Multiple award-winning author Sue Henry once again carries us into the heart of America's last frontier with a gripping tale of suspense set in a land whose rugged, exquisite beauty appeals to the adventurous and strong...and to those who are drawn to darkness. Cold Company The summer solstice is near -- bringing long sunlit days to the Alaskan wilderness -- and for famed musher Jessie Arnold, the time has come to put the past behind her and move on. Building a new home for herself and her sled dogs on the charred ashes of her old one, she plans to be finished well before the onset of the long northern winter. But her progress is halted -- chilling Jessie to the bone -- when the excavations unearth a skeleton entombed in a crumbling basement wall. Twenty years earlier, a serial killer brutally murdered a number of women in the area. One of the fiend's victims disappeared wearing a butterfly pendant -- a necklace similar, if not identical, to one discovered with the grisly human remains. A grim nightmare believed to be long over must now be revisited or, worse still, has been reborn. Because, once again, a local woman has disappeared without a trace. And, once again, Jessie is being pulled into a murder investigation against her will. Red roses are being sent to her anonymously -- the gifts of a secret admirer who may also be a stone-cold killer. In this stark and lonely place, in the first days of the all-too-brief Alaskan summer, the signs suggest the unthinkable: An insatiable human monster has returned...and Jessie Arnold may well be his next victim. In what is perhaps her most unforgettable novel to date, the incomparable Sue Henry weaves a spellbinding tale of past sins and present-day evils, of humanity at its best and worst, and nature at its most powerful. Jessie Arnold's (Dead North) discovery of an old skeleton beneath her home sets her on the years-old trail of an infamous serial killer. When another woman disappears, Jessie's hunt becomes critical. A certain crowd-pleaser. [See Dana Stabenow's A Fine and Bitter Snow, reviewed below, which features that other Alaskan sleuth, Kate Shugak. Ed.] Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. Musher Jessie Arnold, in her ninth adventure, is enjoying the Alaskan spring and the construction of her new cabin, its predecessor having been destroyed by an arsonist in Beneath the Ashes (2000). When the basement is dug, however, a skeleton is discovered along with a necklace linked to a victim of a serial killer. As she becomes involved in the investigation of a convicted serial killer and a present-day copycat, the fiercely independent Jessie finds it difficult to accept help even when she is slated as a victim. Lyrical descriptions of Alaska's wilderness and geology will delight the reader. Training sled dogs off season and cabin construction are a big part of Jessie's life, as she fights demons from her own past and comes to terms with the breakup of her relationship with an Alaska state trooper. Readers who enjoy an Alaskan setting should also try Dana Stabenow's mysteries, while Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series would be a good choice for those who like to be immersed in the natural world. Sue O'Brien Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Suspenseful, intelligent, and filled with the spectacular beauty of the northern wilds.” — Dallas Morning News “Henry revels in the wilderness of Alaskan scenery and keeps the tension mounting. . . . A fine adventure.” — Cleveland Plain Dealer “Real thrills set against the wild beauty of Alaska.” — Minneapolis Star-Tribune “Henry has once again succeeded in crafting an engrossing mystery that...keeps the reader well-occupied.” — Anchorage Daily News “Sue Henry is an agile writer...hard to put down.” — Charleston Post and Courier “Wonderfully evocative.” — Baltimore Sun “A gripping mystery.” — Oklahoma City Oklahoman “Twice as vivid as Michener’s natural Alaska, at about a thousandth the length.” — Washington Post Book World “The twists and turns keep you turning the pages . . . a thoroughly good read.” — Denver Post Multiple award-winning author Sue Henry once again carries us into the heart of America's last frontier with a gripping tale of suspense set in a land whose rugged, exquisite beauty appeals to the adventurous and strong...and to those who are drawn to darkness. Cold Company The summer solstice is near -- bringing long sunlit days to the Alaskan wilderness -- and for famed musher Jessie Arnold, the time has come to put the past behind her and move on. Building a new home for herself and her sled dogs on the charred ashes of her old one, she plans to be finished well before the onset of the long northern winter. But her progress is halted -- chilling Jessie to the bone -- when the excavations unearth a skeleton entombed in a crumbling basement wall. Twenty years earlier, a serial killer brutally murdered a number of women in the area. One of the fiend's victims disap