Thin Ice: A Mystery

by Paige Shelton

Beth Rivers is on the run - she’s doing the only thing she could think of to keep herself safe. Known to the world as thriller author Elizabeth Fairchild, she had become the subject of a fanatic’s obsession. After being held in a van for three days by her kidnapper, Levi Brooks, Beth managed to escape, and until he is captured, she's got to get away. Cold and remote, Alaska seems tailor made for her to hideout.

Beth’s new home in Alaska is sparsely populated with people who all seem to be running or hiding from something, and though she accidentally booked a room at a halfway house, she feels safer than she’s felt since Levi took her. That is, until she’s told about a local death that’s a suspected murder. Could the death of Linda Rafferty have anything to do with her horror at the hands of Levi Brooks?

As Beth navigates her way through the wilds of her new home, her memories of her time in the van are coming back, replaying the terror and the fear - and threatening to keep her from healing, from reclaiming her old life again. Can she get back to normal, will she ever truly feel safe, and can she help solve the local mystery, if only so she doesn’t have to think about her own?

• ISBN10: 1250295211
• ISBN13: 9781250295217
• Publish Date: 1 January 2020 (first published 3 December 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 20 April 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Minotaur Books,US
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Thin Ice is the first book in a new series by Paige Shelton. Released 3rd Dec 2019 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 228 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. Presumably that feature will carry through to the release version of the ebook.

This is an engaging thriller/mystery set in a very remote part of Alaska. Main protagonist Beth is a writer on the run to try to reclaim her security and heal herself from a violent abduction by a stalker fan. She gets involved in a local intrigue helping to investigate a town resident's death. The setting is beautifully drawn, stark and brooding. The plotting and tension arc never felt forced or too slow. The author is adept at her craft and the flashback interludes from Beth's point of view worked very well with the 1st person point of view.

The language is slightly rough (there are felons who are secondary characters) but wasn't completely over the top or gratuitous. There is violence and psychological tension in the narrative, but again, I never felt the author threw it in without reason. There is potentially triggering trauma (the main character was abducted, held, and tortured for days). There was also threatened sexual assault described in a flashback and in some dialogue, but nothing graphic.

Four stars. I enjoyed it and will be looking forward to the next book(s) in the series.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[chymerra]

When I read the blurb for Thin Ice, my attention was caught. A mystery set in a remote town in Alaska? Count me in!! I am glad that I read Thin Ice because this book was fantastic!!

Thin Ice has a fast-moving plotline, which I appreciated. The book’s flow was good too. I didn’t have an issue following the story. There were some plotlines or characters that I had questions about. But, I have a feeling that those will be explained (or explored) in later books.

I did feel that Beth River’s character was a little predictable at first. I also felt that her character was one dimensional. But, as the book went on, her character became anything but predictable. Also, her character fleshed out. Those two things alone made Thin Ice a more enjoyable read for me.

The main plotline centers around Beth. She had been kidnapped and sustained a brain injury when she escaped. She has no recollection of her kidnapper other than a name and the make/model of the van she was held captive in. Fearing that her kidnapper would return for her, she made plans to stay in a small, almost off the grid town in Alaska. I could understand why she wanted to be off the grid. Honestly, if I were in her shoes, I would have done the same. I also got why she didn’t trust anyone. She couldn’t remember what her kidnapper looked like, which is why Beth ran to Alaska and why she didn’t trust anyone there.

Beth’s predictableness, for me, began when she arrived in Alaska and got involved in the murder investigation. There was a point where I was eye-rolling because it was so cliched. A thriller writer gets involved in a mystery of her own. But, the author did add a neat spin to that plotline.

I didn’t like how the detective treated Beth during the book. My internal antenna began to quiver during that first interaction. I felt that she didn’t take Beth’s memories seriously. Heck, I would have been jumping with joy at some of the details that Beth remembered. The detective’s reactions, to me, seemed one of irritation.

I need to mention Beth’s mother. She was obsessed with finding her husband and then added finding Beth’s kidnapper to her agenda. I am rooting for her finding the kidnapper before the police. Why? Because I have a feeling that Beth’s mother is going to lay down some old fashioned, “You don’t mess with my baby” justice.

The townspeople were a motley crew. Each person was running from something, which makes me wonder how these people will be in the upcoming books.

Thankfully, there was no romance in Thin Ice. The book was uber focused on Beth and the murder investigation even to go there. I loved it.

The end of Thin Ice was nail-biting. I was on edge for a couple of chapters because of what was going on. The author did a great job of wrapping up the murder angle of the plotline. But everything else, well, that was left open. I cannot wait to read the next book!!