The Ice Hunter
by Joseph Heywood (Lyons Press, 2001) is the first book in the Woods Cop
series, which now has 11 full-length novels and two collections of short
stories. Grady Service is a state Conservation Officer in the Upper Peninsula
of Michigan, leading a solitary life primarily devoted to protecting an
old-growth tract known as the Mosquito. Grady is an intense personality, former
Marine, and recognized expert tracker. Grady’s father was also a respected
Conservation Officer and Grady feels compelled to uphold the family’s
reputation as formidable protectors of nature. The current state
administration’s emphasis on improving the local economy, regardless of the
impact on the environment, has Grady more worried than usual about the welfare
of the Mosquito, which is full of potentially valuable timber.
In addition, the patriarch of a large family
with criminous tendencies and frequent citations for poaching is about to be
released from prison on parole. Grady helped put him away to begin with and has
good reason to be concerned about the family’s urge for revenge. He’s also well
aware that the family will be up to no good again as soon as the father gets
his bearings.
Grady receives reports of a helicopter hovering
over the wilderness tract one day and he can find no government agency that admits
to flying in the area. Then he encounters a stranger in the same part of his
territory, who was equivocal about his reasons for being there. While the
people he tells about these two incidents don’t consider them significant,
Grady has an uneasy feeling that they are considerably more important than
anyone understands. When a member of the aforementioned crime family is found
dead, clearly a homicide, Grady’s vague worries find a focus and he is sure all
of these odd incidents are related.
An unexpected but believable motive, a compelling
depiction of the woodlands, and striking characters make this book a noteworthy
read. For readers of traditional mysteries, especially fans of mysteries set in
the outdoors such as the Anna Pigeon series by Nevada Barr and the Joe Pickett
series by C.J. Box.
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Hardcover: 304 pages
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Publisher: Lyons Press;
1st edition (August 1, 2001)
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Language: English
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ISBN-10: 1585742252
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ISBN-13: 978-1585742257
Aubrey Hamilton ©2020
Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian
who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.
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