Monday, December 05, 2022

Winter's End by Paige Shelton

 
First Lines: The End. I looked at the words. Then I grumbled and rolled the paper up the typewriter and grabbed the Wite-Out from my desk.
 
At the end of each brutal winter in Benedict, Alaska, the locals gather in town for the annual Death Walk to make sure that everyone has survived the weather. If someone's name isn't checked off the list, then local law enforcement goes to their home to make sure they're all right. 
 
Beth Rivers goes out with another resident to check on a 94-year-old man. The man needs medical attention. While Beth stays with him, Orin goes for help. But it's the local sheriff, Gril, who returns, not Orin. Gril's news makes it clear that Orin isn't the only person who's missing from Benedict.

While searches continue, Beth continues her own for her father, who's purportedly in Mexico yet will not return her calls. Then there's that feeling that she's being followed whenever she's out helping the others. Is Beth imagining things, or should she be worried?

~

I really enjoy Paige Shelton's Alaska Wild series, a series she calls "Cozy ++" due to its slightly more intense nature. Winter's End is another winning installment that uses an annual Death Walk as its starting point. Most of us in the lower 48 never experience brutal winters that keep us shut up in our homes for months on end. Living in such a climate calls for special measures, like getting out when the weather warms up to make sure everyone is all right, and-- as one resident tells Beth, "...when you live with people, locked together over a winter, you need to make damn sure you're good with their company." If there are conflicting personalities within a home, winter gives those folks plenty of time to come to loggerheads with each other.

Having started Shelton's Alaska Wild series from the beginning (Thin Ice), one of the best things is watching thriller writer Beth Rivers's recovery from the trauma that sent her running to hide in Benedict. Beth is stronger and more confident, and as a result, she's making friends, being accepted by the other residents, and feeling comfortable in sharing her history with them. This confidence will only help her as she continues to search for her elusive father-- and to hope that law enforcement back home can find the man who kidnapped her and turned her life into a nightmare.

This is a series where all the various threads are being woven together, a series where the main character-- fascinating to begin with-- grows and changes in each successive book. This is a series to savor, and I'm looking forward to doing just that with the very next book.

Winter's End by Paige Shelton
eISBN: 9781250846600
Minotaur Books © 2022
eBook, 288 pages
 
Amateur Sleuth, #4 Alaska Wild mystery
Rating: B+
Source: Net Galley

15 comments:

  1. The thing that strike me about this series, Cathy, is the depiction of the setting and the people who live there, and how they interact. I like to feel as though I'm in a place when I read about it, and I respect an author who can depict a setting well enough so that I feel that way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have this series on my list of "want to reads" but oh my, it is such a long list! Who knows when or if I will ever get to it?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I loved the first two books in this series and can't wait to read the 3rd book and this one! Beth is such a likable character. And I love the quirks of Benedict, Alaska. :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm already on the hold list for this at the library, so I'm delighted to see that it will be another good Alaskan adventure. In addition to the points you make about the progression of the series, I'd like to add that this is one of the very few that depicts life in AK in a way that lives up to Dana Stabenow's standard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I'm going to have to tell Paige what you just said!

      Delete
    2. I didn't realize you knew her!

      Delete
    3. Oh yes-- we've gone to lunch a few times, and I've been the recipient of several Paige Hugs. I did tell her, and I think you made her blush. :-)

      Delete
  5. This is another series I have been meaning to get started on. Alaska is fascinating and I really like the sound of the main character.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She is a really interesting character, Gretchen.

      Delete
  6. I like this series too and am patiently waiting for my turn on thee library hold list!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!