Forty Words for Sorrow
A Thriller
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4.4 • 28 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
“One of the best novels of [the year]. . . Giles Blunt has a tremendous talent.” —Tony Hillerman
“Forceful . . . surprising . . . [Blunt’s] insights into suffering and madness give his characters their true voice.” —The New York Times
In the quiet Canadian town of Algonquin Bay, a frozen body has been found in an abandoned mine shaft. She is quickly identified as Katie Pine, a teenager who had disappeared months ago. At the time, Detective John Cardinal insisted that Katie was no ordinary runaway. His relentless pursuit and refusal to give up on the case got him demoted from Homicide. But now the Canadian police force wants Cardinal back on the case—with a new associate by his side. And as these two untrusting partners gather evidence of a serial murder spree, a pair of sociopaths is closing in on the next victim.
Winner of The Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction
Nominated for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Novel
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This brooding tale of a search for a serial killer in rural Ontario takes its title from the often-quoted fact that Eskimos have 40 words for snow. "What people really need is forty words for sorrow," thinks Det. John Cardinal, whose glum outlook aptly mirrors the mood of Blunt's atmospheric thriller. The story begins when the frozen body of 13-year-old Chippewa Katie Pine is discovered on one of the Manitou Islands near Algonquin Bay, Ontario. Cardinal, whose obsessive search for the missing girl when she first disappeared six months earlier got him kicked off the case, ends up back in the good graces of his superiors. Or so he thinks. But his new partner, Lisa Delorme, fresh from the Office of Special Investigations (think Internal Affairs), has been paired with Cardinal so she can covertly investigate him at the same time. Dogging Cardinal's record is his connection with drug dealer Kyle Corbett. Each time the police tried to bust Corbett, he was warned by someone on the inside; Cardinal, who is burdened with a guilty secret and a wife who's in and out of mental institutions, is the prime suspect. Focusing initially on Cardinal, Blunt (author of the praised Cold Eye) opens up the plot by chronicling what happens to the next potential victim of what the newspapers are calling the Windigo Killer. While the plot is formulaic (combining both a least-likely-suspect twist and a you-may-think-it's-over-but-it's-not finale), the plangent atmosphere gradually and effectively permeates the reader's consciousness. The characters achieve dimension slowly, like figures in a developing Polaroid, and then become vivid. Sorrow is palpable, and readers making their way through the book will feel like they're walking hunched over against a steady, chilling wind but the final destination, like Cardinal's final redemption, is well earned and well worth the trip.
Customer Reviews
Forty Words
Saw the show Cardinal and it motivated me to read the novel. The book is very different from the series which makes me wonder if the author quit writing about Cardinal due to this. Both the series and the book were action packed, somewhat terrifying and well presented. Enjoyed both of them.
Dark and engaging
Tight prose, a splendid crime novel with wonderfully engaging characters that you will not forget. The Canadian atmosphere is incredibly well captured, you feel you are there, and cold!
Wonderful!
I really loved this book! The atmosphere and scenery were so descriptive I felt I was there. Black Fly Season was the same way, I kept trying to shoo the flies away.