Customer Reviews

Icewater Mansions.

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

 

 

Allyn is a solid mystery writer. His heroine is very engaging. But the story here didn't seem to me to be up to his standards. I liked "Black Water" and "Welcome to Wolf County" much better. He does include some quotable quotes though (I collect them):
Protection? I'd be safer dancing Swan Lake in a buffalo stampede. page 191
`You look a little drawn," he said. `I feel drawn. By an artist with a broken arm.' page 193.

I could not put this book down ,Icewater Mansions capture and held my attention till the very end!!! Then I was sorry I had reached the end.... The next book in this "Mitch" Mitchell series is called Black water.... I can't wait to begin it

Allyn is a recent discovery for me and am I ever glad I found him. His books are fast-paced and exciting with great characters, both human and animal, excellent sense of place, some great lines and just a touch of the mystical. This was a very good, straight-through, don't-bother-me-now read.

Sorry I can't be more complimentary about this book. I did like two things about it: It moved along very well and did not drag at all. I thoroughly enjoyed the author's descriptions of the geographic setting--they were beautiful and the only parts in the story that contained any true feeling. Also, I liked the "Red" character, the waitress; as undeveloped as this character was, she came across as more real and human than any one else in the book. Okay that's it--that's what I liked.

Shall I list what I didn't like? Here goes: I never like it when I have to suspend my disbelief in a non fantasy, non humor type story. And I had to keep doing this over and over--from the first scene in the book where the main character, "Mitch" throws a chair through the window of her new bar. Hello? Ever try this? Ever know anyone who's tried this? It takes tremendous upper body strength for a man to do something like this...much less a woman. A woman body builder could do it but the book makes it clear that our "Mitch" never sets foot inside the gym! So this is how the author chooses to show that his main character is a tough, "don't mess with me" kind of woman. Uh-HUH. Alllrighty then.

This tough-as-nails Mitch is surrounded throughout the rapidly unfolding story by men, many men and none of them do we ever really get to know enough to care about one way or another. The man the author gives us the most background on, Mitch's old boyfriend-- we very quickly figure out that he is a bad guy and is betraying Mitch while he pretends to be her friend. Big suprise--NOT. Ho-Hum.

The one friend of Mitch's that is actually interesting and who may have been able to add some depth to this shallow story, is the gay waitress, Red. But the author never develops this character at all--Red is just sort of there in the background--someone to run the bar so Mitch can be out having adventures. A nice friendship between Mitch and Red would have gone a long way toward giving this book some much needed warmth, depth, and realism. But it doesn't happen.

Mitch's son, Corey--who is really the lynch pin in the whole story--we never even meet. The reader is forced to try to care about this boy but truly we can't possibly give a hoot what happens to him.

Finally, the worst part of this story for me was the treatment of the half tame, "Dog" which the author never can decide if it is a wolf, wolf hybird or exactly what--but in any case the fact that it is mostly referred to as a "wolf" really ticks me off. Because the author has this "wolf" attacking people and in the end, even killing someone. And of course, getting shot for her trouble. Now...this is just beyond sad. For the past thirty years, wildlife folks have been fighting a battle for the wolf, trying to educate people out of the fantasy that wolves are ferocious beasts that attack and kill people. Even the most rudimentary study of the wolf tells us they are shy creatures who avoid people as much as they can. Indeed there is at least one documented incident where wolves allowed humans to raid their den and steal their pups-- while doing nothing beyond pacing around and whining. So once again the educated reader is forced to suspend disbelief as the local "wolf" defends Mitch by attacking and killing someone. In one fell swoop, this author sets back ethology and ecology thirty years!!

Well all I can say is by the end of the book I was rooting for "Dog" and hoping she'd kill off every character in this very hokey story. Reading stuff like this when the author makes it clear he/she is going for comedy is one thing. But this author was serious. It just didn't work.

If you are stuck somewhere--snowed in at an airport or left lanquishing in an ER waiting room... and this book is handy, by all means read it. But if you can get your hands on almost anything else to read (cereal box, travel brochure)-- don't bother.