From Publishers Weekly
Anthony and Macavity Award winner Henry underutilizes her trademark Alaskan setting in her 10th Jessie Arnold mystery (after 2002's Cold Company). Told in flashbacks by the famed musher and a number of her friends and allies, the novel rarely achieves her usual level of suspense. Sitting around Jessie's cabin, the group recalls and recounts where they were, what they did and what they knew as this story of murder, dognapping and kidnapping unfolds against the backdrop of the Alaska State Fair. Despite the absence of the author's customary depiction of the magnificent and treacherous Alaskan environment, readers will welcome the return of a former suitor and the introduction of 10-year-old Danny Tabor and 82-year-old Frank Monroe. The spunky youngster and the verbose octogenarian form an unlikely but appealing alliance as they each confront the limitations placed on them by age. They also have to match wits with their pursuers when they unwittingly become possessors of important information. For Jessie, still recovering from knee surgery, this adventure tests her strength of will as she fights to find and rescue her lead dog and boon companion, Tank. Established fans should enjoy this tale, but others should start with another book in the series. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Sidelined from sled-dog racing this season because of a knee injury, musher Jessie Arnold agrees to help out a friend by working the Iditarod booth at the Alaska State Fair. The fun of the fair ends abruptly for Jessie when a man is found dead in a pond on the grounds, and her beloved lead dog, Tank, mysteriously disappears from the booth. Heartsick, Jessie searches for Tank, placing herself in great danger because the dog's disappearance appears to tie in with the murder. The story is told as a series of flashbacks as the principals involved in the case rehash events at Jessie's cabin, attempting to assemble the pieces of the puzzle. Well-drawn characters, especially 10-year-old Danny and senior-citizen Frank Monroe, charm the reader. The flashback technique seems choppy at first but begins to gel as the pacing picks up. Interesting developments in Jessie's personal life will please fans of this long-running series, now in its tenth installment. Sue O'Brien
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Up north,
the summers are brief --
and winter, like death,
is cold and long . . .

Recovering from knee surgery that will cause her to miss the upcoming dogsled racing season, champion "musher" Jessie Arnold feels empty and bored -- so she grabs an opportunity to fill her days manning the Iditarod booth at the Alaska State Fair. But murder becomes an attraction here as well -- an especially brutal one -- when the corpse of a small-time hoodlum slain by a double-blade axe blow to the skull turns up on the fairgrounds. Jessie shouldn't get involved, having already seen too much violent death in her lifetime. But strange connections are linking the killing with a child's kidnapping . . . and with the sudden disappearance of her own beloved lead sled dog. Soon friends old and new will be pulled in as well when the unthinkable occurs: Jessie herself vanishes without a trace.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"With August drawing to a close, Jessie Arnold is feeling empty. Not even the return of a friend can lessen her disappointment over having to miss the approaching Alaskan dogsled racing season because of her recent knee surgery. But a request to help man the Iditarod booth at the Alaska State Fair is a godsend, something that keeps Jessie involved and happy ...until a corpse turns up on the fairgrounds." "The murder is an especially brutal one: a small-time hoodlum dispatched by a double-blade axe blow to the skull. Though she has already seen too much death in her lifetime, Jessie becomes a participant in the proceedings when her beloved lead sled dog, Tank, vanishes. Angry and sick with worry, she sets out to find him and unwittingly discovers connections that link Tank's disappearance to the murder and a recent theft in bizarre and disturbing ways." Friends new and old are soon involved as well. Musher Lynn Ehlers, the parents of a local boy, and state troopers are plunged into a desperate and harrowing search that leads them across lush forested valleys, up silent, forbidding mountains, and into Alaska's darkest heart. Because, suddenly, a sled dog is not the only missing player in this drama. Under alarming circumstances, Jessie Arnold has also vanished.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Anthony and Macavity Award winner Henry underutilizes her trademark Alaskan setting in her 10th Jessie Arnold mystery (after 2002's Cold Company). Told in flashbacks by the famed musher and a number of her friends and allies, the novel rarely achieves her usual level of suspense. Sitting around Jessie's cabin, the group recalls and recounts where they were, what they did and what they knew as this story of murder, dognapping and kidnapping unfolds against the backdrop of the Alaska State Fair. Despite the absence of the author's customary depiction of the magnificent and treacherous Alaskan environment, readers will welcome the return of a former suitor and the introduction of 10-year-old Danny Tabor and 82-year-old Frank Monroe. The spunky youngster and the verbose octogenarian form an unlikely but appealing alliance as they each confront the limitations placed on them by age. They also have to match wits with their pursuers when they unwittingly become possessors of important information. For Jessie, still recovering from knee surgery, this adventure tests her strength of will as she fights to find and rescue her lead dog and boon companion, Tank. Established fans should enjoy this tale, but others should start with another book in the series. (July 1) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews