{"id":4603,"date":"2015-07-14T06:41:26","date_gmt":"2015-07-14T10:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=4603"},"modified":"2015-07-13T18:53:51","modified_gmt":"2015-07-13T22:53:51","slug":"the-storm-murders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vweisfeld.com\/?p=4603","title":{"rendered":"***The Storm Murders"},"content":{"rendered":"
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(photo: M Pincus, creative commons license)<\/p><\/div>\n

By John Farrow<\/a> \u2013 Farrow is the pen name that acclaimed Canadian writer Trevor Ferguson selected when he decided to try his hand at writing genre fiction, and, if I have this right, this is his fourth book featuring detective \u00c9mile Cinq-Mars and the first of a planned \u201cstorm murders\u201d trilogy.<\/p>\n

In this mystery\/thriller, prickly retired Montreal Sergeant-Detective Cinq-Mars finds himself flattered and cajoled and inevitably drawn into helping in the investigation of a rural Quebec double-murder that culminated in the additional slaying of two young S\u00fbret\u00e9 du Qu\u00e9bec police officers lured to the remote farmhouse by a phone call.<\/p>\n

Perhaps Cinq-Mars decides to aid this investigation because he is intrigued by the crime itself, the lack of apparent motive, and the absence of the killer\u2019s footprints in the newly fallen snow around the house. Perhaps it is the puzzling entreaties of a senior FBI agent, looking for answers in a case that\u2019s way out of his jurisdiction. Perhaps it is the bleak persistence of a Canadian winter making the days weigh heavy on Cinq-Mars\u2019s insufficiently occupied brain. Or perhaps it is his wife Sandra\u2019s startling intimation that she might leave him, making the investigation a welcome preoccupation that might enable him to in some way resurrect the man she\u2019d fallen in love with.<\/p>\n

The FBI agent, frustratingly close-mouthed, at least reveals that the deaths of the Quebec couple share certain grisly similarities with a series of murders in the United States. All have involved a married couple, always they\u2019ve occurred after a major calamity. As none of the neighbors know much about the couple, relatively new arrivals to the area, and in the hope of finding out more details that would suggest a connection among these deaths, Cinq-Mars travels to New Orleans. The first pair of murders occurred there, shortly after Hurricane Katrina. Sandra accompanies him, because the trip promises to be a semi-vacation. Both she and Cinq-Mars hope a change of marital venue will help them reconnect.<\/p>\n

Booklist has called the Cinq-Mars books \u201cthe best series in crime fiction today,\u201d and this is the first of them I\u2019ve read. Farrow\u2019s writing style, honed by writing literary fiction, is confident and sophisticated, and the book starts strong. In general, the characters and setting are interesting and well-developed, especially good-humored multi-racial NOPD detective Pascal Dupree and ambitious hotel security chief Everardo Flores, who enliven every scene they\u2019re in. Unfortunately, the plot was not as robust as these other elements. I guessed early on (and I\u2019m not a particularly insightful guesser) why the FBI was interested in this series of murders. Farrow receives praise from some reviewers for writing character-driven mysteries, but for my taste, Cinq-Mars\u2019s examinations of his feelings about religion, his wife, and retirement are rather too long. The denouement also was drawn out past the point of believability, including both conversation and events that seemed unlikely.<\/p>\n

While this book has much to recommend it, especially for admirers of the series, in the end it requires some suspension of disbelief.<\/p>\n

A slightly longer version of this review appears\u2014along with reviews of many new crime and thriller novels\u2014at the Crime Fiction Lover<\/a> website.
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