Fire & Ice

Ten years ago Kate Mannheim fled the Grand House for New York vowing never to return. To Kate the old mausoleum represents nothing but frightening bad memories of cold people even if it is her family home. Even her mother's burial when Kate was nine turned ugly due to her grandmother's nastiness about the deceased Sara. However, her employers are retiring and she wants to buy their small bookstore, but needs her deceased mother's diamonds to do so. That is if the gems exist. So here in the winter of 1933 Kate returns to North Dakota to obtain her mother's possessions from the Grand House. Though her spiteful grandmother just died, Kate quickly realizes that the current matriarch Aunt Ruth remains as acerbic as ever, but her uncle looks very frail. However, Elliot Carstairs' arms look even more inviting than when they were youthful lovers. As they rekindle the flame, she wonders if she can trust him to help her find the missing diamonds? Anyone who can place a gothic romance on the Northern Plains during the Great Depression is either a genius or a lunatic. In this case, the taut period piece thriller shows why Anne Avery is a fan favorite. The terse story line achieves a high level of satisfaction because of the characters, their relationships, and the house (with its own personality) seem genuine to the point that readers can taste Kate's fear of entering the mausoleum. Ms. Avery provides a powerhouse plot that will acquire for her many new admirers wanting her previous books.Harriet Klausner