Character Summary- Rachel Champagne

The main character of the novel, Forty Words for Sorrow is John Cardinal who works as a detective in the Algonquin Bay police department. He is an intelligent driven and caring man. Others may perceive John to be a quiet observer but internally he repels against the wave of doubt and struggles to maintain a positive attitude towards his wife and career. He is a very considerate man but he has always been a loaner especially when his wife is hospitalized for severe depression and his beautiful daughter Kelly leaves for school, John is left to cope with solitutde. He clearly works hard because he is determined to solve the case of Katie Pine even when all faith has deceased. There are other secondary characters who add importance to the novel such as Lise Delorme who acts as the partner in crime with John. She is an assiduous tenacious attractive young woman who has accomplished brillliant achievments throughout her career. John's persistence and Delorme's postive attitude lead John to beleive that the killings are no co incidence and that there is a pattern evolving. He uses his intellect and ambition to discover that this is the act of a serial killer. John must divide his attention towards being a staunch caring husband and father and being a bright effective detective.  Throughout the novel there are copious examples of racism towards the native indians of the reserve. The people of Algonquin Bay seem to be illustrated as myserious bias citizens. Author Giles Blunt intentionally creates a cold winter enviroment to portray the eerie atmosphere that effects the people of the town.