Frozen Summer
by Ian Austin
Book 3 in the Dan Calder series – a cold case revisited.
Intriguingly,Frozen Summer begins at chapter 14. This and the seemingly contradictory words in the title and the gaunt, loosely defined figures on the cover are a promising indication that Frozen Summer is no ordinary who-dun-it.
Several years back, while working for the British police, undercover agent Dan Calder lost consciousness while on surveillance in a drug den. When he came to, he and a young female drug user were alone in the house. The teenager, Zoe Summers, had been murdered and, unable to account for how she had died, Dan decided to cover up his presence at the house. Now resident in New Zealand, Dan has returned to Britain to try to find out who killed Zoe: this means facing up to the possibility that has troubled him all this time: that he may have killed Zoe before he blacked out.
In Britain Dan quickly forms a team with other former police colleagues and their contacts in the force. Added to the mix are Dan’s partner, Tara, along with his friends’ wives and families.
Austin has drawn on his own knowledge of the British police system to assist Dan Calder in his quest and this gives the readers an interesting insight into investigative procedure in a cold case, even if Calder’s revisiting of the circumstances surrounding Zoe’s death is strictly off-the-record. The use of the Winthrop search technique is described in careful detail and I found this aspect of the investigation particularly engaging. The drug scene setting is very convincing and relevant.
Although Frozen Summer lacks the suspense, twists and red herrings of many who-dun-its, Dan’s team’s absolute dedication to uncovering how Zoe died highlights once again how much work is involved in re-examining in minute detail the many facets of a cold case.
Frozen Summer is the third book in Austin’s Dan Calder series. While occasional mention is made of previous cases that Dan has worked on, this book stands alone.
Discerning readers may be disturbed by some of the hiccoughs that more thorough proofreading would have picked up. In particular, to quote www.dictionary.com, “… it is not all right to use alright in standard English”. This and a number of other glitches detract from an otherwise very readable story and will hopefully be ironed out in future editions of Austin’s work.
Frozen Summer’s startling ending suggests there may be more Dan Calder still to come.
by Ian Austin
Book 3 in the Dan Calder series – a cold case revisited.
Intriguingly,Frozen Summer begins at chapter 14. This and the seemingly contradictory words in the title and the gaunt, loosely defined figures on the cover are a promising indication that Frozen Summer is no ordinary who-dun-it.
Several years back, while working for the British police, undercover agent Dan Calder lost consciousness while on surveillance in a drug den. When he came to, he and a young female drug user were alone in the house. The teenager, Zoe Summers, had been murdered and, unable to account for how she had died, Dan decided to cover up his presence at the house. Now resident in New Zealand, Dan has returned to Britain to try to find out who killed Zoe: this means facing up to the possibility that has troubled him all this time: that he may have killed Zoe before he blacked out.
In Britain Dan quickly forms a team with other former police colleagues and their contacts in the force. Added to the mix are Dan’s partner, Tara, along with his friends’ wives and families.
Austin has drawn on his own knowledge of the British police system to assist Dan Calder in his quest and this gives the readers an interesting insight into investigative procedure in a cold case, even if Calder’s revisiting of the circumstances surrounding Zoe’s death is strictly off-the-record. The use of the Winthrop search technique is described in careful detail and I found this aspect of the investigation particularly engaging. The drug scene setting is very convincing and relevant.
Although Frozen Summer lacks the suspense, twists and red herrings of many who-dun-its, Dan’s team’s absolute dedication to uncovering how Zoe died highlights once again how much work is involved in re-examining in minute detail the many facets of a cold case.
Frozen Summer is the third book in Austin’s Dan Calder series. While occasional mention is made of previous cases that Dan has worked on, this book stands alone.
Discerning readers may be disturbed by some of the hiccoughs that more thorough proofreading would have picked up. In particular, to quote www.dictionary.com, “… it is not all right to use alright in standard English”. This and a number of other glitches detract from an otherwise very readable story and will hopefully be ironed out in future editions of Austin’s work.
Frozen Summer’s startling ending suggests there may be more Dan Calder still to come.
Review by Carolyn McKenzie
Title: Frozen Summer
Author: Ian Austin
Publisher: IA Books
ISBN: 9780473484392
RRP: $23.99
Available: https://www.ianaustin.org/books
Author: Ian Austin
Publisher: IA Books
ISBN: 9780473484392
RRP: $23.99
Available: https://www.ianaustin.org/books
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