A keeper - I've read it several times | Ice: A Novel

It's not THAT bad!! : ) An impartial review | Ice: A Novel | Linda Howard

books:


	• Ice: A Novel Linda Howard Ballantine Books, 2009 - 208 pages view larger image
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Strictly average Rom/mystery

Lolly, a spoilt girl, comes back to her home town, and her isolated house, she is tidying it up for sale. Unfortunately two meth (ice) addicts follow her home - she is trapped, in the house with them, and an impending ice storm cuts them off. Lucky for her she has been seen and is expected at an acquaintance's house, and the local sheriff sends his Jack Reacher-style military cop son up to check on her. He immediately sees what is up and sets out to rescue her - and fight with his feelings for her.

This is a strictly by the numbers book. It has some interesting perspectives, the 'ice' addicts, and in the middle of an ice storm - but it is not enough to save the book from being utterly mediocre. It is a short read, which is not a bad thing, unfortunately it is shortened by Howard filling in the back story in pedestrian ways as though to hurry the story through. Gabriel, the Military Cop, and Lolly the heroine discuss their previous emotions for each other rather than show us through the story. At times it feels like a Reader's Digest condensed book where they have taken out the story and development and abridged chapters into a couple of paragraphs.

Howard uses the technique of shifting POV's to tell the story too, so sometimes you go back in the story and see it from some elses POV to see what they have done and why - a great way of telling the story.

The erotic scenes in the shower are patently ridiculous. I challenge anyone who has been out in an ice storm for several hours walking and running, trying to escape from two murderous Meth fiends to come back to the house, warm up in a shower for a bit and then get down to business on the bathroom floor. While I realise this is fiction and meth addicts are also unlikely to be chasing people around down the side of the mountain, that is still within the conceivable realms of possibility.

Anyway - I found this book a write by the numbers style - a great idea, but not really delivered well. Certainly give it a go - it wasn't horrific, nothing made me want to fling the book away, but it didn't convince me that I wanted to read much else by this author either. However even the best author doesn't always write great stuff that appeals to everyone all the time. There was enough in here to convince me to try her again.

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A keeper - I've read it several times

"Ice" is easy to reread and reenjoy just like all of Linda's books. This stays on my Howard shelf. Thanks Linda for sharing your characters and your exciting plot. This book is a good way to keep warm on a cold winter's day.

It's not THAT bad!! : ) An impartial review

Actually, the book is not bad at all. I think there must be a higher standard for Linda Howard than there is for other writers, because I've read worse books with better reviews. Anyway, I'll try to cover the high and low points of the book.

The book tells the story of childhood/high school "frenemies"--Lorelei (Lolly)Helton and Gabriel McQueen -- whose paths cross again 15 years later. The circumstances surrounding the "reunion" are tense and suspenseful. The story is set high on a mountain in rural Maine during a horrible ice storm. Lolly and Gabriel fight to survive the elements while being ruthlessly stalked and hunted by two drug crazed killers.

The story is short and moves quickly. I had the feeling that the author had originally intended the story to be either a novella or a part of an anthology, lengthening it to meet a deadline or word count. But, that didn't bother me, nor did it detract from the story, in my opinion.

The negative reviews seemed to focus on one of the phrases in the book ("can i lick you, Lolipop"). Granted, it's a bit corny, but you have to bear in mind that the context of the phrase is that it was a childhood taunt, which later took on a different meaning for the couple. Any case, one corny phrase shouldn't spoil the whole book, nor should it send Ms. Howard's fans into a lather over whether or not this book (or more specifically, that phrase) spells the demise of her otherwise brilliant career. C'mon, it's a book. Okay, it's a book with a corny phrase.

The bottom line is that though this book veers a little from Ms. Howard's norm (it's shorter, less complex and more direct than most of her work), if you want a few hours of escape, written with Ms. Howard's usual knack for detail and edge-of-your-seat action, this book does the job handily.

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?Tis the season for mistletoe and holly, Santa . . . and suspense. And the gift that keeps on giving is Ice: premier thriller author Linda Howard?s breathless tale of a man, a woman, and a battle for survival against an unforgiving winter?and an unrelenting killer. Oh what fun it is to read.

Gabriel McQueen has only just arrived home on holiday leave from the service when his county-sheriff father sends him back out again with new marching orders. A brewing ice storm, and a distant neighbor who?s fallen out of contact, have the local lawman concerned. So he enlists Gabriel to make the long haul to the middle of nowhere, and make sure Lolly Helton is safe and sound. It?s a trip the younger McQueen would rather not make given the bitter winter weather?and the icy conditions that have always existed between him and Lolly.

But there?s no talking back when your dad is the town?s top cop. And there? s no turning back when night falls just as Gabriel arrives?and discovers that the weather outside isn?t the only thing that?s frightful. Spotting strangers in Lolly? s home?one of them packing a weapon?is all it takes to kick Gabriel into combat mode. And his stealth training is all he needs to extract Lolly from the house without alerting her captors. But when the escape is discovered, the heat?and the hunt?are on. And the winter woods are nowhere to be once the ice storm touches down, dropping trees, blocking roads, and trapping the fleeing pair in the freezing dark.

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