Customer Reviews

Beneath the Ashes (Lib)(CD)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Regular readers of Sue Henry's books will doubtless want to read Beneath the Ashes, if only to keep up with the activities of the protaganist, Jessie Arnold. But be warned, this is not up to her usual standards. Like earlier books, the best thing about Ashes is the descriptions of Alaska and sled dog racing but, while the description of the process of training young dogs is interesting, on the whole there less of this type of material than usual. In her other books, Henry's typical plot device is "spot the loonie", that is, figure out which of these seemingly normal people is actually a homicidal nut case. She has real problems figuring out how to deal with the situation in this book where the question is: "which of these nut cases is the killer?" As a result, by the time all is revealed you really don't care very much.

I've read many of Sue Henry's books and enjoyed most of them (they've also have turned me into an Iditarod and Yukon Quest fan). But this one is not up to her usual standards. Not only don't you care for any of the characters, but the denouement is so convoluted and implausible that I was left thinking "HUH????"

I feel rather disloyal saying all this, since she's one of my favorite authors, but I wouldn't want anyone reading this and judging her series by this one volume. Try "Murder on the Iditarod Trail," "Murder on the Yukon Quest," or "Termination Dust" (one of my favorites) before giving up on her.

Sue Henry's Jessie Arnold series is wonderful in evincing a feel of the Alaskan wilderness and life in the "slow" lane. Unfortunately, Henry's books while generally entertaining are a little too laid back in their delivery, and Arnold comes across as a less effective heroine than she should be. In BENEATH THE ASHES, Arnold is approached by an old acquaintance to help her dig up something in a cabin where she lived ten years prior, having Arnold as her neighbor. We immediately dislike this friend, Anne, and it isn't too long before several arsons immerse Jessie in a complex plot in which she becomes a main suspect. Henry isn't a master of suspenseful plotting, but her images of the wilderness and her love for the sledding life is evidenced and entertaining.

Sue Henry's characters had a grip on me and it's always interesting to see where relationships are headed. Why is it that book characters, as well as TV characters, can't have and maintain loving relationships? It's just not as much fun without Alex Jenson in Jesse Arnold's life. Especially useful are Henry's tidbits about sled dog training (does everyone who reads this series find more books about the Iditarod?) but there should be more to it than that. This one fell a little flat--stilil worth the price of admission but I might wait for a few reviews before attempting the next.

Spring is the time of year that Jessie Arnold uses to train her young sled dogs for the coming season. After a long spate of rain, Jessie goes to Oscar's Other Place to unwind with her friends. Later that night the place is burned down and a body found in the ruins. An old friend asks Jessie to shelter her and hide her from an abusive spouse, so she does. This friend, Ann Holman, was suspected of setting a fire that killed two small children ten years before. The arson investigator is sure that Ann is involved in this case also, and will do anything to prove it.

This mystery was very enjoyable. I loved the setting and the main character's unusual occupation, training and racing sled dogs. I missed the Alex Jensen character at first, but soon forgot about him in the excitement of the plot. This is a fastmoving story with lots of twists and turns.

If you like dogs, and you like easy, uncomplicated mysteries, and you like strong, single, capable female heroines, you'll like this book. I did--very much. It's my first introduction to Sue Henry's "Alaska Mystery" series, and it certainly won't be the last.

Light on improbable plot but strong on descriptive details (really interesting information on how to mush a dog team, which I found captivating), the story concerns a series of arsons that come to involve heroine Jessie, her cabin, and her good name among her compatriots in the Alaska town in which she lives. It all centers on a former friend named Anne, whom Jessie picks up at the airport, only to regret the reunion the minute they meet.

I found the denoument so confusing that I'm still not sure who did what to whom, but nevertheless, I found the whole reading experience lots of fun--enough to want to try more Sue Henry.

Jessie Arnold, champion dog sled racer and dog breeder, is horrified when her favourite watering hols, "Oscar's Other Place", is burned to the ground, but even more so when an unidentified body is found in the ashes. She is even less pleased to be visited by a former neighbour, Anne Holman, who claims to be in hiding from her abusive husband, Greg.Anne is frantic to retrieve something from the burned out remains of their former home, which she claims was burned down by Greg, and pressures Jessie to take her back, by dog sled, to the ruins. She digs up a metal box which contains the bones of a baby who, she says, was murdered by Greg. On returning to town, Anne is confronted by Mike Tatum, an arson investigator who declares Anne to be a fire bug who caused the death of a family. Anne insists that Tatum is obsessed with proving her guilt and is not to be trusted. After Jessie's cabin is also burnes out, the story becomes fairly obvious but the author's descriptions of the Alaskan scenery and the details of long distance dog sledding are excellent. Perhaps readers who have followed Jessie's earlier acventures ( this is book 5)would gain more pleasure than I did from this book, but, to start at this point, it was rather ordinary.

Well, although I love Jessi, I am very sad to see Alex leave the series. The series has gone from being mostly Alex (like in Termination Dust), to fully Jessi and I really missed the romantic bits the couple shared. Although the mystery was good as usual, I am dissapointed with the loss of Alex.

I always enjoy Sue Henry's books and really liked this one as well. She knows how to tell a good story and her descriptions of Alaska and mushing just keep getting beter. I felt like I was on the sled with Jessie.

This series is a good read about a strong, independant female. The descriptions of Alaska are priceless. Even if you never get to Alaska, these words give you a mental picture of the absolute beauty of the area. The only problem I had with the book was the length of time it took to receive it; "way" beyond the time promised.