Tag Archives: Sarah J. Henry

A Frozen Body in Saranac Lake

Saranac Lake, book cover
Destination: Saranac Lake in  New York State

Book: A Cold and Lonely Place by Sara J. Henry

As I write this, a cold wave is chilling the Western U.S., threatening the East, and slowing down travelers. Albuquerque airport is closed. Dallas is digging out. Here in Tucson, we covered plants last night anticipating a freeze. By the time you read this review of a mystery set in Wisconsin, the cold wave may have passed. But if you are curling up with A Cold and Lonely Place: A Novel, better bundle up.

That’s because Sara J. Henry provides an appropriately bone-chilling atmosphere for this who-dun-it–The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. From her description in the book, or the web site of the event (which next takes place in the first week of February, 2014), you will get an idea of a winter travel destination with plenty of beauty and thrills.

Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Logo

If your experience of New York State is limited to New York City, you might be surprised by the Adirondacks. Northern New York (north of Albany) is bordered on the east by Vermont and on the north by Canada. The area is rugged with the forests of the Adirondack Mountains, and studded with lakes, like Saranac Lake, lower Saranac Lake and Tupper Lakes.

The area was thought of as a healthy place in the 1800s and today much of it is protected in parkland. The town of Saranac Lake is the largest Adirondack village with about 5000 people, but nearby Lake Placid, “about twenty minutes away if you don’t get stranded by tourists” is more famous for having sponsored the Olympic Winter games.

Fortunately, not every Saranac Lake Winter Carnival includes a dead body frozen in the ice, which is the start of freelance writer Troy Chance’s investigation in  A Cold and Lonely Place. She is in Saranac to take photos and notes for a story about the building of the ice palace. Volunteers are cutting the 2′ x 4′ blocks of ice to build the Ice Palace when they discover the body.

Saranac Lake Winter Carnival
The last blocks of ice are cut from Pontiac Bay for the 2013 ice palace. (Photo from the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival web page.)

I know a lot of freelance writers since I’m one of the breed, and as far as I know, none of them have ever chanced across a dead body–frozen or not.  But Troy, a former small town sports writer (just like Sara J. Henry), seems adept at stumbling over mysteries of this sort–and getting personally entangled. This one lands her a dream assignment, as well as a lot of personal turmoil. She recognizes Tobin Winslow, the dead guy, as the former boyfriend of Jessamyn, who rents a room in Troy’s Lake Placid house.

Add in a cub reporter who gets vengeful when his prose is rewritten, natural journalistic curiosity about the surprising “dirt” Troy is uncovering, small town gossip and a little drug dealing, and the whole situation goes from uncomfortable to sometimes downright dangerous for the writer.

We know we can trust Troy, because she owns a big dog named Tiger, whom she describes at “a half German shepherd and half golden retriever, and just about the best dog on the planet.”  In the story, Troy spends a lot of time making arrangements for Tiger to be taken care of when she has to be away. I appreciated that, because I’ve seen books where the authors treated dogs like  those books people line there shelves with because the covers are the right color–simply decorative.

Troy also spends a lot of time telling us everything she has eaten.  I sometimes had the feeling if she were my Facebook list, I’d unfriend her if I heard about one more peanut butter sandwich or name-brand fast food place. If A Cold and Lonely Place were a blog instead of a book, we’d have had food pictures every morning noon and night.

But all that detail sucks you right into the story. You feel the cold every time someone has to bundle up to go outside, or can’t wait to get inside to a hot cup of coffee. Sara J. Henry writes atmosphere. She also writes great character sketches. Nearly every character is introduced with one scapel-carved sentence that nails him or her, but each character also contributes to the general ambiance and definitely to the story.  The book has you cheering for Troy and her friends and wanting to help get to the bottom of all those family secrets that eventually thaw out with the ice block that encloses the body.

Saranac Lake Ice Palace
Saranac Lake – making ice palace. (Photo from Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Web Site)

So stir up a little hot chocolate, cuddle up under a comforter, and read A Cold and Lonely Place.  Or get on line and book your travel to the Adirondacks for this February’s Saranac Lake Winter Carnival

Looking for another chilling mystery? Have you tried The Boy in the Snow?

Note: The book was provided by the publishers for review, which is routine, and does not affect my opinion.  I tell you what I like and what I don’t.

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