Tony has been gone since he left for university and made a life for himself.
Category:History books about punishment
Dwayne has always been the bad boy and found himself locked up and here he is again locked up. Caddy and Tony had been sweet on each other when they were younger but she cut off the relationship without really saying why after Tony was at university. Tony is still drawn to Caddy and torn as to how to react to the circumstances.
The tight knit community of St. Ninian rallies around Caddy against Dwayne. The opposition to Dwayne in the community is most evident from Neil Archie MacDonald, a retired police officer from Boston. Neil like Tony was encouraged to retire after an incident on the job. Neil is another local boy who made it good while away and is now back in town. Neil is nothing if not vocal and angry at the system, and not beyond seeking his own solutions to problems.
This was an interesting insight into a side of society that most of us never experience and into the dangers that come when vengeance replaces reason. Punishment kept me turning the pages but left me feeling I wanted more at the end. I hope that more will come in the second volume of the trilogy. Linden MacIntyre is hit and miss for me. This is a hit.
Anyone who's read MacIntyre's work will recognize Punishment - the setting, the light lilt in the dialogue, the outsized characters. But it's a recognition that thrills, like going home for Christmas and knowing that your drunk, unpredictable cousin will be there. Tony Breau is a retired corrections officer. He was living in Kingston before a t Linden MacIntyre is hit and miss for me.
- Category:History books about punishment - Wikipedia.
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- The Book of Punishment?
He was living in Kingston before a traumatic, potentially criminal, incident forced him into retirement and his marriage fell apart. Now he's home in St. Unfortunately, it isn't as peaceful as he anticipated. An old lover - Caddy - rears her still-beautiful head, and their relationship is just as complicated as it always was.
Now, though, there's also the recent death of Caddy's grand-daughter to deal with. It looks like a straight-forward case: The small town rallies around Caddy's family, and demands justice. Tony ends up in the middle of it all, pulled by his attraction to Caddy and pushed by the murky history between himself and Strickland.
I won't say anymore about the plot - I don't want to spoil it - except to say this: MacIntyre uses the infastructure of a mystery to set up an examination of justice vs punishment, morality vs. The result is an engaging, smart, compulsive read. Jul 25, Dale White rated it it was amazing.
There is so much to like about this book. Tony Breau, a corrections officer takes early retirement after telling the truth about an incident that results in the death of a prisoner. He heads back to the small community where he grew up. There he meets up with his teenage girlfriend, now a widow, whose granddaughter has died of a drug overdose in the house of Dwayne Strickland. Strickland also has returned home after spending many years in prison including one where Tony worked and tried to rehab There is so much to like about this book.
Strickland also has returned home after spending many years in prison including one where Tony worked and tried to rehabilitate him. When the town, led by an angry ex-cop, tries to pin the death of the girl on Strickland Tony has to decide what course of action he needs to take. MacIntyre, using Tony as the narrator does an excellent job of developing Tony's character and the dilemmas he faces. While some of the mystery is somewhat obvious there is still plenty of suspense as various characters complicate Tony's life.
And at the end of the story, we are left wondering what punishment does and maybe should mean. Aug 17, Katee rated it it was ok. I am at a point in my life where I don't have any more time for manipulative writers - same for movies. The book had a fascinating story, unique environment that I am very familiar with and astute insight into that world. But I was really worried that the dog was too important I put the book down and wont finish it. Any writer that resorts to hurting kids he kills the dog. Any writer that resorts to hurting kids or animals as a catalyst for action should be ashamed of himself.
Oct 05, Adam McPhee rated it it was amazing Shelves: MacIntyre's best book yet. Draws interesting and unexpected parallels between the Iraq war, the infighting in small towns that often leads to outsiders being scapegoated, and the costs of being perceived as a bureaucratic whistleblower or prison rat.
His experience of hosting Canada's best investigative journalism TV program for twenty-four years pays off with his understanding of all the ways humans are fallible. Like a Jim Thompson novel set in Cape Breton. Dec 12, Billyf27 rated it liked it. I would give this fine book a 4. Excellent characters and plot.
Would read more from this author without a doubt. Apr 04, Margaret rated it really liked it. Best of his books so far. Leaves you with lots to think about, especially when your reading group includes a judge. Feb 17, Ginny rated it really liked it. A really high-class murder mystery. Enthralling--a page turner for sure. I found the characters very real and engaging. May 07, Georgina rated it it was amazing.
Well, as this book progresses, it becomes a real page turner. Jan 24, Lynette Johnson rated it liked it. This was one of those books that creeps up on you, and stays with you for a bit, after reading it. Within the first pages or so, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on reading. As I'm sure my fellow readers agree, life is short so you don't want to waste it on a book you're not enjoying. However, I persevered and soon the characters grew on me. I found it interesting that it was set in Canada, with a number of references to Ontario where I live.
This made it feel very real, and I always enjoy re This was one of those books that creeps up on you, and stays with you for a bit, after reading it. This made it feel very real, and I always enjoy reading a reference to a place where I've been - Kingston and even Ottawa were part of this story! As the title implies, the book examines the various levels and the spectrum of appropriate meting out of Punishment. Sometimes that is self-punishment, sometimes it is by one other person or possibly many other people.
Often the justification for punishment is in the eye of the beholder, as we see throughout the story, and often that justification is judged by others around us. Although I would not rate this as a 'stellar' read, it was certainly thought-provoking, which I always appreciate. Jul 30, Joel Wentz rated it liked it. This is a breezy page-turner in the vein of Gillian Flynn, with betrayals and twists aplenty in the third act.
There's a lot to like here, but it was a bit uneven for me. MacIntyre's writing is compelling, and I quite liked his non-linear style, as well as his snappy dialogue. Characters generally felt real and easy-to-relate-to. The overall thrust of the mystery, however, got very dull at times, and I felt like the first half of the book was entirely too long. The setting was hum-drum, and some This is a breezy page-turner in the vein of Gillian Flynn, with betrayals and twists aplenty in the third act.
The setting was hum-drum, and some of the "character-building" was actually just confusing and distracting from the twists and turns that I imagine he wants you to focus on. Overall, a pretty fun read, and the third act ramps up in a way that kept me engaged, but I barely hung in through the first half of the book to get there.
A mixed bag, for sure. Jan 16, Amy Roebuck rated it really liked it Recommends it for: I always wonder, when the esteemed Mr. MacIntyre publishes a new book, if he can possibly meet the standards he set for himself in his last work. He has never, ever disappointed. He has been such an aware and intelligent observer of the human condition, both in his career in journalism and in his fiction--and in his life, I am sure-- that we feel certain the events and reactions he tells of have just happened TO HIM or to a close loved one.
His hand as an author is so superb, that one book may c I always wonder, when the esteemed Mr. His hand as an author is so superb, that one book may contain as this one does: MacIntyre is even more compelling in person author visit as he is in investigative reporting and in his fiction Jan 08, Pam Foster rated it really liked it Shelves: Reading this was like watching a fire grow slowly from just a spark to glowing embers to licks of flame to a full-throated blaze.
The characters had depth; believable flaws and strengths and were played beautifully one against and with each other. But it was the constant undercurrent of something not right, something that was going wrong an Reading this was like watching a fire grow slowly from just a spark to glowing embers to licks of flame to a full-throated blaze. But it was the constant undercurrent of something not right, something that was going wrong and just when I thought I had it figured out, it skidded in another direction until, when all became clear, I was amazed at smoothly, deftly the pieces fell together.
Apr 02, E. Yatscoff rated it did not like it. Literary books are reads I usually avoid because they are introspective bores. Very little happens until the last 60 pages. A good editor would have cut many sections especially the walking the dog, talking to the dog parts, etc. My wife said I'd like it. The only saving grace are the well drawn characters. This was a library book. Aug 01, Joanne Johnson rated it it was amazing Shelves: Thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Look forward to reading more of Linden MacIntyre's book. Jun 19, Helene rated it it was amazing.
This novel was extremely powerful and poignant in its exploration of justice, truth and perception. Jan 02, Marlene Hessdorfer rated it liked it. A few twists and turns. I always enjoy a book with an east coast setting. Mar 19, Carol rated it really liked it. Lots of twists to keep you hooked. Jan 10, Laraine rated it really liked it. MacIntyre writes literate thought provoking novels and this one is no exception. Tony Breau was a prison guard who is forced to retire from his job and returns to his home village after his marriage also breaks up. One of the former cons also returns to the same village and soon Tony is caught up in issues involving this man and the villagers.
Jul 25, Charles rated it really liked it. An extremely well written novel taking place in St. Ninian's a small Nova Scotia town around Tony born Breau but renamed MacMillan after his adoptive parents in St. Wayne Strickland is a young con also from St. Ninian, in for selling drugs, with a very checkered past of lifelong misbehaviour, but who likes Tony the only person who has some empathy for him.
When Tony returns to NS to a small isolated house facing the ocean, he is lonely but reestablishes a friendship with Caddy Stewart who had been his 1st love, but who had left him for another. He runs into Neil MacDonald, an ex-cop who had worked in Boston, but returned to NS when he retired, after an incident in which his black colleague got killed. When she is 15, she dies of a drug overdose in Strickland's house he had returned when released , and the community blames him for providing the drugs which he was thought to sell to teenagers.
At the end it's revealed that Neil was Rosalie's father but Caddy never told him. Nov 11, Carolyn rated it really liked it. This is the third book I have read by Linden MacIntyre. His Giller prize winner, The Bishop's Man, is one of my favourite books. MacIntyre has the ability to enter the hearts and minds of his characters while keeping some things hidden.
The people also seem very real to me, maybe partly because I grew up in small town Nova Scotia where the story is set. The novel centres around a former long-time prison guard, Tony Breau. He returns to his hometown in Cape Breton after a divorce and being forced into early retirement. There he encounters Dwayne,Strickland, a former prisoner that he knew from his time working at the prison.
Linden MacIntyre has been an investigative reporter for the CBC and understands the workings of the justice system, the hierarchy in prisons and the danger of being a snitch. Tony discovers that a teenaged girl has been found dead in in Strickland 's home , and he is being pressured to get involved in the investigation and also be a character witness for Strickland. To add to the situation, the dead girl's grandmother, Caddy, was Tony's great love when they were young.
This romance ended badly. He now is drawn into an uneasy relationship with her, and love for her small dog which spends much time at his home. Also it explores his problems with his ex-wife and an affair with another woman. Both these women worked with prisoners.
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I would have preferred that the book told us less about his relationship with these three women and more about his time at prison just prior to his retirement. The other main character in the story is Neil, who bullied Tony when they were in school. He retired after some bad trouble while working as a policeman in Boston. He holds forth to the townspeople about Strickland's certain guilt and the need for revenge when he is not annoying Tony and others with his views on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. Themes of loneliness and isolation run through the book; also explored are betrayal, justice, guilt, retribution, the destructiveness of gossip, lies and truth withheld.
It seems that one cannot completely trust neighbours, lovers or co-workers. There some instances of horrific revenge, but some hint of upcoming sweet revenge subtly forecast at the end. Feb 14, Ian rated it really liked it.
The Book of Punishment by Cat Scarlett - Penguin Books Australia
Tony Breau's career as a corrections officer has ended in the wake of an incident that resulted in the death of an inmate. Guilt-ridden, he has returned to his Nova Scotia home, in the village of St. Awaiting him there are various friends and neighbours as well as ghosts from his past: Catherine Stewart Caddy , with whom many years earlier he was in love but who left town one day without explanation, Neil MacDonald, a tormentor from his school days, and Dwayne Strickland, a much younger Tony Breau's career as a corrections officer has ended in the wake of an incident that resulted in the death of an inmate.
Catherine Stewart Caddy , with whom many years earlier he was in love but who left town one day without explanation, Neil MacDonald, a tormentor from his school days, and Dwayne Strickland, a much younger local man whose criminal actions led him to cross paths with Tony in his professional capacity. Dwayne is a charming manipulator, an ex-con who knows how to read people and push their buttons. When Tony arrives in St. Ninian Dwayne is living on his own in his family's old house and building a reputation among local youth as the go-to for drugs. Mar 20, Pages Buy. Mar 20, Minutes Buy.
Mar 19, Pages. Mar 20, Pages. Mar 20, Minutes. Then, while in police custody, Ian is found dead. Did he kill himself? Or was he murdered? She decides to take a closer look at the seemingly ordinary inhabitants of Ludlow—mainly elderly retirees and college students—and discovers that almost everyone in town has something to hide. Her work has been honored with the Anthony and Agatha awards, two Edgar nominations, and both… More about Elizabeth George. Several alternating plot threads unspool at length, all of which weave tightly together with pleasing inevitability.
What has been said before deserves repeating: From suspense to social commentary, from violence to pathos, from villainy to possible redemption, Ms.
George can do it all, with style. For new readers getting onboard and for those who have loved these characters for a while now, this book is one you do not want to miss.