The stunning wilds of Alaska are not for the faint of heart–but when Beth Rivers finds herself with a need to disappear, she’s already faced far worse. So how hard could it be? Beth Rivers, known to the world as Elizabeth Fairchild, has spent years as a bestselling novelist. Her twisty, page-turning thrillers have garnered a legion of fans, but unfortunately, her story-telling landed her in an … landed her in an unbelievable tale of her own–a situation even more terrifying than she could have dreamed. Crazed Elizabeth Fairchild super-fan Levi Brooks stalked and kidnapped Elizabeth, holding her captive inside a van for three days. She escaped by throwing herself from the speeding van, suffering a severe head injury and memory loss.
Scarred and still healing from her injuries, she secretly escapes to the beautiful–and very remote–Benedict, Alaska. It’s the only place she can be sure no one will find her. But just before Beth’s arrival, the already small population of Benedict was reduced by one. Linda Rafferty’s death was ruled a suicide, but no one in the close-knit community quite believes that conclusion, even the sheriff.
While she waits for her attacker to be apprehended in the lower 48, Beth takes on a project to revamp the Benedict town newspaper. She knows enough to go where the story is, and there’s clearly one behind Linda’s death. As rumors of murder spread, suspicion falls upon the felons staying at a local halfway house–and Beth herself. Intrigued by both the mystery and the wary folks who call Benedict home, Beth starts asking questions–only to find her investigation stirring up memories she’d much rather had stayed forgotten…
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Thriller in small town Alaska
Thriller writer Beth Rivers was kidnapped by an obsessed fan, kept captive for three days and escaped by jumping out of his moving van. The kidnapper was not found. She sustained a substantial wound and a brain injury and cannot remember many details of the kidnapping.
She checks herself out of the hospital and escapes to a remote small town in Alaska, hiding out so her kidnapper can’t find her.
This was an okay thriller, although it seemed like a rather sophomore effort by the author.
Beth stumbles into a murder mystery just as she gets to town and rather improbably gets involved in helping solve it.
Also, even though the story takes place in Alaska, I really didn’t immersed in the descriptions of the setting. I couldn’t help comparing it to the excellent Anna Pigeon series that takes place in small town Alaska by author Dana Stabenow. This one didn’t even come close to being that good.
And…one of the WORST cliffhanger endings with NO resolution that I’ve read. I won’t be seeking out any more of the series – and I usually enjoy books about Alaska.
I received this book from Minotaur Books through Net Galley and Edelweiss in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.
Thin Ice by Paige Shelton marks the author’s first departure from cozy mystery to full blown serious mystery and she makes a success of it. Beth, a well-known author, has escaped Missouri to land in Alaska, at the back of nowhere, in an attempt to flee a mysterious man who means her harm after holding her hostage for three days. She escaped by jumping out of a moving van, doing serious damage to her head requiring brain surgery. No one in town knows who she is except for the police chief who continues to monitor people arriving on the island. No one from her old life knows where she has gone. She has set up an anonymous email and has a selection of burner phones to help her keep in touch, safe until her abductor is found. Once in Alaska nothing is as it seems. What she thought was a hotel turns out to be a halfway house for women. The local librarian is an odd guy who claims he used to work for the government in a variety of nefarious positions and is now a pothead, but a genius at searching the Internet. The police chief appears to be a nice guy, helping Beth adjust, although not on the way either of them expects. Then there is a murder or is it a suicide or is it a murder? Beth’s natural curiosity leads her into an unexpected investigation, al the while having flash backs, not only about her ordeal but also about her early life and her run-away father.
Shelton has done exemplary job writing so the reader feels the terror that Beth is living. She basically has PTSD and along with flashbacks come blinding headaches and a voracious appetite. Her Alaskan village is different than anything she has experienced and she is not sure she relishes the differences. Everyone knows everything about everyone, except the things they don’t know. She lives in terror that her abductor will appear there, which is highly unlikely, but even knowing that, can not control her emotions. Her mother is a hoot, back in Missouri investigating. She seems to be making progress, but at what cost? The mystery has not been solved. There will be more. The final words of the book make that clear. Can’t wait. I recommend this book to fans of Shelton and to mystery fans in general. It is far from a cozy mystery.
I received a free ARC of Thin Ice from Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #thinice
Is it suicide or murder in the town where people go to be forgotten?
Thriller author Elizabeth Fairchild was kidnapped by a man who rang her doorbell while carrying a bouquest of daisies. This man held the author whose real name is Beth Rivers in his van for three days before Beth managed to escape. The escape resulted in a major head wound which necessitated brain surgery. Unfortunately Beth is suffering tempoary amnesia. She doesn’t feel safe since the kidnapper has not yet been captured so she decides to sneak away from the hospital and hides herself in Alaska, far, far from home. She ends up in Benedict, Alaska. The only place available for her to stay is Benedict House which also happens to be a halfway house for nonviolent women criminals. As Beth starts to acclimate to the new, very different, very rugged environment she becomes involved in looking into the death of a local resident. The death is declared a suicide but the police chief and the rest of the town residents don’t believe it was a suicide. Beth steps in to help solve the mystery.
Thin Ice by Paige Shelton is a fast-paced mystery story. The author kept my interest as I read by throwing in enough clues to engage my curiosity. There are lots of interesting characters in the book as Benedict is known as an Alaskan town where people like to diappear to and no one asks questions. The interaction of the main character, Beth Rivers with the locals was intriguing as I tried to decide who was being honest with her and who was not. This is a gritty mystery story and I liked it a lot.
Beth Rivers has gone to a small town in Alaska to recover from a traumatic event while hiding from the perpetrator. The setting is very much a part of the story, and the characters she encounters are interesting, as she gets involved in determining whether a recent death was suicide or murder.
Thin Ice by Paige Shelton is a totally new direction for Ms. Shelton. I have enjoyed several of her cozy mystery series so I was intrigued to read this suspense story. I am so glad that I did because I was pulled into the story from the first page.
Ms. Shelton’s descriptive writing made me feel like I was with Beth Rivers throughout the story. Benedict, AK became so real to me as I read that I felt like I could find it on a map of Alaska. Beth’s character is well developed in this book and several of the secondary characters are developing into “real” people for me. I love that many of the town’s residents have their own secret reasons for moving to Benedict. In spite of the reason why Beth chose Benedict to hide in, she is becoming an integral part of the town. A quickly paced plot with suspense made this a book that I didn’t want to put down. Although Beth’s main reason for being in Alaska is not resolved, the secondary mystery is complete by the end of the book. I am definitely going to be watching for the next one in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Minotaur Books via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.
Thin Ice by Paige Shelton is a well-written suspense novel. The story is set in Alaska and centers around Beth Rivers, a successful thriller writer. She was kidnapped by a fanatic fan, escaped from him, but sustained a brain injury and she cannot remember what he looks like. While the police are still looking for him, she decides to recover and hide in Alaska until he is captured. While there she gets involved in an investigation of the death of one of the small town’s inhabitants.
This is a suspenseful and riveting story that hooked me with the first paragraph and kept me interested throughout. From the small town residents to the descriptions of Alaska to the various mysteries, I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
Beth’s character was well-developed for a first novel in a series as well as those of several of the town’s residents. Secrets are numerous and add to the enjoyment of the book.
Overall, it was a solid mystery that was engaging, suspenseful, fast-paced and compulsively readable. While it does leave one major plot point unresolved, all other items were resolved. This is the first book in the Alaska Wild series and I look forward to reading the next one.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Paige Shelton for a digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.