HEART OF ICE
Gregg Olsen
Pinnacle
Thriller
ISBN: 9780786018314
A few years ago, Gregg Olsen made the transition from writing true crime novels to penning thrillers with killers more frightening than most readers could imagine. A COLD DARK PLACE introduced Washington Sheriff Emily Kenyon. HEART OF ICE, Olsen’s latest work, marks Kenyon’s welcome return, ties up a couple of dangling plot lines from the previous book, and features a murderer whose acts and life will keep you up for nights on end.
The most riveting element of HEART OF ICE is the manner in which Olsen takes two different story tracks and slowly draws them both toward resolution. What makes the narration engrossing is the difference between the two tracks. One involves a mysterious serial killer whose identity is almost immediately revealed. Michael Barton is an extremely competent if somewhat unconventional systems technician, as admired for his work as he is secretly ridiculed for his eccentricities. His wife, Olivia, and children adore him, even as they sense that something is amiss.
There are two elements concerning Barton, however, that Olsen slowly and excruciatingly reveals. The first concerns the fact that Barton has a list of victims targeted for murder and is methodically working his way through them, saving his major target, Jenna Kenyon --- Emily’s daughter --- for last. It is a mystery throughout most of the book as to what links the names on Barton’s list and, most importantly, the reason for his pursuit. The second element is Barton’s nightmarish past, particularly his childhood, events that play a significant role in his current nefarious activities.
The second story track of HEART OF ICE pertains to Sheriff Kenyon’s investigation into the mysterious disappearance of Mandy Crawford. Mandy is the wife of Mitch Crawford, the owner of a local car dealership made famous by his father, who apparently did not pass his gifts of personality and charisma on to Mitch. Mandy, whose pregnancy is almost at term, has been reported missing by her co-workers, and Mitch is relatively unconcerned, which raises both the specter of foul play and places Mitch at the top of the list of potential suspects.
When Mandy is found brutally murdered and Mitch is arrested, Emily must deal with Cary McConnell, Mitch’s attorney. Emily and Cary had a short but intense relationship some time before, and the contact with Cary both reminds her of that fact and disgusts her. In gathering proof of Mitch’s complicity in his wife’s death, however, Emily uncovers another secret that makes the case far more complicated than it was and threatens to shatter forever the disturbed demeanor of the small, usually quiet community she polices.
Be warned: Olsen does not pull punches with his descriptions, and the villains of his pieces are the stuff of walking, and waking, nightmares. Those who walk among us as serial killers did not spring into being from whole cloth, and Olsen, whose research on such topics is matched by few, brings a believability to his subject that rings and resonates long after you’ve finished reading. Conversely, he also leaves you wanting more, which he generously provides: an excerpt from his next novel, VICTIM SIX, follows the conclusion of HEART OF ICE.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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