An excellent crime/thriller with a great plot, a cast of believeable, well drawn characters and tight, unshowy writing. The story centres on a serial killer, crossing the small towns of Canada, putting terminally ill people to death then mutilating them horribly as part of his crazed scheme. If this sounds gruesome, it is, but the gore never dominates. The police team trying to crack the case are well drawn - particularly the central character, 61-year-old Hazel Micallef - and the interplay between them never lapses into cliche. And the plot moves along nicely with some clever changes of pace and several unpredictable twists. All in all, very enjoyable.