Until The Night is the first crime novel that I have read in many years that kept me up well into the night, each night, until I finished it. It combines two stories which are different in every way (journal/narrative, past/present, first person/third person etc.) but both combine seamlessly and eliminate the endless interviews and back stories that causes most mysteries to drag. As with all of his crime fiction, Blunt's research is meticulous and the journal entries from a scientist in the arctic are fascinating and create a unique perspective of the landscape and the north. The primary story in the narrative portion follows the story of Detective Lise Delorme. Reeling from feelings of intense rejection, personally and professionally, she strays in both areas. She follows her own investigation of a recent sex murder and when the investigation leads her into the sex clubs owned by the primary suspect a personal interest in them materializes. There is a hovering Catholicism in the north (which those of us who have lived there know and which Blunt captures) with its rules of behaviour and guilt for those who transgress (which all of us do). Delorme's is an unusual story line for a crime novel but the author is at his best when sympathetically exploring these complex human situations. This is a series, after all, which began with a detective hiding a crime of his own. Like all of Blunt's novels in this series there is a vivid sense of place and fully drawn characters. But there is something new here as well; this is a crime novel which pushes the genre forward.

Until the Night marks the sixth (and much awaited) entry in Giles Blunt's mystery series featuring Detective John Cardinal. Until the Night opens with a cryptic entry from something called The Blue Notebook, giving us a brief glance into an Arctic science station. The next chapter takes us back to more familiar territory - Algonquin Bay, Ontario - 340 miles north of Toronto. It is here that John Cardinal lives and works. He and counterpart Lise Delorme are called in to investigate what looks to be a domestic murder - a husband murdering his wife's lover. But the wife is missing too - also murdered? She is found, dead, but in odd circumstances. As is yet another woman. And the case leads Cardinal and Delorme down paths they couldn't imagine. As their investigation progresses, so do the entries from The Blue Notebook - and we are slowly privy to more and more details. Blunt has done it again - an absolutely original, intelligent, riveting plot that kept me reading.....Until The Night. (Sorry couldn't resist) But, seriously, I did use a Sunday off to devour it from first page to last. Yep, that good. Why do I like this series so much? Protagonist John Cardinal is the big draw for me. In him, Blunt has created a believable, realistic character whose life has evolved over the course of six books. His personal life involving his wife and her difficulties have provided a storyline handled with thoughtfulness, realism and genuine emotion. His relationship with Delorme has him quite confused and is explored further in this book. We get to delve much deeper into Lise Delorme's life this time. Her own issues, insecurities and demons lead her to a dark place, putting herself and her career at risk. I have become quite invested in both of these characters. The plotting was fantastic - the link between The Blue Notebook and Cardinal's case was slowly, inexorably revealed. The setting of Algonquin Bay has become quite familiar and I can almost feel the cold seeping into my fingers as I hold the book. Blunt grew up in North Bay, Ontario, so he knows what he writes of! Blunt also takes us to other Ontario locales with the seamier underside of Toronto and Ottawa woven into this latest mystery. I think this latest book just might be my favourite Cardinal book yet. If you haven't discovered this Canadian author and series yet, I encourage you to. CTV has announced plans for a TV series based on the John Cardinal novels, with Blunt himself doing much of the adaptation.