The Ice Maiden (DI Jack Gilbert Series Prequel)
Author: Michael Saunders
3.5 out of 5 stars
After being on compassionate leave while his wife was in the hospital, Detective Inspector Jack Gilbert returns to work just as the body of a young woman is found. The victim, Anne Trayhorn, has been missing for three months and was last seen at a bus stop after attending a concert. The medical examiner discovers that her body had been kept in a freezer. Soon after, another woman goes missing after attending a concert and was last seen at the bus stop. Jack and his team realize the killer will strike again if they don’t catch him.
I’ll start my review with the characters, who were all very well written. I liked Jack and his team. Jack is a stereotypical detective who’s a little too focused on his job, which affects his relationship with his wife. He’s also a stereotypical older man from the 1960s, which is when this book is set. He’s a bit conservative and doesn’t show his emotions about his wife’s hospitalization. Still, he loves his wife and tries to be a good husband, even though his work often gets in the way.
The mystery was very well written. The aspect of the killer freezing them made it more interesting that it would have been otherwise. The reader actually sees the murders from the killer’s perspective, although his identity isn’t revealed to us until jack and his team figure out who he is. I’ll put a warning here that the killer rapes his victims as he’s killing them, but it’s not very detailed.
However, there were some negatives. There were some minor editing mistakes. And there wasn’t a lot revealed about Jack’s wife and why she was in the hospital except that she has clinical depression. We’re not told anything about what lead up to the hospitalization. Also, the ending of the book, after they arrested the killer, felt a bit rushed, like ‘the main part’s done so let’s hurry and finish it off so you can go read the next book.’
Overall, this is a good novella. Due to the negatives, I decided to rate it 3.5 out of 5 stars. I did like it enough that I would read the next book in the series.
Current price through Amazon Kindle: $0
Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CXQBP4S/
(I do not benefit from the use of this link.)