Customer Reviews

Dead North

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

After a couple of earlier books which were not up to Sue Henry's usual standards, she provides a strong entry for the Alaskan Mystery series with her book, Dead North. Jessie is distressed by the destruction of her cabin by fire, as described in the previous book, Beneath the Ashes. While waiting for her cabin to be rebuilt, Jessie is living in a tent which lacks many of the comforts of home. Fortunately a friend has purchased a Winnebago and needs someone to drive it to Alaska for him. Jessie agrees to do so and she departs on what she thinks will be an adventure and a good sight-seeing trip. She meets Maxie, a compatible older woman and they strike up a friendship as they travel north through several RV parks. At the same time, Jessie meets Patrick, a young man with a troubled past who is very secretive about his life yet who appeals to the two women for help. They agree to bring him along with them, but trouble seems to follow them, and they begin to debate the wisdom of taking Patrick under their wing. As usual, this book contains wonderful descriptions of the breath-taking Alaskan and Canadian scenery and some pretty suspenseful chase scenes.

I sometimes think that Sue Henry should have been a travel writer. The best of her books mix murder with intricately described journeys in which learning the details of the trip itself are half of the reason for reading the book. If you're not interested in the trip, you're probably not going to be interested in the book. That is probably the reason for the hot-and-cold reviews this one has been receiving--especially because this book's topic, an RV journey up the Alaskan Highway, is considerably less exotic than the dogsledding stories that built the author's reputation.

Because they mix travel with mystery, Sue Henry's books tend to be relatively gentle stories in which pleasant but not deeply drawn characters provide amiable companionship for the armchair traveler. (If you want heart-pounding thrillers, read Dean Koontz.) Nor are they complex Agatha Christie - style puzzles. Oh yes, there's always a villain, sometimes a pretty cruel one, but Henry seems to be one of those people who genuinely likes most of her fellow humans, and she does not delight in giving readers a whole roomful of unsympathetic characters from which to attempt to identify the villain.

So is this book any good? That depends mostly on how interested you are in learning about the Alaskan Highway and RVing, because the reviewers below are correct in pointing out that the book is chuck-full of details that have no relevance to the plot. Nor are you going to find deep insights into human nature. Even the villain is a bit of a stock psychopath, although he does have other motivations.

The biggest flaw involves the plot machinations Henry needs to use in order for her characters to repeatedly cross paths as they move up the highway by disparate modes of transportation (RV, hitchhiking, pickup truck, bicycle, 18-wheeler) that should have them traveling at quite different paces. Also, none can be allowed to realize that anytime they want, they can separate themselves from this dangerous, traveling circus simply by holing up for a couple of nights as everyone else moves north.

Still, this is a fun read, and I'm already partway through the next book in the series. Fasten you seatbelts and enjoy the Alaskan Highway!

I must say I am stunned by the reviews here on Amazon. I have read all of Sue Henry's mysteries and consider them competent, quick reads but nothing out of the ordinary. I don't in general recommend them to anyone and Henry never springs to mind as a personal favorite mystery writer. I find her writing a bit clumsy, the plotting and description a bit plodding and boring. In fact, the books inspire skimming.

Yes, I like the characters. Yes, I love the whole idea of dog sled racing and the Alaskan setting. This makes the series worthwhile, the hook which draws me in. But I find the whole series rather hackneyed, to be honest. The glowing joy I am reading startles me. Yes, by all means read these and enjoy the Alaskan setting and mystery, but this isn't phenomenal mystery writing at its finest by any means.

At the same time Dana Stabenow is getting far more lukewarm reviews from readers and I find her infinitely superior in characterization, plotting and style. Stabenow's writing glows and her books are the sort that are hard to put down. They are moving and resonant- evocative and yet full of the bite one wants in a good mystery. They do not read like anyone else's novels, which is more than I can say for Henry. Stabenow has a distinct voice and Henry has a novel setting which is almost a gimmick along the lines of tea shop and cat mysteries.

I have read all Henry's mysteries, I will continue to buy and read them. They are decent enough for what they are- quick, light entertainment but not particularly engaging or profound.
Stabenow on the other hand is not only good mystery reading but good writing- someone who can tell a story clearly and beautifully without resorting to the nonsensical, fireworks tricks so much of Modern Literary Fiction has made so common rendering prize winning modern fiction useless as far as enjoyable reading is concerned.

A murder takes place in Wyoming. A boy is on the run. Jessie Arnold has agreed to drive a motor home from Idaho to Alaska for the contractor who is building her new cabin. These two worlds collide on the highway and Jessie finds herself smack dab in the middle of trouble. There is less story involving her dogs in this one, although she does have her lead dog, Tank, with her. This story is more about the characters she meets on the road and they are an interesting bunch. There is a lot of scenic description, which Henry always does very well. This is a good story for readers interested in travel. Some of the chase scenes were riveting, but the mystery, itself, fell a little short.

In Cody, Wyoming, the police hide the abusive nature of one of their own. Officer McMurdock beats his spouse and his teenage stepson Patrick. However, this time things go too far. When the cops arrive, McMurdock claims his stepson knocked him unconscious with a baseball bat, killed his mother, and fled to places unknown. Detective Daniel Loomis investigates the domestic incident, but McMurdock's story seems off kilter.

At about the same time, Alaska native Jesse Arnold accepts a job to transport a Winnebago home from Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. With her home destroyed by an arsonist, Jesse feels the trip will help her rebound. She takes her lead dog Tank with her for companionship. On the way back, Jesse picks up a hitchhiking Patrick, not realizing that danger follows him North to Alaska.

DEAD NORTH is an action-packed thriller that shows why award winning Sue Henry knows DEAD NORTH with her Alaska mysteries. The story line is exhilarating as the wilderness serves as a safe zone and a potential killing field from an enraged predator. Fans of the Alaskan mystery will take pleasure in this wonderful tale even as they cheer that McMurdock finally receive his comeuppance.

Harriet Klausner

Sue Henry is not only a superb mystery author, but her travelogue of sights, sounds, and tastes of Alaska delight the senses. I want to travel with her through her books in her RV.

The final disc on the audiobook presented an extended and distorted skip in the audio section, along with minutes of silence before resuming narration.