag a bit in the middle. A couple subplots of ECM's father's impending death and the dissatisfaction of his partner's wife with the job's responsibilities and time demands tended to slow the pace of the story, though they were important from a character development standpoint. ECM's work, as in all the novels in the series, was top shelf and unlike in later stories he at least exposes his thinking as he proceeds. All in all, a decent read in a strong series.
Cinq-Mars is a detective in Montreal, locally famous for his detection skills, clearance rates, and very unique approach to his job. Ice Lake begins in the year 1999 with ECM and his partner killing time ice fishing while waiting for a meeting with an anonymous source. In a nearby hut a fellow fisherman discovers the body of a man beneath the ice, and thus the mystery begins. He'd been shot, but where/when/how and, besides that, he was much larger than the hole in the ice so how the heck did he get under it?
In a nearby town a young Mohawk woman, Lucy, is working for a pharma company that's trying to develop drugs to treat AIDS, which at that time was a full blown plague on some segments of the population. Her role isn't exactly legal, as one responsibility she has is to travel down to NYC to "test" unapproved AIDS drugs on infected people. Her clandestine work is successful (to the extent that she is nicknamed "St. Lucy" by her human guinea pigs) until it isn't and a whole bunch of her test subjects die. All this is background and it's all tied together, but ECM slowly unravels it as it becomes apparent there are some truly nasty people from the business world and local criminal gangs involved in an enterprise that resulted in a guy getting shot and hidden under a couple feet of ice.
Ice Lake seemed to drag a bit in the middle. A couple subplots of ECM's father's impending death and the dissatisfaction of his partner's wife with the job's responsibilities and time demands tended to slow the pace of the story, though they were important from a character development standpoint. ECM's work, as in all the novels in the series, was top shelf and unlike in later stories he at least exposes his thinking as he proceeds. All in all, a decent read in a strong series.
August 26, 2021
Who knew that the area around quiet little Hudson Quebec would provide such fertile ground for murder and intrigue? And how have I missed this wonderful Canadian author all these years?
An intelligent, gripping plot line, with the added bonus of familiar settings. Give me more!!
An intelligent, gripping plot line, with the added bonus of familiar settings. Give me more!!
August 25, 2022
Eine recht langsam erzählte Geschichte, die auch noch in Art einer Colombo-Episode erzählt wurde.
Den Mörder schon zu kennen, macht ein Buch von fast 700 Seiten nicht spannender.
Lediglich auf den letzten 100 Seiten kam Spannung auf, weshalb die ursprüngliche Bewertung von 2* auf 3* angehoben wurde.
Den Mörder schon zu kennen, macht ein Buch von fast 700 Seiten nicht spannender.
Lediglich auf den letzten 100 Seiten kam Spannung auf, weshalb die ursprüngliche Bewertung von 2* auf 3* angehoben wurde.
October 30, 2018
Ice Lake by Canadian author John Farrow is the 2nd book in his Emile Cinq-Mars mystery series set in Montreal Que. I liked the first book, which I read a couple of years ago but remember finding it a bit difficult to get into. This second book was more straight-forward and quite an excellent story.
Cinq-Mars a police detective on the Montreal police force is called to a secret meeting on a fishing camp on a frozen lake near Montreal. He brings his partner, Bill Mathers, and while waiting for his unidentified contact, a body is discovered under the frozen lake, stuck to the frozen surface. This begins an investigation that will involved drug companies, the Mafia, biker gangs and native Warriors, threatening both Cinq-Mars and his partner. At the same time, Cinq-Mars is trying to cope with the impending death of his father due to cancer.
Montreal drug companies have been experimenting on AIDS cures by sending reps to the US to try them on AIDS sufferers there. These illegal experiments result in a number of deaths and Lucy Gabriel, a native girl who works for the company, wants to try to get this information out. This has possibly resulted in the murder of the body found in the lake. Now Lucy and her friends area at risk.
I won't get into the story much more than that, other than to say the investigation is a fast-paced, tense ride with the tension building until the end. Farrow has a way of combining the police investigation with wonderful character development. By the end you will feel you know the characters very well and understand why they do the things they do, from Cinq-Mars fears for the safety of his family, to Mathers' doubts about his partnership with Cinq-Mars and its affect on his marriage, etc.
I'm glad I decided to try this second story as it now encourages me to look for the 3rd book. Excellent mystery. (4 stars)
Cinq-Mars a police detective on the Montreal police force is called to a secret meeting on a fishing camp on a frozen lake near Montreal. He brings his partner, Bill Mathers, and while waiting for his unidentified contact, a body is discovered under the frozen lake, stuck to the frozen surface. This begins an investigation that will involved drug companies, the Mafia, biker gangs and native Warriors, threatening both Cinq-Mars and his partner. At the same time, Cinq-Mars is trying to cope with the impending death of his father due to cancer.
Montreal drug companies have been experimenting on AIDS cures by sending reps to the US to try them on AIDS sufferers there. These illegal experiments result in a number of deaths and Lucy Gabriel, a native girl who works for the company, wants to try to get this information out. This has possibly resulted in the murder of the body found in the lake. Now Lucy and her friends area at risk.
I won't get into the story much more than that, other than to say the investigation is a fast-paced, tense ride with the tension building until the end. Farrow has a way of combining the police investigation with wonderful character development. By the end you will feel you know the characters very well and understand why they do the things they do, from Cinq-Mars fears for the safety of his family, to Mathers' doubts about his partnership with Cinq-Mars and its affect on his marriage, etc.
I'm glad I decided to try this second story as it now encourages me to look for the 3rd book. Excellent mystery. (4 stars)
May 12, 2016
This mystery revolves around the pharmaceutical industry in Canada. It takes place in 1999 when AIDS was really appearing on the scene. A dead man is found in a fishing shack under very mysterious conditions. Emile Cinq-Mars happens to be fishing on the same lake on his day off from his Montreal police job. He gets involved along with other police agencies but is asked to assist in discovering what is going on. There are ties to several pharmaceutical companies nearby and the legendary detective and his partner, Bill Mathers investigate. Cinq-Mars is an interesting character. I like his private side with his wife but his police side is rather weird sometimes and not too likeable. This is the second in a series of three books that do not seem to be really connected as to story line that much.
June 27, 2012
This is a magnificent thriller, the second in Farrow's trilogy of Montreal area crime stories. Plotting is tight and complex, characterization top-notch. The inclusion of a powerful moral dimension adds nice depth. The protagonist, Detective Emile Cinq-Mars, is a Catholic with a clearly articulated philosophical outlook on the importance of his role as a cop. He compares his vocation with that of a priest,the career choice his father had wanted for him. What a great read. I can hardly wait to get into the final book in this trilogy, but I'm already grieving the fact that that will be the last we will see of Cinq-Mars, my hero!
February 14, 2011
I've now read both Cinq-Mars books and although I liked the story, the setting and most everything else, I just cant warm to the man himself. He is written about as if he's known and respected by everyone and is the best cop since sliced bread, yet he comes across to me as smug, unlikeable, ready to offload the bad jobs and interfere where he shouldn't. I much preferred his partner Bill Mathers in this one. Despite that, I did enjoy this, I like reading about the area around Montreal, the interaction with the Indians and the high concentration of the mob and gangs.
June 26, 2016
Good mystery - 2nd in a series, so I will read the 3rd. I really liked the setting - Quebec in the winter. The climate really adds to the enjoyment of the book. Not sure I'm warming up to Emile Cinq-Mars, but that's OK. I'd actually like to read more about his partner, Mathers. Just nothing about the book that mkes me want to give it more than 3 or 3.5 stars. I believe I said this about the 1st book in the series; sometimes the author just goes off on a tangent about things that aren't integral to the book and could, in my humble opinion, be edited out.
July 19, 2009
John Farrow is the pseudonym of Trevor Ferguson, a well-known award-winning Canadian novelist. The story is set in Montreal in the winter, and the description of what winter in Canada, especially Montreal, is like are beautiful. The story revolves around two detectives, a French-Canadian veteran police detective and a young English-Canadian and the interactions between them highlight the sometimes subtle issues between French-Canadian / English-Canadian.
February 16, 2019
Ice Lake is the first story I have read by author John Farrow. As it happens most times, when I pick a book by an author unknown to me, I often find that I am reading a book from a series.
I am quite happy to say that Ice Lake can certainly stand up as a stand alone book. I don't feel as if I missed much of the story.
I am quite happy to say that Ice Lake can certainly stand up as a stand alone book. I don't feel as if I missed much of the story.
September 6, 2019
I like the way the story unfolded, throwing me for a loop a few times. People are comparing this to Nesbø. I am seeing a closer connection to Mankell’s Wallander, with a similarly rough around the edges detective and complex crime that reflects social issues of that time, dotted with geographic references one can follow.
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September 8, 2016Surprisingly readable. Kind of a far-fetched premise, but I enjoyed finding out the details.
June 17, 2017
Excellent second book in this series. Well crafted plot with a great ending. Good read.
September 26, 2017
Excellent read looking forward to the third and final in the series.
October 17, 2017
Intriguing mystery that kept me engaged.
June 27, 2018
Good buildup.. strong characters...
Love the main cop... Emile St Mars... he is the picture of patience.
Love the main cop... Emile St Mars... he is the picture of patience.
February 27, 2019
Wel een aardig boek maar laat geen diepe indruk na
June 19, 2019
Beginning and the end were interesting but the middle was slow and challenging to get thru.
September 5, 2019
Fun detective series that takes place in and around Montreal.
September 29, 2019
Great story by an excellent author.
March 27, 2020
First of all, if you've read the first book about Detective Emile Cinq-Mars and you liked it, you'll like this one. A lot of things are the same--the characters are back and Emile is his usual grouchy self, his partner Bill is his (mostly) cheerful character foil, and it's Montreal in the dead of winter.
The difference with this one, is that it isn't warring gangs (although gangs are involved because hey! It's Montreal!) and it's not nearly as dark as the first novel. Yes, there's violence, murder, horrific crimes and all that, but it's not quite so in your face. This book is more about solving the mystery, and how everything fits together. Not that it's a nicely wrapped package--this is still a gritty novel--but it's easier to read than the first one. Or easier for me at least.
Recommended for fans of crime/mysteries, detectives who solve mysteries using their heads instead of charging in with guns blazing, and Montreal in the winter.
The difference with this one, is that it isn't warring gangs (although gangs are involved because hey! It's Montreal!) and it's not nearly as dark as the first novel. Yes, there's violence, murder, horrific crimes and all that, but it's not quite so in your face. This book is more about solving the mystery, and how everything fits together. Not that it's a nicely wrapped package--this is still a gritty novel--but it's easier to read than the first one. Or easier for me at least.
Recommended for fans of crime/mysteries, detectives who solve mysteries using their heads instead of charging in with guns blazing, and Montreal in the winter.
April 15, 2024
Not quite as good as Book 1 ("City of Ice") but still
exceptional. I was not fond of a long section early
on in the book that focused on the 'criminals'; I
enjoy following the police detectives and how they
investigate and figure out the crimes. Cinq-Mays
and Mathers are a good team and the unusual group
of Canadian bad guys (the mob, "Hell's Angels",
and the indian groups) give this a unique flavor
of reading.
Highly recommended.
exceptional. I was not fond of a long section early
on in the book that focused on the 'criminals'; I
enjoy following the police detectives and how they
investigate and figure out the crimes. Cinq-Mays
and Mathers are a good team and the unusual group
of Canadian bad guys (the mob, "Hell's Angels",
and the indian groups) give this a unique flavor
of reading.
Highly recommended.
August 13, 2024
Émile Cinq-Mars and John Farrow's mysteries are very cerebral. The author does not insult the intelligence of his readers and creates a very unique detective. Just when you believe you understand the story line from both points of view, the criminals / suspects and Cinq-Mars, you are surprised by the ending. Recommend this Canadian series. Kristi & Abby Tabby
February 12, 2020
The kind of mystery that keeps you reading late into the night. The plot is interestingly twisted, but not overwhelmingly so; the chief detectives are real people with every day problems, and it's set in Montreal - in winter, with blizzards and ice road driving.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews