Detective John Cardinal is called to the scene of an apparent suicide: a jumper who has fallen to her death from the roof of a half-finished building. It is only when he arrives that anyone realizes the dead person is Cardinal’s wife. BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, the fourth in the Cardinal series, is a tremendously depressing book, featuring as it does child pornography and mental illness.
So be forewarned. But if you like ripping CSI-style police procedurals, you may find Giles Blunt’s work to your liking.
There is little question that Cardinal’s wife committed suicide. She was being treated for depression, and occasionally had been hospitalized to deal with her malady. But it doesn’t feel right to Cardinal. Of course, how can it? His wife of many years is gone, his life forever changed for the worse. How could she kill herself and leave him alone to face the world? Maybe she didn’t take her own life; maybe it was taken from her and from him. But no one is willing to believe the bereaved widower.
Blunt’s writing is fairly straightforward, featuring realistic dialogue and riveting police work and forensics details. His powers of description are only adequate, but he does get off occasional bits of flair (one of my favorites is “the deadly munificence of Wal-Mart”). The crime in question is well-plotted, but the unnecessary kiddie-porn subplot just seems to be there to ratchet up the misery.
All in all though, it’s a strong addition to the Cardinal series and bodes well for future books from Blunt. –Mark Rose
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