Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Dead Cold by Claire Stibbe

Dead Cold  by Claire Stibbe (Noble Lizard Publishing, 2017) is the fourth book in her police procedural series about Albuquerque Police Detective David Temeke and his partner Malin Santiago. Temeke is called out in the middle of the night for a house explosion and fire with fatalities. Of the residents, it appears Flynn McCann escaped with smoke inhalation, burns, and a concussion while his wife Tarian perished. The reek of gasoline and the pattern of the blaze scream arson, so both the fire and police departments begin investigative measures without delay. Flynn claims not to remember what happened in the hours leading up to the explosion. The neighbors report frequent loud altercations between the couple, and a cryptic poem is found hand-delivered in their mail box. Temeke’s check of the garage shows a chair with leather cuffs on the legs and arms with what might be bloodstains and a Barbie doll on a shelf nearby, adding to the list of questions about this household.

Once the autopsy reveals that Tarian was dead before the fire started and the police learn Tarian filed a restraining order against her husband just months before, Flynn knows he is considered a person of interest in his wife’s death and he decides to leave the state before he can be arrested. He travels to Gallup in search of his birth father, whom he does not remember. The text alternates between Flynn’s tour of the Southwest along the legendary Route 66 and the police investigation that steadily uncovers marital infidelity, drug addiction, and financial instability.

The interaction and natural personality conflicts among the police personnel provide a counterpoint to the tension of the unfolding plot. Just how Temeke, a black London native, ended up in Albuquerque isn’t clear nor is how he’s managed to get crosswise with some senior police officials. A bit more back story would be helpful. 

The narrative of the scenery of New Mexico and Arizona is picturesque and makes the book worth reading all by itself.

Stibbe is the winner of the 2017 New Mexico/Arizona Book Award.

·         Paperback: 346 pages

·         Publisher: Noble Lizard Publishing (October 31, 2017)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 0998202703

·         ISBN-13: 978-0998202709

Aubrey Hamilton ©2018

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal IT projects by day and reads mysteries at night.