Cold Wind

October 5, 2020
Bestseller Shelton’s serviceable sequel to 2019’s Thin Ice finds thriller writer Beth Rivers, who recently fled her home in St. Louis after being kidnapped and tortured by an unidentified assailant, still living in a halfway house for low-level female felons in the small town of Benedict, Alaska. The appearance on the home’s doorstep of two little girls, mute and covered in mud, throws Beth’s new life into turmoil. When Benedict police chief Gril Samuels, Beth’s friend, arrives to take charge of the children, he brings news that the frozen body of a middle-aged woman has been found in the woods. Arson and break-ins follow. Gril welcomes Beth’s assistance in figuring out who’s committing the crimes and why. Meanwhile, Beth is told by the St. Louis detective following her abduction case that the culprit’s identity has been determined, but he’s still on the loose. The appealing Alaskan atmosphere and a heroine with an intriguing backstory help make up for some pedestrian prose and the weak motives for the various crimes. Fans of light regional mysteries will be satisfied. Agent: Jessica Faust, BookEnds Literary.

October 1, 2020
A remote Alaskan area is the backdrop to disappearances and deaths. Beth Rivers fled to Benedict after having been kidnapped and badly injured escaping her captor. Well-known as novelist Elizabeth Fairchild, she's taken care to change her appearance in her new home and keep her secret from everyone but police chief Grilson Samuels. Beth runs a local newspaper and writes in secret while cautiously making new friends. When two filthy, nonverbal young girls turn up at her office, she calls Gril, who arrives with news of an unidentified frozen body. Having helped Gril before using talents she developed working with her grandfather, another police chief, Beth offers her help again. Since many residents live in far-flung cabins in the deep woods, secrets are easy to keep in Benedict, and almost everyone is hiding something. Back in the Lower 48, Beth's police liaison, Detective Majors, has come up with shocking news about her kidnapper, restarting Beth's traumatic flashbacks as she fights to maintain her mental equilibrium. Finding out who the little girls are turns out to be the easy part of Beth's new investigation, which uncovers clues from the past that provide the key to countering ever more dangerous threats. A gritty heroine fights for truth and justice in a world filled with darkness and flashes of hope and beauty.

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November 1, 2020
In Thin Ice (2019), the first in Shelton's Alaska Wild series, journalist Beth Rivers arrived in small-town Benedict, Alaska, hiding from the man who kidnapped her back in St. Louis (and who has yet to be found). In this second book, the nervous but resilient woman is more at home, part of that comfort coming from ride-alongs with the local police chief and solo poking around when mysteries arise. This time, a mudslide generates some macabre puzzles. An old logging road is reopened, revealing to locals a man who seems to be in hiding. When a body is found nearby, and two girls who never talk knock at Beth's door, Beth and the close-knit locals look into the town's past to find answers. Beth's quest to find out who's a murderer and who's just a recluse, and the portrayal of her deepening community ties, feature rich character development and an inside look at an untamed environment where community determines survival. Fans of the first book will do well to follow up with this one.

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