Reading Order
John Cardinalseries.seoTitleShort
Start with Forty Words for Sorrow and continue through all 6 books in the listed reading order.
Start Here
Start with Forty Words for Sorrow
Book 1 by Giles Blunt • Published 2000
In frozen Algonquin Bay, the body of thirteen year old Katie Pine is found in an abandoned mine shaft. Demoted detective John Cardinal is hauled back onto the case, while new partner Lise Delorme secretly probes his p...
Complete List
John Cardinal reading order
Ends with Until the Night
- 1
Book 1:Forty Words for Sorrow
Giles Blunt • 2000
In frozen Algonquin Bay, the body of thirteen year old Katie Pine is found in an abandoned mine shaft. Demoted detective John Cardinal is hauled back onto the case, while new partner Lise Delorme secretly probes his p...
- 2
Book 2:The Delicate Storm
Giles Blunt • 2003
A thaw in northern Ontario exposes two bodies in the woods, one a dismembered American tourist, the other a respected local doctor. As Cardinal and Delorme dig deeper, the trail leads to old political violence, secret...
- 3
Book 3:Black Fly Season
Giles Blunt • 2005
Spring in Algonquin Bay turns ugly when a red haired woman staggers out of the woods, bitten raw by blackflies and shot in the head. With her memory gone, John Cardinal and Lise Delorme link her to a biker murder and...
- 4
Book 4:By the Time You Read This / The Fields of Grief
Giles Blunt • 2006
When photographer Catherine Cardinal falls to her death, everyone assumes her long struggle with depression finally won. Grief stricken, John Cardinal begins receiving taunting notes, pushing him to question the suici...
- 5
Book 5:Crime Machine
Giles Blunt • 2010
A year after losing his wife, John Cardinal is easing into quiet work on cold cases. Then two visitors from Russia are found decapitated in a lakeside home, dragging Cardinal and Lise Delorme into a fur trade conventi...
- 6
Book 6:Until the Night
Giles Blunt • 2012
A man strangled in a motel parking lot and a senator’s wife found chained and frozen in the ruins of a northern hotel seem like separate crimes. Cardinal and Delorme uncover links to a doomed Arctic romance, a secreti...
Quick Answers
John Cardinal FAQ
What is the best order to read the John Cardinal series?
The recommended reading order is the numbered order shown on this page, starting with Forty Words for Sorrow.
How many books are in the John Cardinal series?
There are 6 books currently listed in the John Cardinal series on GurusReads.
Where should I start with the John Cardinal series?
New readers should start with Forty Words for Sorrow, the first book in the reading order.
Is the John Cardinal series complete?
Based on the publication years we have, the series appears likely complete and spans releases from 2000 to 2012.