The Ice Maiden

There is no denying that this is a dark book. But isn't reality dark for too many of us? If you are looking for a happy ending, with all plot lines tied up with a big cheery bow, this is not the book for you. If you want a bang-up shocking story with an ending that will not leave you for days, this is definantly the book you need to keep you interested.

They're back; all our favorites...Britt, Kendall, Lottie, etc. This is an action packed adventure involving cold case files. A brutal murder/rape of two innocent teens happened years ago. It changed forever the lives of everyone involved. HOWEVER, I feel like the anti-heroine of Stephen King's "Misery." Edna's done and gone kilt off one of the recurring characters. NO!!! How could you?? Life in Miami will never be the same now.

Not since the very first book in the Britt Montero series, have I ever been so entranced with a story. I absolutely could not put it down. Ice Maiden is a fantastic read with all the ups and downs that you expect to get with an Edna Buchanan roller coaster ride. But just when you think you've got it figured out, she throws in another turn in the track. Congratulations to Edna. One of the best crime/ Mystery writers that I have ever had the pleasure to read. I just hope another book is in the works. Don't let it end like this for Britt!!!...

When it comes to crime novels Buchanan's the best. After almost 20 years of covering the police beat for a Miami newspaper she knows her subject and suspects well. She's a Pulitzer Prize winning reporter with insider knowledge, and potent pen. "The Ice Maiden" is heroine Britt Montero's eighth spin, and it is a pulse pounding thriller. She's right there when Andre Coney, a would-be robber, is discovered after being electrocuted by a jewelry store booby trap. A quick thinking detective with a full memory bank ties the deceased to a 14 year-old murder case in which two teenagers on their first date were ravaged - the boy was fatally shot and the girl was raped and beaten. Britt attempts to interrogate the girl, Sunny, hoping that she might recognize any of Coney's fellow thugs as one of the men who had attacked her. Understandably, Sunny wants no part in reopening past trauma. However, the frightened young woman has no choice as others who may harm her focus on what was thought to be a cold case. As always with Buchanan, subplots flourish and fascinate while readers are propelled by surprising secrets revealed. One more winner for this whiz bang writer.

Miami News crime reporter Britt Montero is at the morgue where the body of a criminal lies after the felon was electrocuted while breaking into a home. That corpse would not be much more newsworthy then perhaps a line or two, but the Miami Police Cold Case Squad see a link between the dead lawbreaker and an unsolved fourteen year old homicide. Someone had abducted two teens murdering Richard Chance while leaving Sunny Hartley to die. Somehow she survived to tell her harrowing tale, but the culprits were never apprehended.Sunny has ignored her near death experience by withdrawing from society as much as possible. However, the police reopen her nightmare and the media, led by Britt take no prisoners, go into a feeding frenzy. The original assault team prefers this case remain silent even if it means killing the one that got away fourteen years ago.The Britt Montero investigations are always wonderful novels, but THE ICE MAIDEN is the best to date. This is a powerful story that is more than just an inquiry into a reopened cold case. Instead the reader observes that side as a delightful, cleverly designed subplot. However, what makes this novel a great crime thriller besides the realistic serpentine twisting climax is Sunny, a victim then and a victim now as she is a front page target of the media, the police, and the killers. Edna Buchanan is sure to receive nominations from several of the major awards for this terrific tale.Harriet Klausner