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Monday, June 12, 2017

Strange Things Done - Elle Wild

Strange Things Done by Elle Wild


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.

9 comments:

  1. This sounds interesting. For some reason I'm drawn to cold wintry setting; perhaps I'm tired of our warm weather here, lol.

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    1. I've always read 'cold' books in summer. Probably because it's so warm here in my part of the world.

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  2. Like Melody, I'm drawn to the cold, the snow, all things wintry--as opposed to our heat and humidity!

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    1. Yes, you understand my feelings about 'cold' books. LOL

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  3. I 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!

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    1. I 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.

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  4. I 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.

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    1. Yes, 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.

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  5. Oh this would be a good read during our Texas summer months wouldn't it? :) Will be looking into this one!

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!