Book Review: Deadfall

Reviewed By: Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

Deadfall     Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Sue Henry
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Police Procedural   Woman Main Character   Dogs
Series: Alex Jensen & Jessie Arnold # 5
Avon; 1998; $6.50; pp 312

Well here it is late December in Alaska and there's no snow in my yard. In fact there are still a couple hardy pansies blooming. So I decided it was time for a winter mystery. The cover art was terribly misleading showing Alaska in the deep winter, but the story takes place in early fall before snow. Despite that, I loved this book. It was a "couldn't put it down". I actually read until 4 am 2 days in a row to finish this.

Henry claims she doesn't write cozies, but this one sure was close. For one thing its not a murder mystery. Its a suspense thriller involving a stalker. Normally stalking is something I don't consider entertainment, but while its the plot tying the story together this was a delicious 300 pages of everyday life for an ordinary Alaskan woman. Yes the series heroine Jesse is a famous dog musher but there is no dog race, murder or other major event that the ordinary woman here wouldn't deal with. There is violence but its not outside the limits of what I think could occur in a cozy and it represents the kind of everyday interruptions people living in Alaska deal with all the time. Basically its about days taking care of the dogs, enjoying the experience of living close to the land, weathering storms by curling up by a fire with a good mystery etc. and coping with emergencies that all of us do here even if not for the exact same reasons.

Anyone who ever wanted to know what its like for an everyday person to live an everyday life in Alaska will get a vivid heart racing adventure and lifelike picture from this book both the rural life and the suburban/metropolitan. This is now and probably always will be my favorite Sue Henry mystery.

Paws: Definitely 5

Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Carol Schwaderer Dickinson - RAM