ISBN: 0-451-20702-5 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A very enjoyable mystery, with likable characters, excellent portrayal of life in Alaska, and a good dose of relationships.
Reviewed by David on October 31, 2004
Genre: Mystery (Police Procedural, Alaska)
Synopsis: Liam Campbell is doing well. Now back to full sergeant, and on good terms with his beloved Wyanet, he likes his job, and making new friends. Alas, with promotion come new problems, including the possibility of moving away from the rural Newenham where he so recently built a life. Fortunately perhaps, things happen that require his full attention: a plane wreck discovered in a retreating glacier, and a murder.
Full Review: The author is very successful in building up interesting and engaging characters. Liam Campbell, the main character, Wyanet, Liam's assistant Diane Prince, the local magistrate Bill and the half-drunk shaman Moses, Wyanet's adopted son, all became solid, fascinating people after the few books. This book, as its predecessors, is character-friven, with the regulars taking much of the attention.
The investigation is solid, with a good puzzle, but the main interest remain the evolving relationships of the main characters, and the Alaskan life, both glorious and squalid, beautiful and perilous.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 6.5; Originality: 6;
Copyright date 2002, Penguin Putnam (New American Library), September 2002, Cloth, 263 pages
ISBN: 0-451-20702-5 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com