Dead North: An Alaska Mystery [Mass Market Paperback]

Sue Henry (Author)

Book Description

Series: Alaska Mysteries | Publication Date: April 30, 2002

With her cabin a pile of ashes and her lite in pieces, champion Alaskan "musher" Jessie Arnold has gratefully accepted a friend's proposal that she drive his motor home up from Idaho, along the Alaska Highway -- a breathtaking, two thousand-mile-long route winding past hot springs, glaciers, and ice-blue lakes. But the idyllic trip takes a dark turn when a teenage hitchhiker brings terror aboard. Frightened and alone, Patrick Cutler disappears just before the police inform Jessie that the young runaway is wanted in connection with two shocking murders. Suddenly she is cast into a raging maelstrom of dark secrets and deadly consequences. And the cold and empty road she's traveling could be leading her not to her home...but to a grave in the trackless wilderness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is one of Henry's best if not the best because characters, not a dog team, drive the plot. Waiting to replace her cabin (burned down in Beneath the Ashes; 2000), Jessie Arnold, with her beloved lead husky, Tank, agrees to pick up her contractor's new Winnebago in Idaho and drive it up the gloriously scenic Alaska Highway. Into the idyllic trip pops Patrick Cutler, a runaway teenager from Cody, Wyo. Without the usual musher gang, Henry creates some lively new characters: "Maxie" McNabb, an independent, adventurous widow who befriends Jessie; elderly Mr. Dalton, Patrick's wily Cody neighbor; and tough long-distance trucker Butch Stringer. Jessie and Maxie know there are holes in Patrick's story, but they agree to help him reach a friend in Fairbanks, putting them on a collision course with his violent stepfather, "Mack" McMurdock, who killed Patrick's mother and is now after him. William Webster, a RCMP detective; Daniel Loomis, a Cody homicide cop; and two of Patrick's high school friends are also pursuing him, all for different reasons. The talented Henry shows her love of the Alaskan wilderness with vivid descriptions of its spectacular beauty, using it as the backdrop for several heart-stopping chases. A clever ending leaves some strings dangling, while an excellent map helps keep the reader on track. (July 2)Forecast: Henry's first novel, Murder on the Iditarod Trail, won the Anthony and Macavity awards. This book, with its stunning locale, will appeal to armchair travelers and readers interested in Alaska, as well as Henry's usual fans.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

While driving a friend's Winnebago to Alaska from Idaho, musher Jess Arnold (Beneath the Ashes) picks up a hitchhiking teenager trying to escape from the abusive stepfather who just murdered his mother. Friends, police, and the murderer all follow. A solid plot, ably handled; for fans of Alaskan mysteries.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Avon (April 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380816849
• ISBN-13: 978-0380816842
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #314,415 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost Perfect, July 7, 2001

By 

Emily Meyer "eman" (Frederick, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dead North: An Alaska Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Since discovering Sue Henry last December, I've read everything I can get my hands on, and have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book. What would Jessie get involved in now? Would Jessie and Alex finally come to their senses and get back together? What about the dogs?

To answer the first question - she's driving a Winnabego through the Northwestern United States and Canada toward Alaska where she runs into a desperate teenaged runaway and a spunky, older woman named Maxie (who bears a striking resemblance to the author's own portrait on the inside jacket cover). There's the usual tension - including a *chilling* description of a car accident with a tractor-trailer and angst set against beautiful descriptions of the country-side which make Henry such a compelling author. The end has a twist that I saw coming, but only in the last few pages.

To answer the second question . . . well, let's just say that was the book's only flaw.

And the third question - Tank is his usual, brave, intuitive, and loyal self.

But for the notable absence of Alex, and the possible conceit in the character of Maxie, this book more than lived up to my expectations, and I'll now, infortunately, have even longer to wait for the next one.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dead North is Dead On., June 23, 2001

By 

Louanna Pettay (Sacramento, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dead North: An Alaska Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) (Hardcover)

This is one of, if not, the strongest novels of the series; although, I must admit, I missed the sledding. Her secondary characters are great as is her description of the Alaskan Highway. Her characters have real depth and there is ambiguity in the plot which reflects reality--this is decidedly not a "paint by number" mystery.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good mystery with good description of the country., August 3, 2001

By 

Richard Ellis (Salmon, ID United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dead North: An Alaska Mystery (Alaska Mysteries) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed the way Sue Henry made you feel a part of the characters as well a description of the country along the Alaskan highway which added to the sense of beeing there and personnaly involved.