Polar Circus: A Thriller

Ted Thring is a book reviewer for the Queen’s University radio
station.

It is October 1986. Four researchers at Cape Churchill on the shores of
Hudson Bay are studying the local polar bear population. Bears roam
freely around their compound. Winter is setting in, and the researchers
are eager to complete their work before the bears depart for the ice
that is rapidly forming along the shore. To their chagrin, their project
is interrupted by the arrival of an American documentary filmmaker and
his crew, a wildlife photographer and journalist, and David Suzuki,
accompanied by a CBC crew. All three visitors seek close (and dangerous)
encounters with the bears. Meanwhile, a series of unexplained accidents
puts everyone at risk.

This engaging yarn is told in a rather haphazard manner. What makes the
book worthwhile are the descriptions of the bears’ activities and the
methods used by the researchers.