dead of winter
Rating:
5 / 5
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."
A strong sense of place and a compelling plot
Rating:
4 / 5
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
Good story, Well written.
Rating:
4 / 5
I liked this book. It kept me involved, interested, and guessing. The main character is well developed and very likeable, mainly because he's not the perfect cop. The story is good but what really
kept me reading was how the story was written, not so much the story itself. The book is not as good as some but is certainly better than many.
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