Dead North: An Alaska Mystery
by Sue Henry
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Book Summary Information
Author: Sue HenryEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2002-04
ISBN: 0380816849
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Avon
Book Reviews of Dead North: An Alaska Mystery
Book Review: Alaskan Highway Travelogue/Mystery
Summary: 3 Stars
I sometimes think that Sue Henry should have been a travel writer. The best of her books mix murder with intricately described journeys in which learning the details of the trip itself are half of the reason for reading the book. If you're not interested in the trip, you're probably not going to be interested in the book. That is probably the reason for the hot-and-cold reviews this one has been receiving--especially because this book's topic, an RV journey up the Alaskan Highway, is considerably less exotic than the dogsledding stories that built the author's reputation.Because they mix travel with mystery, Sue Henry's books tend to be relatively gentle stories in which pleasant but not deeply drawn characters provide amiable companionship for the armchair traveler. (If you want heart-pounding thrillers, read Dean Koontz.) Nor are they complex Agatha Christie - style puzzles. Oh yes, there's always a villain, sometimes a pretty cruel one, but Henry seems to be one of those people who genuinely likes most of her fellow humans, and she does not delight in giving readers a whole roomful of unsympathetic characters from which to attempt to identify the villain.
So is this book any good? That depends mostly on how interested you are in learning about the Alaskan Highway and RVing, because the reviewers below are correct in pointing out that the book is chuck-full of details that have no relevance to the plot. Nor are you going to find deep insights into human nature. Even the villain is a bit of a stock psychopath, although he does have other motivations.
The biggest flaw involves the plot machinations Henry needs to use in order for her characters to repeatedly cross paths as they move up the highway by disparate modes of transportation (RV, hitchhiking, pickup truck, bicycle, 18-wheeler) that should have them traveling at quite different paces. Also, none can be allowed to realize that anytime they want, they can separate themselves from this dangerous, traveling circus simply by holing up for a couple of nights as everyone else moves north.
Still, this is a fun read, and I'm already partway through the next book in the series. Fasten you seatbelts and enjoy the Alaskan Highway!
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