Ice Hunter: A Woods Cop Mystery by Joseph Heywood
begins a series built around Grady Service. A former marine who served in
Vietnam, these days he is a conservation officer working in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Specifically, an area known as the “Mosquito Tract” that his father also
patrolled before he was killed. Like his father before him, the land and the
creatures are everything to him, and he does not play well with others who do
not have a moral code to live by. A complicated childhood has led to a
complicated life in many ways.
In addition to the usual events a conservation officer has to deal
with as he protects the land and all living things, he has to deal with strange
things that are going on in the woods. Fires are being ignited by an arsonist
who seems very careful to do so in some sort of controlled burn. The burns seem
to be orchestrated to clear some small areas for an unknown reason. Then there
is the unknown helicopter occasionally seen doing something in what seems to be
some sort of grid like search pattern. Not to mention the fact somebody wants
him to butt out of something and is making that point very violently. He has an
idea what might have stirred things up, but with so much going on it is hard to
tell.
Ice Hunter: A Woods Cop Mystery by Joseph Heywood is
a good read though it takes quite a bit to get going. Originally published in
2001, it does not follow the current fad of starting with an action scene
before doing a sort of informative flashback as seems to be required in every
book published now. There is a lot of setting the stage as this read begins and
the character as well as those in his life are slowly revealed.
The bigger issue for this reader, was the fact it read a bit
different than most due to the lack of scene or transition breaks. Everything
just runs into each other without any identifying characteristics of scene or
transition breaks which results in the read being the equivalent of being
tossed into the raging river just upstream from class five rapids.
In the end, Ice Hunter: A Woods Cop Mystery by
Joseph Heywood is worth sticking with it as the multiple storylines coalesce
into a high powered and intense finish. Convoluted and chaotic, the reader is
shot through the rapids to find oneself slowly floating gently in calmer waters
downstream in the wide bend of the river very much shaken and stirred as well
as appreciative of the fact that was one heck of a ride.
Because of Aubrey Hamilton’s review from last March, I got this from the library just before they closed their doors back in mid-March. While they have most of the rest of the series, they do not have book two. I have put in an order for that and hope to hear something, one way or another, soon.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2020
Although I follow more series than I can actually keep up with, this series is one that I make a point of reading. The plots are frequently too convoluted to follow easily but I thoroughly enjoy the characters and the settings. His second series about Lute Bapcat I have not enjoyed as much.
ReplyDeleteIt was a hard read for me for that reason plot wise. I have not read the other series. Not sure if I have the second book in this series here from the library or not. I may have. I have over 100 print library books here as they took the check out limit off thanks to Covid and the closures here.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention the print copies from publishers, authors, etc and all the eBooks (over 2k) I have.