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The Ice Maiden
Edna Buchanan Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Ice Maiden
"

Morrow, Oct 2002, 23.95, 289 pp.
ISBN: 0380973324

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
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"Britt Montero covers the story of a burglary gone bad, where the dead suspect could also be a suspect from a grissly Christmas Eve rape/murder years ago. Her passion for the truth fuels her desire for justice. Britt meets the Ice Maiden, the victim left for dead. As she searches for the truth, she uncovers a story more dangerous & deadly than she imagined.
"

Joy Gellatly, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Ice Maiden
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Kind of investigator - skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - journalist
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - killer - farmer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - almost none - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge - insanity
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
City? Yes
City: - dangerous - Miami

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 3-4
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to The Ice Maiden
Murder Suicide by Keith Ablow
The Killing of the Tinkers by Ken Bruns
Blood Memory by Greg Iles
Ten Little New Yorkers by Kinky Friedman
Conch Shell Murder by Dorothy Francis


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