Customer Reviews

Dead of Winter

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I am pleased that I also read P. J. Parrish's first book, "Dark of the Moon." With some authors it is difficult to follow a best seller with another one. No problem for P. J. Parrish. Dead of Winter continues the story of Louis Kincaid, a man who (although he has a strong academic backgound and other career choices) wants to continue his career in law enforcement as a cop. Go figure! Nevertheless, he brings to the job a deep sense of honor and integrity in the failed hope of finding those same traits amoung his fellow officers. Coupled with his mixed heritage, Kincaid quickly gets our support to keep trying and not give up on society or himself. Well, this is one Louis Kincaid fan who has no intention of giving up on the fictional character or the excellent writer, P. J. Parrish.

Police Officer Louis Kincaid lived a troubled childhood until special foster parents helped set him on the path that has led to his wearing a badge. Louis is half-black and half-white keeping a foot in both worlds, but not accepted by people in either of them.

Louis serves as an officer in the bucolic town of Loon Lake, Michigan. Two weeks ago, someone murderd a police officer and the killer left behind a playing card left marked with numbers and a skull. Soon a retried officer is killed with a card also left at the scene. Apparently, an unknown assailant hates the Lake Loon police department for heinous crimes committed years ago.

P.J. Parrish has written an exciting police procedural thriller that shows what it is like to serve as a police officer in a small community. The complex hero rarely allows his emotions to surface even though he seems to feel very deeply about honor and integrity. The reasons for the cop killings are tragic, but understandable, which makes DEAD OF WINTER a special tale worth reading by sub-genre fans.

Harriet Klausner

Dead of Winter Review

Throughout the entire book, Dead of Winter, the author, P.J. Parrish, does an incredible job of keeping the reader in complete and utter suspense. The book is set in Loon Lake, Michigan, at the beginning of December, 1984. It begins mysteriously with the incident of the perplexing murder of one of Loon Lake's finest investigators, Thomas Pryce.

It continues with Detective Louis Kincaid, who is a man who has come north, looking for a safe haven and new job in a new police department, so he can put all the terrors of his precedent life behind. Instead, he becomes trapped inside yet another investigation that is really just a case of whodunit.

After Detective Kincaid is hired into the LLPD, he is hooked onto the investigation of Pryce's murder. His new chief, Chief Gibralter is more or less a very special individual. He is extremely well-educated and should own a bigger police department than Loon Lake's, but peculiarly does not. He makes it clear that he was the boss and only whatever he says, goes by intimidating Kincaid with a few rigorous words to the new guy: "These are the rules, and listen good...We have a motto here: Gens una sumus...'We are one family.'"

Detective Kincaid meets many new people, but after a long time, his favorite one is Jesse Harrison, even though they do not find one another quite that appealing, at first. Jesse Harrison was fairly close to Thomas Pryce, so they begin to investigate the murder, when the late ambiguity of a retired Loon Lake officer's murder arises.

As the investigation continues, Detective Kincaid starts to find incredible and amazing new evidence to further the investigation. They make a list of suspects and start to narrow down the possibilities of who is guilty.

If I told anymore of this story, I'd basically give the ending away. Parrish is an amazing writer, in my opinion. I have never been as interested in a new suspense novel as I was while reading this one. I loved the way he ended each chapter differently. The very first chapter ends with, "'Merry f***ing Christmas, Officer Pryce,' he said.'" This begins one's curiosity to keep on reading to find out who the actual murderer is.

At the end of Chapter 26, it ends with "Gibralter's eyes softened, taking on an almost paternal warmth. 'Sit down, Jess, I'll tell you,' he said." He keeps the reader wanting more because I know I wanted to know what Gibralter says to Jess and why he is so kind outside of the department, considering how Gibralter acts to others when he is at work.

Parrish does a phenomenal job of keeping Kincaid an interesting male protagonist, as well. He gives him a possible love interest and fatal background of his life that could possibly explain Kincaid's behavior throughout the book. I thought these were extremely strong points, because the more details there were, the better one could understand what was going down.

I didn't find any weak points in this book. I think I couldn't because I enjoyed it so much. I would recommend this book to anyone who is into suspense or thriller. I have never really been too into those types of novels, but this book did a divine job of altering my thoughts and opinions. He also keeps it interesting by integrating quotes and lines from historical folks.

It had my palms sweating for quite some time, and I found my adrenaline rising in full. The books ends so suddenly, yet satisfactorily, not a typical, sappy ending. It ends unexpectedly, ironically, and lethally. Let's just say there's a reason why the title is, "Dead of Winter."

It is in Loon Lake, Michigan, that Detective Louis Kincaid is offered a job. Kincaid, coming from a difficult time in Mississippi, is anxious to put the past behind him and start anew. Police Chief Brien Gibralter places Louis in charge of an investigation that has hit a dead end-the investigation of the murder of Police Officer Thomas Pryce killed in his home by an intruder with a shotgun. The killer left a calling card-a playing card with a number and a skull drawn on it. Perhaps the killer is a psychopath. When another member of the police force turns up dead, Kincaid wonders if the killer is a criminal who has been at odds with the Loon Lake Police. Nonetheless, in a community that rarely sees a serious crime, it is the members of the police that lives in constant fear of their lives.

P. J. Parrish is the pseudonym of two sisters. Their collaboration is quite successful. The major strengths of this book are the exceptional characterization of the main protagonist, strong sense of place and the compelling plot. Kincaid, a black man trying to fit into a community where he doesn't really have a place, is a remarkably sympathetic figure. One could almost feel the constant chill of the air in the frigid and forbidding yet beautiful locale. The pacing is such that the book almost demands to be read at a single sitting in spite of its excessive length. Problems with the book include some character stereotypes. In spite of a very clever plot, mystery and solution, the authors had to resort to a clunky exposition culminating in the killer divulging all while the hero is held at gunpoint. Overall, DEAD OF WINTER is a superior mystery well worthy of the Edgar nomination

I was very pleased to find a book that didn't follow in the footsteps of someone else. P. J. Parrish is making a big entrance in the world of fiction. I made the mistake of starting to read Dead of Winter at midnight. After several chapters and 3 hours elapsed, I finally had to put it down because I could no longer make out the pages. I was so entranced, I oftentimes forgot to blink. The characters are so real, I found myself getting angry when Gibralter wouldn't listen to Louis. This is one auther I am going to continue to read. I can't wait for the next one. Job well done, Parrish.

I picked this up at a book sale and am so glad I did. The author(s) was unfamiliar to me. I could not put the book down.

Louis Kincaid is a hero searching for the truth in life. It is a police procedural, well thought out, well planned and excellently executed. The book takes place in the cold of winter and does indeed chill one to the bones! Vividly portrayed in every sense. The ending was a surprise; yet it wasn't.

Finally discovered (I always look at a book's copyright) that P. J. Parrish is two sisters. Well, I think I have found me a new author(s). I will read their first written novel and continue from there.

Dead of Winter
By P.J. Parrish
Pinnacle Books/
Kensington Publishing
January 2001
415 pages
Mystery/Crime/Suspense

In P.J. Parrish's second mystery/thriller, Detective Louis Kincaid transfers from Detroit to Loon Lake, Michigan hoping to find a place for himself, a good job and a little respect. What he first believes to be a town right out of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" shatters into a million pieces of reality after Chief Gibralter hires him. He's immediately handed the file of Thomas Pryce, the former Loon Lake investigator who was shot to death in his own home.

Kincaid and his training officer, Jesse Harrison, explore every clue of the unsolved case beginning with visiting the scene of the crime, questioning witnesses, retracing the killer's steps and talking to Pryce's widow. Each shred of evidence leads to nowhere and more questions. As the days pass, more bodies surface and a calling card has Kincaid, Chief Gibralter, Harrison, Officer Dale McGuire and Sergeant Ollie Wickshaw fearing that the killer is going to take down a lot more Loon Lake residents before they slap cuffs on him.

Kincaid's life becomes a living hell and for the life of him he can't figure out why Gibralter is on his case. Is he trying to bury him because of what he might find? Are the strange group of vets somehow involved? What do the scribbled notes in Pryce's notebook refer to and where does Duane Herbert Lacey, a lifetime local with a record a mile long fit into the bloody picture? Is it incompetency that leads Chief Criminal Investigator Mark Steele to Loon Lake or is it a hunch? Read the book and find out.

DEAD OF WINTER is about justice, trust and how the truth can be veiled only so long. Parrish has created a page-turner with characters you give a damn about. You know their fears, their history and you wonder how everything that unfolds can possibly happen. Is justice blind? Can lifetime nightmares come to an end? A tiny bit of love interest here, but not without a price.

Parrish began with "Dark of the Moon," then "Dead of Winter" and next year be on the look out for "Paint It Black." Ten-to-one you'll be a Louis Kincaid fan just like me.

--Denise Fleischer, GWN Book Reviewer
9/9/2001

After becoming persona non grata in Mississippi, Louis Kincaid finds what he hopes will be a home in the sleepy town of Loon Lake, Michigan. He goes to work for the local police force, replacing an officer who was shot down in cold blood, killer unknown. Louis begins to investigate the murder and finds that things may not be all they seem in Loon Lake, from the Socrates quoting police chief to the mysterious woman who comes into his life. A solid and enjoyable read.

P.J. Parrish's second Louis Kincaid novel, "Dead of Winter" is complex, richly textured and intriguing police procedural.

Louis has moved to the cold of a Michigan winter and joined the Loon Lake PD as an investigator. He feels comfortable there. Chief Gibraltar is no nonsense (tough, but fair), the officers competent and there is a "family" feel to the department.

Someone is murdering members of the LLPD---a retired cop and the man Louis replaced have been shotgunned. The only clue, a playing card inscribed with an elusive code. In Loon Lake it is the cops who live in fear---a true irony.

Louis digs into the case with his usual relentless intensity. He nabs a perfect suspect (a recently released ex-con) and releases him---only to learn the alibi was confirmed by a clerical error from the prison.

The more Louis learns during the pursuit of the suspect, the more he questions his loyalties and beliefs. As good as the suspect looks, could someone closer to home be the real perp?

This is a taut, intense, suspenseful novel with multiple twists and turns. Every time I was certain as to whodunit, my resolve was challenged---I feel for all the misdirection.

Time well spent!

Great read, i could not put this one down. There are twists to the plot every second and it all comes back to something that you suspected, but was led to believe was not possible.