No Such Creature by Giles BluntBlunt takes a break from his award-winning John Cardinal crime series with the entertaining tale of Magnus "Max" Maxwell and his great-nephew Owen. The pair spend every summer vacation bonding while traveling the countryside in their oversized Winnebago, affectionately dubbed 'the Rocket'. Max's occupation as a wig salesman provides the perfect cover for the dynamic duo as they rob rich Republicans at house parties. Max charms the victims with his delightful personality, no one gets hurt, and, due to extensive pre-operation planning, everything goes off without a hitch - until now. Max is good but he isn't perfect. He spent time in prison and made valuable contacts, many of whom he uses as accomplices on larger 'shows'. Unfortunately, he also made the acquaintance of some very bad men who want to relieve Max of his valuable gains. One, in particular, will stop at nothing - even murder - to get rich quick.
Witty, faithful, sad and endearing - these two special individuals step boldly off the page. At first glance it seems like we've heard it all before. Not so. Blunt offers us an unpredictable slice of a very unique summer vacation. Highly recommended. Librarian Reviewer: Joanne
Discussion Questions:
1. How did you feel about the banter between Owen and Max? Was the interaction believeable?
2. If you had to choose either Owen or Max to travel with, who would you choose?
3. Do you believe that there is such thing as an ethical thief, as Max believes he is?
4. What did you think about the ending? Some say it feels like paragraphs were removed in the attempt to make the story shorter. Do you agree?
1 comment:
What a departure from his John Cardinal series! I really enjoyed this book. I also loved it that the adventure had many twists and turns. I laughed, I cried and I did not want the book to end. I did not feel that the end was rushed. My one regret is that is was set in the states. I quite like the Cardinal series being set in northern Ontario.
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