In a story ripped from today’s headlines, the World Championship gold medal for Ladies Figure Skating goes to a Russian skater, Xenia Trubin, even though most spectators agree that that the perky American champion, Erin Simpson, had a better performance. The Italian judge is accused of rigging the vote, but before she can defend herself she is found dead. Rebecca “Bex” Levy, researcher for the 24/7 network, starts looking for clues. She has a good reason to turn detective; her domineering boss has threatened to fire her if she can’t solve the crime.  

Interviewing indignant coaches, obnoxious parents and the skaters themselves provides Bex with several theories but no obvious answers. Did someone kill the Italian judge because she was bribed to change her vote, or because she didn’t go along with the plan? Was the murder a crime of anger or a cover-up? Bex uses her charm and her wits to put together the pieces of the puzzle while her impatient boss waits for an answer that will ensure a ratings bonanza for the network.  

Murder on Ice starts with the improbable premise of Bex’s boss demanding that she play amateur sleuth (couldn’t she sue him for harassment?), and then follows Bex through her awkward detective routine. Her naïve method consists of interviewing all of the likely suspects and asking them directly if they killed the judge. How Bex avoids having her knee broken by one of the suspects, a la Nancy Kerrigan, is a miracle. Although there are a few surprises as the mystery approaches its denouement, the killer’s identity is fairly obvious to the discerning reader.  

The book nails a triple axel, however, in its description of the beautiful but bizarre world of figure skating, where skating talent is only the beginning of the package necessary to make it big. Female skaters, especially, need a pretty face and a good story to hold the public’s interest, and millions of dollars in ice shows and product endorsements can be at stake. Adams’ expertise is obvious, as is her exasperated affection for the sport.  

Bex has a tendency to ruminate in an overly cute, self-conscious sort of way (God, but it never went on for this long on Murder She Wrote. Did all murderers need an impending commercial break to speed up their confessions?). Other than that quirk, the reader doesn’t learn much about the budding detective. She’s young, she’s smart-mouthed and she wants to keep her job, but what attracted her to skating and what drives her? Adams doesn’t give her enough of a personality to make the reader care if she solves the crime or gets hurt in the attempt. Perhaps the next figure skating mystery, Missing on Ice (October 2004), will give readers a better idea of what makes Bex tick. Adams’ new mystery series shows promise but needs more character depth and a more sophisticated mystery before it can stand atop the gold medal podium.  

--Susan Scribner