crosses, double-crosses and triple-crosses in Montreal, where the Hells Angels and the Mafia are teaming up with the Russians to carve up the underworld whilst betraying each other. Meanwhile Cinq-Mars from City police is working almost on his own and to his own version of the rules to control the investigation of various murders. He has to juggle corruption from within, dirty cops, CIA infiltrating the Hells Angels, betrayals and negotiations on all sides, whilst getting older.[return][return]Had difficulty with Cinq-Marns, and part of it was the author's way of referring to him - throughout the book his moniker changed, from the familiar "Emile", through Cinq-Mars right up to Sergeant-Detective Cinq Mars. It was as if the author either went through waves of linking/being comfortable with his creation, to not knowing/linking him very much (similar to Cornwell suddenly changing from "Kay" to "Scarpetta" part way through her series).[return]Overall, reasonable book, lot of strings to be pulled together, a modicum of violence. ( )

This is a simply incredible book for several reasons:

* There isn't a better portrayal of the City of Montreal in any book I've read. The author's attention to detail as his characters travel around Montreal and its environs adds a great deal of interest and realism to the book.
* The lead character, Emile Cinq-Mars, is fascinating. More than anyone around him, he lives by a code. His struggles in this book to maintain it, and the compromises he has to make, go well beyond the depth of characterization of just about any detective in fiction.
* The supporting cast of other cops and an assortment of criminals, spies, and those knowingly or unknowingly helping them along is equally fascinating.
* The books seamlessly weaves in actual history, such as the war between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine biker gangs in Montreal, and this makes the author's other speculations all the more realistic and frightening.

Is there anything not to like? Well, normally I would say the book, at over 500 pages, is too long. But while Farrow's writing is quite verbose, he handles the long scenes of dialogue or exposition so well that they are very enjoyable. Even when he is telling rather than showing, he succeeds. The author knows a lot about Montreal, and it comes out in the book. And even though it is a few years old, it still resonates with my impressions of Montreal on several recent visits.

What about the plot, you're asking? I don't want to give away anything. I'll just say it involves cops, criminals, and spies, and you can't always tell who is who. It is complex and labyrinthian--but Farrow pulls it all off in the end. I immediately ordered the second book in the series.

This author is a seriously good writer, and this book deserves a lot more readers. ( )

A catchy, exciting book. It took me a while to finish it, because it was my bedtime read.
Many storylines, many characters, but those are the thrillers that I love the most.
Interesting and fascinating, full of intrigues, conspiracies, bad agents, good burgers, a hint of CIA and Hells Angels, an excellent mix of ingredients. ( )

Wow! This was a terrific book. Suspense right to the end and interesting characters, set in a city that I love, Montreal. I had never heard of John Farrow before picking up this book. The reason became clear when I read this on the end paper "John Farrow is a pseudonym for a highly respected Canadian writer of literary fiction. City of Ice is his first thriller." Of course you know I had to Google after reading that and I found this very interesting interview online. If you want to find out all about John Farrow and his real counterpart click on the link.

Emile Cinq-Mars is a detective in the City of Montreal police. The book opens with Cinq-Mars being offered a position with the Wolverines, a task force set up to deal with the biker wars in Montreal. As Cinq-Mars is explaining that what he does is catch the small time criminal and that is what he prefers to stay doing, the Hell's Angels banker is blown up right across the street from the Wolverines stake-out. Cinq-Mars goes back to his cubicle at police headquarters. One reason he is so successful is that he has a source who gives him the criminals on a golden platter. On Christmas Eve he and his partner stake out an apartment block where they have been told to look for Santa Claus. When they follow him into the block they discover the body of one of the people Cinq-Mars' source had used to give him information. It is clear from the sign around his neck "Merry Xmas M-5" that this was known to the killers because M-5 stands for March 5th which is the English translation of Cinq-Mars. Even though the case is assigned to another detective Cinq-Mars decides to investigate himself. What he finds leads him to encounters with bike gangs, Russian Mafia, the CIA and corruption within his own police department.

I would heartily recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-written book and especially lovers of fast-paced thrillers. ( )

John Farrow is the pen name of Candian novelist Trevor Ferguson, a worthy writer who has achieved critical acclaim for his mainstream works but negligible sales in his native country. Convinced that in order to make a success of his writing career “something had to change”, he decided to turn to the mystery genre, subgenus thriller. This is his first effort and, on the whole, a worthy one. By that I mean that Farrow has achieved the essential goal of sustaining the reader’s involvement in the accelerating suspense of this tale, despite loose ends, logical inconsistencies and occasional stylistic maladroitness. His greatest single asset is his fully realized (if markedly larger-than-life) central character, Sergeant-Detective Emile Cinq-Mars, a perfect part for the French actor Jean Reno. Cinq-Mars is a media superstar in the Montreal police department taking on a complex case of stolen cars, smuggling, multiple murder and domestic terrorism. All the cards are stacked against him. In fact, the cards have been constructed into an elaborate, multi-story house that threatens to fall on his head at any moment. On the outside, the house is besieged by stock villains of every stripe: petty crooks, sleazy shysters, biker gangs, the mafia, the KGB/FSB and, ultimately, the international brotherhood of super-sociopaths known as the Eight-Pointed Star. On the inside, Cinq-Mars is encumbered by some other familiar specimens: a well-intentioned but naïve partner, crooked peers, bureaucratic (in the worst sense of that much-abused adjective) supervisors, incompetent and morally compromised bosses, eager-beaver but ineffective special forces, clueless civilian wannabes, a venal, corrupt infrastructure, and, finally, a textbook representative of the American brotherhood of super-sociopaths known as the CIA. If you think it’s tough keeping all of that straight, you might be mistaken. Emile Cinq-Mars does an amazing job of it, even if he takes a few licks along the way. John Farrow’s accomplishment is somewhat less spectacular, but is by no means discreditable. With a little seasoning, future installments will be tighter constructed and will have a greater number of characters who step outside the lines of their templates. ( )