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City of Ice |
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 City of Ice byJohn Farrow Century 471 pages, 1999 ISBN 07126 8042X Reviewed by our South African Editor, Merilyn Tomkins adams.west@saol.com - Adams Bookshop, Durban, SA A bomb explodes in a Montreal street. A mob lawyer is blown apart, an innocent child is murdered, a little boy is kicking a puck in the wrong place at the wrong time. Watching and powerless to prevent it is Montreal's most illustrious policeman - Sergeant Detective Emile Cinq-Mars. Then the corpse of a young man Artinian is found hung from a rafter with the inscription M-5 dangling round his neck. M-5 or March 5th, a calling card in English. When Cinq-Mars discovers that Artinian had infiltrated the mob for a foreign agent, he is drawn back to the bombing. Linking the two crimes, the detective finds himself in the midst of the Canadian mob's move to control all crime in the country, their ambition fuelled by a new ally whose ruthlessness knows no limits - the Russian mafia, and in particular an enigmatic crime boss known as the Czar. The Czar is known to kill anyone he cannot buy off. But even he cannot risk murdering the famous Emile Cinq-Mars. When another mole, Julia Murdick, infiltrates the Czar's organization, risking her life to fight the mob, can she help Cinq-Mars catch the Czar? Can he save her from almost certain death when her cover is blown - just as Artinian's was? On such small details hang the life of a mole. Julia Murdick poses as Heather Bantry, the Banker's daughter. The real Heather Bantry was an athelete and a sprinter. But Julia Murdick has something wrong with the bones of her legs, which affect the way she walks. And the Banker is experienced at moving around large sums of money in an effective and untraceable manner. Set in Montreal, this is a schizoid landscape delineated by language, the playground of Russian criminals and American spies. Corruption drips through the police like acid on flesh. City of Ice is a gripping thriller and a wonderful page-turner. Emile Cinq-Mars is a brilliant new detective who joins the pantheon of literary sleuths. |
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