Degrees of Separation: A Jessie Arnold Mystery

I enjoyed this book very, very much. I have read several other Jessie Arnold Mysteries & this if right up there in the fun, good mystery & a very good read. Would recommend it to anyone who enjoys mysteries. Also has lots of descriptive scenes of Alaska & animals. Love her dogs. Read it!

Sue Henry just keeps telling us more and more about Jessie with a nice mystery tossed in! More!

The theory of "Six Degrees of Separation" refers to the idea that, if someone is one step away from each person he or she knows and two steps away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is an average of six "steps" away from each person on Earth. In Sue Henry's book, Degrees of Separation, Alaskan dog sled musher Jessica Arnold returns after months of recuperation from a devastating knee injury. The first snows of winter are starting and Jessica and her dogs are eager to hit the trails. On the first sled-able day, Jessica and companions glory in being on the trail again until they hit a bump in the trail. They literally have run across a dead body. Jessica tries to keep out of the investigation begun by her live-in boyfriend, Alaska state trooper Alex Jensen. In the course of the investigation, she keeps getting drawn back in by one or two degrees of separation. Add the confusion and scares of the all-too-real Alaskan earthquakes that are shaking up the area, and Jessica's formerly remote wilderness home becomes a scene of chaos. To help shake things up, you are treated by a visit from savvy senior RV'er Maxie and her canine companion Stretch, both featured in their own Sue Henry series. A tense storyline with amazingly realistic characterizations evolves into a mystery that showcases the great Alaskan wilderness and the strong women and friendships that endure the tests of nature and man. by Rhonda Esakov for Story Circle Book Reviews reviewing books by, for, and about women

No Jesse Arnold mystery is ever bad, but Degrees of Separation is particularly lovely, as it has, despite a murder early on that must be solved, a gentle and contented ambience that is wonderful for regular readers. After her bad knee injury in an earlier book, Jesse is chomping at the bit to get back into mushing...and although it is Fall, a few Alaska snowflakes are beginning to make their appearance. Happily "shacked up" with sexy Trooper Alex Jensen (to regular readers, this is just perfect), Jesse happily sets out on her practice trail in a trial run--to test out her knee, and her dogs. On the trail, she runs over a bump in the trail--that turns out to be a dead body. Badly shaken, Jesse notifies Alex, who of course gets entwined in the mystery. And here is a great surprise for Sue Henry readers: Wonderful Maxie and Stretch make a guest appearance for half the book! Those who read that series as well will be warmed by the interplay between Maxie, who has come to visit, and her hosts, Alex and Jesse. In due time, the mystery, which is actually quite pallid in comparison with earlier books, is solved--but Henry actually leaves a few loose ends, such a unique situation for a mystery novel, which always has to cross every t and dot every i!! One assumes the loose ends will continue into the next installment, and I, for one, cannot wait.

Winter is coming and Jessie Arnold's knee is finally healed enough for her to think about taking her dogs out to train for a race, perhaps the Iditarod again. After the first snow fall, they go out for a practice run and when Jessie heads down the trail back to her house, she runs over a dead body hidden by the snow. While she tries to leave the investigation to her Alaska State Trooper boyfriend, Alex, she keeps getting unavoidably involved. Along with the murder, there is an earth quake providing a lot of interesting information about tremors in Alaska. The part I enjoyed most was when Jessie's friend Maxie, of the Maxie and Stretch mysteries (i.e., The Refuge), along with her canine companion, Stretch, comes to visit Jessie and Alex for a few days. While there, she provides valuable insight into possible solutions to the mystery. Since it has been a while since we've had a new Maxie mystery, it is a treat to get an update on what she's been doing lately. I've missed the Jessie Arnold mysteries since Jessie has been out of commission from her injury and this book turned out be a real treat by including Maxie and Stretch. Recommended!