First Paragraph:
The pattern of her demise became suddenly clear, as though a dark kaleidoscope had just been turned. Everything snapped into focus then: the sharpness of the stars, the bowed outlines of the trees, the expression on his face.
My Thoughts:
Strange Things Done is the debut novel for Elle Wild and it has recently been awarded the 2017 Arthur Ellis Award for 'Best First Crime Novel'. I liked this book, but it's probably more a 3.75 than 4.0 read for me. Set in the far northwest of Canada, the town of Dawson, Yukon Territory, it was a cold, cold story. Winter is close and Jo Silver, the new editor for the local newspaper, is in the midst of some trouble. She came to get away from and forget a bad situation and seems to have stepped into a worse one. There are interesting characters in the town, scandals, and secrets galore. A few times, Jo's decisions were quite annoying and irrational, but in the end, I was caught up in the tale. It reminded me a bit of Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series. I'll be watching for Elle Wild's next book and will be curious to hear if there might be a sequel.
Blurb:
As winter closes in and the roads snow over in Dawson City, Yukon, newly arrived journalist Jo Silver investigates the dubious suicide of a local politician and quickly discovers that not everything in the sleepy tourist town is what it seems. Before long, law enforcement begins treating the death as a possible murder and Jo is the prime suspect.
This sounds interesting. For some reason I'm drawn to cold wintry setting; perhaps I'm tired of our warm weather here, lol.
ReplyDeleteI've always read 'cold' books in summer. Probably because it's so warm here in my part of the world.
DeleteLike Melody, I'm drawn to the cold, the snow, all things wintry--as opposed to our heat and humidity!
ReplyDeleteYes, you understand my feelings about 'cold' books. LOL
DeleteI like winter settings or blizzard-like condition stories, so I'm intrigued by this one. Your hint that it's like a Stabenow leads me to think it's more cozy than thriller? Glad it was a good read for you. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI do like 'cold' books to be read in summer. As to the cozy vs. thriller - well, I wouldn't classify the Kate Shugak books as cozies - maybe just traditional mysteries. I think the similarity was more in the location.
DeleteI really liked the Kate Shugak series and the setting on this one sounds great. I'll have to check out this book! Hopefully the irrational decisions are just beginning book problems.
ReplyDeleteYes, as I noted above, the main character was sort of running from a bad situation and then ended up in a worse one. And this is a debut. We'll see how it goes with this author. I did enjoy the setting.
DeleteOh this would be a good read during our Texas summer months wouldn't it? :) Will be looking into this one!
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