Book Review: Beneath The Snow

Reviewed By: Catherine Thompson - RAM

Beneath The Snow     Amazon UK PB Amazon UK HC
Caroline Carver
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Amateur Sleuth
Orion, $24.95 trade paperback, 295 pages

Landscape architect Abby McCall gets a call no one ever wants: her sister Lisa, a brilliant scientist, has disappeared in a snowstorm in the Alaskan wilderness. Abby hasn’t spoken to Lisa in 4 years, following a terrific row, but she knows she can’t remain in Oxford while her sister is missing. Leaving her multiple-sclerosis-afflicted mother in the care of a neighbour, Abby flies to Alaska to join the search.

As soon as she arrives in the tiny outpost of Lake’s Edge, Abby knows there’s something wrong. Lisa’s cabin has been ransacked, and all of her research is missing. Before long, Abby learns that Lisa has both influential friends and powerful enemies who are willing to stop at nothing to get their hands on her sister’s work. She sets out to find Lisa before her enemies do, risking her own life to save her sister’s.

I found the first three-quarters of Beneath the Snow rather slow going. I’m not sure if that was just the post-holiday rebound kicking in, or if the book really took that long to get going. The last quarter, however, was a barn-burner. Apart from the pacing, the novel is reasonably well written: the plot is tight and well constructed, and the characters are excellent. I didn’t know whom to trust, apart from Abby.

I did have one problem with the book. Carver is a native of the UK. She sets her novel in Alaska. However, as well researched as the book clearly is, Carver overlooked the fact that Americans speak completely different English from Englishmen. I got an awful giggle out of large wilderness-type men saying things like, “You nearly lost your rag,” and “Bloody hell!”

Catherine Thompson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Catherine Thompson - RAM